HMS Victory of Caldercraft by Wil

[Scheepshoorn]

Hello,

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Wil, I am 72 years old and have been under the spell of the Victory for a few years now. Over 35 years ago, I started ship modelling with the ultimate goal of building the Smit Rotterdam at the time. I started with the Nordkap and after completing it, I took the plunge and started building the Smit Rotterdam. The hull of this ship then sat in the cupboard for 30 years because my family and work demanded all my attention. I have since retired for several years and when corona broke out in 2020 and all the chores around the house were pretty much completed, I picked up the thread. To get back into it, I chose the Elbjorn and after completing this in autumn 2021, the Smit Rotterdam was pulled back onto the slipway. This ship was commissioned this spring of 2022. All packages, by the way, were from Billings. Below is a picture of the fleet, which is now in port with me.



When I started working on the Smit Rotterdam 30 years ago, I felt that was about my limit in terms of modelling capabilities. This would remain so for 30 years until I took the hull out of the cupboard again and finished it. Meanwhile, times had changed considerably. To give an example, back then the plates were pre-printed and you still had to cut everything yourself, now almost everything is laser cut. A big difference for an amateur.

During the dismantling of the Smit Rotterdam, I noticed that by now I had enough rest and time to start thinking about a new challenge. This was also when I came into contact with the forum www.modelbouw.nl. What I saw then was mouth-watering. I want this too!

After completing the Smit Rotterdam, with much more free time on the horizon, I knew I wanted to raise my bar a lot higher. During a holiday in Spain, I found out about the existence of the forum. Through the construction reports, some others soon came to mind. We got talking through some personal messages and then the choice was quickly made.

Although the history of historical warships never really caught my attention, building the Victory became the challenge I sought. Soon I noticed that this ship was a sought-after topic on the forum, but also that there were different brands and corresponding differences in quality. However, the choice was not difficult. It became the Victory by Caldercraft, scale 1:72.

When my package arrived from England and I opened it I immediately got confirmation that my choice was the right one. The wood is of the best quality, the 18 drawings are huge and the building instructions are very comprehensive. M.a.w. build away.

The months before, I had read through several build reports on the forum. It gave a good impression of what would be in store for me. But above all, the helpfulness of the various builders who followed this forum appealed to me. I was eager to make use of their expertise and critical notes.

At that time, what were my personal goals?

• Working with the best material and build description. Well this worked out quite well with Caldercraft's kit;
• Building as true-to-nature and historically correct as possible, although that's a stretch, I've since found out;
• Below the waterline one side copper and the other wood (varnished, so the planking is clearly visible);
• In due course, do a lot of work on the ropework, although I am still a bit hesitant about buying other rope and blocks because of the price;
• Last but not least: working as meticulously as possible

I know myself to be followed and supported by several colleagues on the forum www.modelbouw.nl . Their advice, comments and critical notes are most welcome.

By now we are over 2.5 years on and I have already spent some 1,200 hours on my Victory. Except for fitting a few fragile parts, the hull is completely finished and I started making the masts this week.

Why my story on SOS too?

During my building process, I was also introduced to the forum www.shipsofscale , which would immediately make my view of modelling global. Even more knowledge, even more quality, this is where I want to belong too.

Therefore, I will first share with you in a nutshell my experiences of the past few years, and then report further on them in sync with my work. I am not going to describe in detail how all the components in the package should be put together, that will be familiar to everyone. What I do want to share are my personal experiences and choices, which I made and implemented during this project.

 

[Steef66]

Nice to see you here too Wil, Welcome. We will sure enjoy your build en innovative way of making things possible. Your Victory build is, I know, from a superb quality.
Maybe it is possible for you to write your text in English, it is in that way more easy to read for the fellow builders here. I use most of the time https://www.deepl.com/nl/translator to translate my Dutch to English. Just copy/paste. Hope you will enjoy your time here on SOS.

 

[Jimsky]

Welcome aboard SOS!

 

[maddog harry]

cant wait to see updates of the build

 

[Gilbertm]

Hello,

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Wil, I am 72 years old and have been under the spell of the Victory for a few years now. Over 35 years ago, I started ship modelling with the ultimate goal of building the Smit Rotterdam at the time. I started with the Nordkap and after completing it, I took the plunge and started building the Smit Rotterdam. The hull of this ship then sat in the cupboard for 30 years because my family and work demanded all my attention. I have since retired for several years and when corona broke out in 2020 and all the chores around the house were pretty much completed, I picked up the thread. To get back into it, I chose the Elbjorn and after completing this in autumn 2021, the Smit Rotterdam was pulled back onto the slipway. This ship was commissioned this spring of 2022. All packages, by the way, were from Billings. Below is a picture of the fleet, which is now in port with me.

