H.M.S. Victory by Caldercraft - Build Log

[team118]

I began working on the kevels, cannon ball holders, belay pin holders, etc.

I have attached pics of the 2 balusters that need to be attached to the corner of one of the skid beams. It will provide support for a lower wooden railing where the stairs come up.

3 of the forecastle kevels have sheaves in them. The plans require a hole be drilled to simulate the sheave. I opted to cut out a spot to accept a 4mm brass sheave. I blackened the sheaves and squeezed them in.

 

[team118]

Working on the admiral screen (pics are out of order), I used Mr. Metal to prime the PE window frames.

I also added some darker stain to screens to give them a more richer color. After the windows dried, I installed them and added glazing.
I had extra acetone and cut pieces to fit behind the scenes. I sanded the acetone on both sides to give them a cloudy look.

I also created an installed little brass rings for the doors. They may be a but out of scale, but add color too!

 

[team118]

Adding the various kevels and parts is pretty straight forward. There is a slant to the cannon ball holders that may be hard to create, also, I would add the cannon balls BEFORE installing base to bulwark wall.

I have some small diameter styrene tubing that I painted and added to base of interior walls. I would have preferred a piece of wood with a nice concave shape, but at that scale, there was no way I could think of. I like the way it looks, it adds some depth to everything.

A few builders have worked on adding interior tubing to walls. I have enough of the tubing to see if I can make styrene work. But it seems pretty busy in there.

 

[team118]

I also worked on dining room stairwell. I believe I am running out of PE stanchions and want to make sure I have enough for the skid beam area and any later assemblies. I decided to just create some straight pieces of wood. I do not think this area is going to be very visible once the poop deck is installed.

After, I worked on the binnacle and wheel assemblies.

I was able to create a groove in the main binnacle housing with a file to accept the glazing. I used canopy glue to secure it to wood and PE front/back piece.

I also created some little white compass housings and a larger red/orange/yellow piece to simulate the 2 compasses and lantern for the binnacle.

I have a few coats of paint and we'll get back to it later to see how it looks.

I also worked on wheel. It requires 4 PE pieces to be glued together to create ship's wheel. I used E6000 to glue them as it sets a bit slower and allows me to move it around. It does create little glue webs and has to be cleaned but is the glue of choice when combined 2 PE pieces together.

 

[team118]

Completed the wheel and binnacle assemblies.

For the binnacle, I created rings to tie the piece to the deck. The brass wire I used is a bit too large, scale wise, but is all I have. I painted the rings on the deck black and left the rings on the binnacle itself brass. There is a chimney piece that I painted copper and will provide a pic later.

The wheel is pretty straight forward. There are 2 column pieces that hold the wheels and spool. I have some red/brown paint and some brown paint.

With the red/brown paint I added some black to create a iron brown color to the forward column that is visible from the deck. After it dried, I added a little gold to it to create some trim.

For the rope that steers the ship, I used an after market product from Rope of Scale. Their rope is just wonderful and is what I am using for breeching lines. It just looks like real cable!!!! The wheels, spool and back column were painted regular brown to give a contrast much like current pictures I've seen.

 

[team118]

Working of the beak area was difficult. As I have progressed along, it is apparent now, but the instructions can be tough to follow when it is only words.
When I did the Trumpeter Titanic model along with the 2 upgrade kits, all of the instructions were pictorial based...which made it very easy to see.

I'm surprised the manuals don't include both.

Also, one of the full size blueprints was referenced for parts placement and when I looked at it, there were notations that began with B##. I couldn't understand what that was about and there was nothing on the plans to explain this. Then it came to me, these are the points where future rigging terminations. Very nice!

I did NOT install the beakhead bulkhead piece. I was able to create the round houses and sand them easily. It would have been much harder to do if the bulkhead was installed. I had to do a lot of major sanding of the bow area to get the beakhead to fit properly.

In addition, there are 3 pieces that they call cat-tails. These 3 pieces form the front base that terminates the quarterdeck and ties in the beakhead to the ship.
The thinner 3mm piece is installed flush to the front and then the 5mm piece fits behind it. This creates a step and once the beakhead is installed, a bulkhead plank shear is installed in that slot and over the beakhead, creating a bit of an overhang. This shear has square holes for future pieces.

These pieces have a bit of a curve to them. On my build, there is not curve. That made it difficult to lay the last shear plank which is straight. I soaked it to help bend it, but then it was almost impossible to clamp this in place. In the end I used CA glue and held it in place until it set.

Getting the beakhead to fit took a lot of effort and sanding to remove a lot of the material on the bow deck. I also had to sand a bit off the top and bottom of the beakhead. I may have removed to much from the top but I think the trim will cover it.

