HMS Victory 1:78 Mantua/Panart by Nat League

[Nat League]

OK, So I decided on the Mantua/Panart model of the HMS Victory for two reasons. One is the price of the Mantua was half the price of the Caldercraft. The other is that with the Caldercraft they provide pre-cut gunport strips. I prefer making my own gunports. So, the kit is on order and I will publish my progress here, once I get the kit.......

 

[Nat League]

I received my Mantua/Panart 1:78 model kit for the HMS Victory. I have reviewed the items in the kit; everything seems in order so far. I have reviewed the instructions and the 8 drawing sheets that came with the kit. The instructions are presented in Italian, English, German, French and Dutch. I have found many typos in the English translation. My initial concern is that the instructions are sparse and I will have to depend a lot on the pictures and data sheets provided as well as whatever I can learn from watching videos of other modellers who have build the same kit. The first 3 of the 8 drawing sheets are for part number identification of the parts on the laser-cut sheets. The instructions state that one should mark each part on the wooden sheets using drawing sheets 1-3 as a guide. I did this and found the data sheets to be easy to follow for this first step. I have included herewith some pictures of the marking of the parts. In the instructions it is recommended to buy part number Mantua 8155 (a keel clamp). At first I was going to make my own keel clamp. But, I noticed that later in the instructions the keel clamp is used to hold and shape some of the planking. So, I think I will buy their keel clamp thru Amazon.

 

[AllanKP69]

Nat League,
Do you or anyone following your build know why some kits seem to forget about the correct butt shift on the deck planking? These old ships did not have a two butt shift, but instead, they usually had a three or four butt shift for the deck planks. Probably just me, but this seems pretty basic and it is so noticeable. Victory today has a jumbled shift with three to six butt shifts in some areas, but mostly three butt shifts and never two. The laser cutting on the surface of the decking could have been done like on a real ship at virtually no extra cost.

One of HMS Victory's gundecks


From Peter Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War pages 58-59

 

[Nat League]

Allan, This is only my second wooden model. On the Vasa which I built, I used a 2 butt shift; probably per the instructions. I would have probably done the same on the Victory. However, I will reconsider based on your inquiry and some follow up research that I have done. I am assuming that I don't have to follow the butting shift etched into the decks in the kit. Thanks for bringing this up......... Nat League

 

[AllanKP69]

Nat League----- sounds like a baseball fan name, very cool if it is

Fixing these kinds of mistakes (kit bashing) like you are getting into is a great thing for many folks. Kudos for giving it a go!

Allan