View attachment 493230

When I started working on the Smit Rotterdam 30 years ago, I felt that was about my limit in terms of modelling capabilities. This would remain so for 30 years until I took the hull out of the cupboard again and finished it. Meanwhile, times had changed considerably. To give an example, back then the plates were pre-printed and you still had to cut everything yourself, now almost everything is laser cut. A big difference for an amateur.

During the dismantling of the Smit Rotterdam, I noticed that by now I had enough rest and time to start thinking about a new challenge. This was also when I came into contact with the forum www.modelbouw.nl. What I saw then was mouth-watering. I want this too!

After completing the Smit Rotterdam, with much more free time on the horizon, I knew I wanted to raise my bar a lot higher. During a holiday in Spain, I found out about the existence of the forum. Through the construction reports, some others soon came to mind. We got talking through some personal messages and then the choice was quickly made.

Although the history of historical warships never really caught my attention, building the Victory became the challenge I sought. Soon I noticed that this ship was a sought-after topic on the forum, but also that there were different brands and corresponding differences in quality. However, the choice was not difficult. It became the Victory by Caldercraft, scale 1:72.

When my package arrived from England and I opened it I immediately got confirmation that my choice was the right one. The wood is of the best quality, the 18 drawings are huge and the building instructions are very comprehensive. M.a.w. build away.

The months before, I had read through several build reports on the forum. It gave a good impression of what would be in store for me. But above all, the helpfulness of the various builders who followed this forum appealed to me. I was eager to make use of their expertise and critical notes.

At that time, what were my personal goals?

• Working with the best material and build description. Well this worked out quite well with Caldercraft's kit;
• Building as true-to-nature and historically correct as possible, although that's a stretch, I've since found out;
• Below the waterline one side copper and the other wood (varnished, so the planking is clearly visible);
• In due course, do a lot of work on the ropework, although I am still a bit hesitant about buying other rope and blocks because of the price;
• Last but not least: working as meticulously as possible

I know myself to be followed and supported by several colleagues on the forum www.modelbouw.nl . Their advice, comments and critical notes are most welcome.

By now we are over 2.5 years on and I have already spent some 1,200 hours on my Victory. Except for fitting a few fragile parts, the hull is completely finished and I started making the masts this week.

Why my story on SOS too?

During my building process, I was also introduced to the forum www.shipsofscale , which would immediately make my view of modelling global. Even more knowledge, even more quality, this is where I want to belong too.

Therefore, I will first share with you in a nutshell my experiences of the past few years, and then report further on them in sync with my work. I am not going to describe in detail how all the components in the package should be put together, that will be familiar to everyone. What I do want to share are my personal experiences and choices, which I made and implemented during this project.

I Will
Welcome to SoS
I'll definitely follow your Victory build and look forward to it.
Best

 

[richardjjs]

WELCOME to this great model
Just starte gain after a 3 month break Working on the Running RiggingJust take your time Instructions are great

 

[PeterG]

Welcome to the forum Wil. As a fellow Victory Caldercraft builder i will be looking forward to your entries and posts. You are correct about the quality and excellent instructions of this kit etc.

Like yourself, I too have suffered periods of long absence from the hobby, and i hope to provide ongoing updates to my log soon. Life has a way of ‘taking priority’ but i can start to see some clear time during 2025 for building to recommence.

Enjoy and look foreard to your build,

Regards,

PeterG

 

[Chestcutter]

Welcome to SoS Wil.
Your introduction was thoughtful and your goals resonate with many other forum members including myself.
I will follow your build progress with interest. The Victory is a very different beast than your previous ships, especially the rigging.
Welkom je bent hier onder vrienden.
Michael

 

[Scheepshoorn]

Since 2.5 years, I have been building the Victory.
The hull has just been completely finished and I am going to start working on the masts and ropework.
Since my knowledge of the English language is limited, I would like to ask for your help for the English-language construction description so that I can translate it with DeepL.
I have tried scanning the paper version and translating it, but not successfully. Do any of you happen to have a digital version of the build description, which is not based on a scan, but starts from an original text document.