Once done, I pulled all the various pieces from the doors, hatches, hinges, ect to paint.

When getting ready to paint I had to blue the blue paint. I had bought the full set of paints from the Ship Wright's Store (JoTika). It included all the colors I would need, but the only colors I've pulled black and yellow ochre. I see now that the kit included a brass/gold, copper and a walnut color. I didn't look and used my own stock of Tamiya and Vallejo paints. Oh well. Also, the kit came with a dull black and an iron black. I didn't really look at the labels and have been using the iron black to paint the top gunports. I had depleted a full bottle of dull black for the main black hull. Fortunately, the 2 blacks don't seem to be too different.

 

[AllanKP69]

I love that you show the tie downs on the binnacle.
Allan

 

[team118]

Hello everyone!

I have done a bit more and will add that below. However, last night I spent a lot of time searching builds for help on the bow.
I thought that having a list of what I use for this model might help new builders when they begin this journey. I am going to attach this to the first page too.

I use 3 books and they are a tremendous help. I looked for used versions. Longridge's took some time. The book has many pull out plans that help with any model's build and I wanted to be sure the book I bought had them intact. I included Google links.


Used Books

Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships – Longridge, Nepean
HMS Victory – McGowan
The 100 Gun Ship Victory – McKay

I use many videos, and many listed below have dedicated playlists that help keep their HMS Victory builds separate from their other work.

YouTube Video Blogs

Wooden Ships – Greg Wislon

Just A Good Place
This is a Spanish blog for Artesania Latina model

Johns Wooden Ships - John Aliprantis
Many blogs of wooden ship models including HMS Victory (NOT Caldercraft)

John Builds Iconic Military Models – John Mansell
Huge playlists for 2 different HMS Victory models

Olha Batchvarov – Olha
HUGE database of builds, how to’s and more including DeAgostini version

Paul Vickers – Paul Vickers
There are only 8-9 videos before he stopped posting. So good for a new starter only


I am a member of two model ship builder sites. Both are great and offer so many tips, hints, links, etc.

Ship of Scale
The site has an advanced search enabling you to input exact issues you want to research and the ability to 'watch' build logs and get notifications when the builder adds new content.

Paulv1958 – Paul Vickers
Hasn’t done much and incorporates the use of his YouTube blog

Traumadoc –
As of 11/8/24 he is finishing up stern and hammock rails. I believe he is a novice builder just like me, but has done remarkable work while juggling a full-time job and taking the time to log his work.

Peterg –
Major blog with high quality build, including lighting and custom features. As of 11/8/24 on quarterdeck w/ cannons

Serikoff – Sergey
Custom built HMS Victory using Mantua plans. Just started builders log in October, 2024 but has brought it up to date with what he has done.
He provides EXTENSIVE information concerning his build, how to’s and more.

Julian –
Occre model, but has similar build issues that will help

Y.T. –
Mamoli scale 1:90


Model Ship World
A great site, a lot of interaction between builders, a great search engine and the ability to monitor other builders as they add content.

Kiwiron – Ron
As of 7/24 completed quarterdeck, stern, bow and more

Robert29
Finished Caldercraft HMS Victory – one of the best builds I have seen and use extensively while doing mine.

Charter33
As of 5/24 he has finished quarterdeck and is working on outerhull trim and deadeye platforms. Very good build, meticulous

Heinz6672
Wood only (no paint) museum quality work, but stopped posting while doing rigging around 2020

Paulb – Paul
Last posts around 2023 with work on standing rigging. Very detailed work


There are many other blogs on both sites and searching will also pull many recommendations for help on various tasks needed during the build.
I didn't include links to topics such as laying hull planking, deck planking, rigging tips, making rope, etc. These are things each builder will have to do to get to know the process.

I am a NOVICE builder with just one model under my belt. A plastic large scale model of the Titanic. It took me a year to build and that was pretty quick given that I have a lot of time as I'm retired.

In addition to the above, I spend a lot of time searching specific issues when needed. When working on cannons, I would search keywords: cannons 1700 era ships, hms victory cannons, cannon rigging, cannon tackle. Once Google provided me with their search, I would save pictures for future reference.

Hope this helps and good luck!
Chris

 

[team118]

Ok! Back to work!

Working on the beakhead wall.

I had to cut away portions of the bow decking to get the beakhead to fit. In addition, I had to sand a bit of the beakhead itself to get it to fit under the plank shear.

Based on other builder tips, I was able to use a 1/2" socket from a ratchet set to bend the pilasters for the round houses.

I also worked on the hatches and doors for the beakhead.

 

[team118]

While installing the doors, I once again either didn't understand or thoroughly read the instructions. It mentions eyelets for the door hinges. The only eyelets I've used thus far are the little brassy ones. WAY too small to work, but I installed them anyways. Then a little further down, I say COPPER eyelet. When I read the parts list and looked in the cast parts box I saw a whole baggy of little copper eyelets. Larger than the PE eyelets but much smaller than anything I could build with my stock of thin wires. I know they will be used extensively during the rigging, but it is nice to know I have them!!!

I rigged the hatches and after laying the bow decking, the doors. There is a length of profile that fits under the shear. When I installed it, it is the length of the beakhead from edge to edge. It is too long because I had to cut into this area to create room for the next task....the main rail inner timberhead.
It was easy to pop off, cut and reinstall.

The inner timberhead on any live shots I have is much larger than the one supplied. So I took some scrap and created a longer/wider version. After getting it shaped, I used by Dremel to cut into the quarterdeck to get them to fit. It was a juggling act to try and get the bow main rail (#394) to fit correctly against these timberheads. I used masking tape to temporarily hold them and I think I got the angles right. The port one seems a bit different than the starboard, but I think they'll fit when I get there. I may have to add some filler pieces to each side to close it all in.

After I worked on the beakhead capping assembly. My first wish was to add sheaves to the three outside timberheads in this assembly. I have nice little 3 or 4mm sheaves and some of the wooden ones are very thin. I just couldn't think of a way to get 2 holes in the sheaves so that I could cut them out. These are very small pieces and I was afraid that kind of deconstruction would break them. So I opted to just drill a hole in the outer 2.

However as I'm apt to do, I didn't read the instructions. The little curved u-shaped fife rail fits into the timberheads that need to face EACH OTHER. The belfry assembly had these u-shaped pieces fitting forward. I assumed the same, so I drilled the holes accordingly. Once I realized my alignment mistake, the holes are now facing side to side instead of back to front! Oh well. Once done, they all fit together and I was able to trim the end pieces to fit into the larger timberheads.

 

[team118]

After painting the cap assembly, I continued working on the cannons.

As expected, I blackened the cannons but the breech ends and breech rings would not take the bluing dye. When they dried, I tried painting them, but for some reason the paint kept getting gunked up. I was forced to wash the brush many times. Perhaps the bluing hadn't dried adequately. I didn't have this issue with the 30 other cannons.

There are 2 carronades....some big ol' fat cannons and the instructions list them in the cast parts. Mine are plastic. That is fine. When I painted them, I used a Tamiya black iron but the color isn't close to JoTika's black iron. I will circle back and 2nd coat them with JoTika's brands.

Also worked on the carronade bases and the cannon bases. On a good note, it looks like I won't have to worry about adding rigging to ALL of the cannons as some are hidden behind the admiral's screen. A great day!!!!

 

[team118]

Began working on the bow structures. The first task was installing the 4 curved bow rails (#126, 127)

I have seen a builder use a nail head as a scribe to create the grooving in the rails. That's a great idea...that I didn't do.
I did cut the head off a small brass pin nail and attach it to the top of the upper rail to give it some detail.

When installing the upper rail, it lays ABOVE the 2 gammon slots. I inserted some scrap decking so that the rail would rest on this and not interfere with the gammon slots.

The lower rail went fine, just had to make sure all 4 were 'level' and matched each other side to side. I used white glue so that I would have time to move things around.

While that dried, I get the next 4 pieces ready. The hair bracket (#120) and the lower bow cheek rail (#123). Seriously, I would love to have been there when some builder in the 16 or 17 hundreds said to his assistant..."hey give me that piece of lumber"..."let's call it the hair bracket from now on!!!!"

Based on other builders, I had to sand down the planking and wales at the bow where these 4 pieces will be installed. These create the assembly that will take in the anchor cabling. Using the Dremel with a barrel sander, I was able to get them down fairly good. I also had to sand/shape the 4 pieces to fit. This was a major hurtle to get over. This work will be highly visible and will add to the first impressions when someone is looking at the boat so I desperately wanted to get this right.

I used CA glue here to get them to stick fast and good. After that, I added 3 1x5mm walnut planks to fill in-between. Finally, there is hawse hole bolster that will take the actual anchor cable. Sadly, I misplaced one when cutting other pieces so I had to make one. Hopefully the black paint and cabling will obscure any differences in the two!

I then added walnut wood putty to smooth out the gaps and will sand when dry.

Once that's done, I will paint everything black and after that dries, I'll tape off and paint the 4 curved bow rails yellow.


I do have one question...if someone sees it in a timely fashion. The next task today will be installing the 4 head timbers (#107-110) to the bow stem. #107 is the larger one and it looks like it is supposed to fit through a slot in the stem. I cannot get it to fit through. It's just too big at the base.

Am I missing something? My only thought is I'll have to cut it and then reglue in place.

ANY TIPS!

 

[Chestcutter]

Wow Chris, congratulations and all power to you. The bow and the stern are very challenging areas to build especially in the Victory.

You are doing a great job and the effort you put into the build and your log is huge. Your willingness to share your research efforts and your insights from your mistakes and successes is admirable.

I am enjoying your log very much. The bow is looking great.

Michael

 

[AllanKP69]

As an obvious fan of Victory, you might find the following post interesting.
Allan

The Battle of Trafalgar Original Ship's Log

With so many models of ships that fought at Trafalgar, including Victory and Agamemnon to name just two, I thought the following would be interesting to anyone building those ships or any other naval vessels at Trafalgar for that matter. Log of Euryalus during the Battle of Trafalgar A lot...

shipsofscale.com

 

[team118]

As an obvious fan of Victory, you might find the following post interesting.
Allan

The Battle of Trafalgar Original Ship's Log

With so many models of ships that fought at Trafalgar, including Victory and Agamemnon to name just two, I thought the following would be interesting to anyone building those ships or any other naval vessels at Trafalgar for that matter. Log of Euryalus during the Battle of Trafalgar A lot...

shipsofscale.com

Thanks for the link! It is a great post.

 

[team118]

Wow Chris, congratulations and all power to you. The bow and the stern are very challenging areas to build especially in the Victory.

You are doing a great job and the effort you put into the build and your log is huge. Your willingness to share your research efforts and your insights from your mistakes and successes is admirable.

I am enjoying your log very much. The bow is looking great.

Michael

Thank you Michael. It is very much appreciated. Whether the bow looks good....well, I had some issues with the next task! lol....

 

[team118]

On to the build!

While working on the bow and waiting for initial pieces to glue up, I worked on the cannons a bit.

I thinned a toothpick and placed the wheels on them to sand. The larger wheels cleaned up better than the smaller ones. I also added the breeching rings to the cannon bases and I put together the 2 carronades. I broke the base ring on one of the carronages as they are plastic and the hole was painted over as I tried to force the axle in. Since it's on the bottom, I was able to glue it and attach to base. Now the instructions call for a small wedge to help keep the cannon elevated, I didn't have those around (you have to make them) but the provided brass screw will keep everything straight.

On to the bows!

Parts #107-110, head timbers are v-shaped pieces that slot onto the stem and will hold the beakhead platform and other pieces when done.
#107 is the largest one and fits in the most aft area of the stem. It is supposed to slip through a vertical slot at the back, but the piece is way too big. I ended up cutting a little bit of the bottom tips off and this was enough for it to fit through. The other ones fit fine with just a little bit of trimming of the lower points to get them to fit flush in their slots against the upper curved rails.

The next step is to add 2x2mm beech rails to the head timbers. This is the start of my confusion....

I didn't have ANY 2x2mm beech. Only 2x3 and only 1 piece, so I assumed this was sent to me in error. I didn't bother trying to slim it down and perhaps I should have.

The instructions are pretty clear about the horizontal rails. I have to clean out and bevel the notches in the head timbers to accept these rails. The rails fit fine but there is an issue because now they protrude by 3mm instead of 2mm. Once they were glued I have to install the vertical rails.

The instructions are VERY unclear here and Plan #5 doesn't really help. The instructions ask that I trim back a piece of 3mm walnut and paint it blue to go over the fronts of the vertical rails. In my mind that means that the vertical rails are wider than 2mm to create the 3-D look. Does that mean I need to use the 2x3mm beech and lay them so the wide side is facing out? I don't know.

And it wasn't what I did. I ended up cutting the pieces and fitting them over the head timbers. It created issues as they are supposed to end at the upper curve rail, so I had to cut/taper the bottoms to make that work. Now I have a gap between the head timbers and the vertical rails. I am not 100% concerned as the internal bow structures will be black and kind of hidden from view.

But, that being said, it looks like live views of the rail system show that the horizontal rails go THROUGH the vertical rails and the head timbers. That would entail notching out the backs of the vertical rails to make that happen. Again, I didn't do that and am only seeing this as I write out this post along with my pictures.

I am not sure, but I may go back downstairs and remove the current rails and redo with notches.....

Once done, I painted everything black. It's tough, there are a lot of tight little spaces, but the only choice would have been to paint each step and wait 24 hours for it to dry, so I figured I would paint it all black and then circle back with Tamiya masking tape to do the yellow, no issues!

I do have pics of it all black, but they don't show a lot, so I'll wait till it's all done to post.

 

[Gilbertm]

Hello everyone!

I have done a bit more and will add that below. However, last night I spent a lot of time searching builds for help on the bow.
I thought that having a list of what I use for this model might help new builders when they begin this journey. I am going to attach this to the first page too.

I use 3 books and they are a tremendous help. I looked for used versions. Longridge's took some time. The book has many pull out plans that help with any model's build and I wanted to be sure the book I bought had them intact. I included Google links.


Used Books

Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships – Longridge, Nepean
HMS Victory – McGowan
The 100 Gun Ship Victory – McKay

I use many videos, and many listed below have dedicated playlists that help keep their HMS Victory builds separate from their other work.

YouTube Video Blogs

Wooden Ships – Greg Wislon

Just A Good Place
This is a Spanish blog for Artesania Latina model

Johns Wooden Ships - John Aliprantis
Many blogs of wooden ship models including HMS Victory (NOT Caldercraft)

John Builds Iconic Military Models – John Mansell
Huge playlists for 2 different HMS Victory models

Olha Batchvarov – Olha
HUGE database of builds, how to’s and more including DeAgostini version

Paul Vickers – Paul Vickers
There are only 8-9 videos before he stopped posting. So good for a new starter only


I am a member of two model ship builder sites. Both are great and offer so many tips, hints, links, etc.

Ship of Scale
The site has an advanced search enabling you to input exact issues you want to research and the ability to 'watch' build logs and get notifications when the builder adds new content.

Paulv1958 – Paul Vickers
Hasn’t done much and incorporates the use of his YouTube blog

Traumadoc –
As of 11/8/24 he is finishing up stern and hammock rails. I believe he is a novice builder just like me, but has done remarkable work while juggling a full-time job and taking the time to log his work.

Peterg –
Major blog with high quality build, including lighting and custom features. As of 11/8/24 on quarterdeck w/ cannons

Serikoff – Sergey
Custom built HMS Victory using Mantua plans. Just started builders log in October, 2024 but has brought it up to date with what he has done.
He provides EXTENSIVE information concerning his build, how to’s and more.

Julian –
Occre model, but has similar build issues that will help

Y.T. –
Mamoli scale 1:90


Model Ship World
A great site, a lot of interaction between builders, a great search engine and the ability to monitor other builders as they add content.

Kiwiron – Ron
As of 7/24 completed quarterdeck, stern, bow and more

Robert29
Finished Caldercraft HMS Victory – one of the best builds I have seen and use extensively while doing mine.

Charter33
As of 5/24 he has finished quarterdeck and is working on outerhull trim and deadeye platforms. Very good build, meticulous

Heinz6672
Wood only (no paint) museum quality work, but stopped posting while doing rigging around 2020

Paulb – Paul
Last posts around 2023 with work on standing rigging. Very detailed work


There are many other blogs on both sites and searching will also pull many recommendations for help on various tasks needed during the build.
I didn't include links to topics such as laying hull planking, deck planking, rigging tips, making rope, etc. These are things each builder will have to do to get to know the process.

I am a NOVICE builder with just one model under my belt. A plastic large scale model of the Titanic. It took me a year to build and that was pretty quick given that I have a lot of time as I'm retired.

In addition to the above, I spend a lot of time searching specific issues when needed. When working on cannons, I would search keywords: cannons 1700 era ships, hms victory cannons, cannon rigging, cannon tackle. Once Google provided me with their search, I would save pictures for future reference.

Hope this helps and good luck!
Chris

Hey Chris
Very useful links compiled in one single place.
Thanks for this

 

[GrantTyler]

Good afternoon Chris. Congratulations. Details details and more. I had to play a little catch up with your log and I am impressed. You are building a wonderful Victory. Cheers Grant

 

[team118]

Well, it's been an long and frustrating weekend and it's the bows fault....and her owner.

In error, I decided to install the entire bow assembly with raw wood, figuring I would paint everything after. In this post, you can see that I taped off the copper and hull that I didn't want to get black on.

I added a few coats of black paint. The pics are tough to see as the paint is still wet in a few and the lighting in my shop is bad for the camera sometimes.

That being said, it really looks good. I loved the all black and was very encouraged about things to come. I wasn't entirely happy with the vertical rails, but after painting them, I was hoping the internal blackness would hide any mistakes in the construction.