 

[Gilbertm]

Since 2.5 years, I have been building the Victory.
The hull has just been completely finished and I am going to start working on the masts and ropework.
Since my knowledge of the English language is limited, I would like to ask for your help for the English-language construction description so that I can translate it with DeepL.
I have tried scanning the paper version and translating it, but not successfully. Do any of you happen to have a digital version of the build description, which is not based on a scan, but starts from an original text document.

Hello Will
You can find the Caldercraft documentation in digital format (PDF) at the link below:

JoTiKa Ltd. ~ Victory Manuals Download Page.

JoTiKa Ltd. manufacturer and distributor of classic scale model kits from Caldercraft, Mini Fleet, Nelsons Navy, Heritage series - including The Mary Rose - Krick, HFM Marine and many more.

www.jotika-ltd.com

Hope this helps

 

[Iterum]

Hello Will,

I do remembered this thread - hopefully this helps a bit with detailling and historical accuracy:

>> Click Here <<

Hope this s helps!

 

[Scheepshoorn]

Hello Gilbert,

thank you for sending the link. the quality of the translation is now much better.

 

[Scheepshoorn]

The start on 29 March 2022

The photo below shows that I first made a table riser, which I will also use as a base for my building ramp. I can place this table riser anywhere on the work table, so I can work standing up on all sides. The photo also gives a good impression of my workstation. At the time, this was still virginly clean and tidy. That has changed in the meantime.



For sizing on my building ramp, I then took from the keel the positions of the trusses. In addition, I received a tip that three M3 screws can be used to screw the boat onto its plinth at a later date. These screws will later be at positions A, B and C.

While everything was still looseI immediately ventured to check how the lower deck fits. In the slots for the trusses here, there are no bracing and these were milled to a small tolerance. Everything fits perfectly and taking it out was no problem either. My first serious confirmation that I made a top choice with Caldercraft. During the installation of this deck, I had noticed that later, when gluing the trusses to the keel, only the lower half of the joints needed to be glued, so that the trusses could locate themselves a bit more easily later on during the final assembly of this deck, as far as necessary.



By now, I had also learned that model building is, above all, looking ahead. This already brought me to the next step in the process, which was fitting the dummy barrel strips. These bend inwards at the front and back of the ship. This is manageable for trusses 4 to 17. But from truss 4 to truss 1, the gradient is so large that bending will be necessary.

 

[Steef66]

I notice now that this buildlog is placed in the wrong part of this forum. Maybe an admin can place it in the right place. And delete this post after.

SOS Build Logs from Kits - Wood

This Build Log Section is for Wood Ships. Enter your Build Log here. It is advisable for others to follow your Build Log to start your post such as "Build Log: HMS Ship name"

shipsofscale.com

 

[leysend]

Welcome aboard! Wil. Caldercraft's Victory is the best kit out there, and it will keep you busy for a while.
Success with this project and I'll be following your progress, as somewhere in the future this kit is also on my list.
Kind regards,
Dirk

 

[GrantTyler]

Hello,

Let me first introduce myself. My name is Wil, I am 72 years old and have been under the spell of the Victory for a few years now. Over 35 years ago, I started ship modelling with the ultimate goal of building the Smit Rotterdam at the time. I started with the Nordkap and after completing it, I took the plunge and started building the Smit Rotterdam. The hull of this ship then sat in the cupboard for 30 years because my family and work demanded all my attention. I have since retired for several years and when corona broke out in 2020 and all the chores around the house were pretty much completed, I picked up the thread. To get back into it, I chose the Elbjorn and after completing this in autumn 2021, the Smit Rotterdam was pulled back onto the slipway. This ship was commissioned this spring of 2022. All packages, by the way, were from Billings. Below is a picture of the fleet, which is now in port with me.

View attachment 493230

When I started working on the Smit Rotterdam 30 years ago, I felt that was about my limit in terms of modelling capabilities. This would remain so for 30 years until I took the hull out of the cupboard again and finished it. Meanwhile, times had changed considerably. To give an example, back then the plates were pre-printed and you still had to cut everything yourself, now almost everything is laser cut. A big difference for an amateur.

During the dismantling of the Smit Rotterdam, I noticed that by now I had enough rest and time to start thinking about a new challenge. This was also when I came into contact with the forum www.modelbouw.nl. What I saw then was mouth-watering. I want this too!

After completing the Smit Rotterdam, with much more free time on the horizon, I knew I wanted to raise my bar a lot higher. During a holiday in Spain, I found out about the existence of the forum. Through the construction reports, some others soon came to mind. We got talking through some personal messages and then the choice was quickly made.

Although the history of historical warships never really caught my attention, building the Victory became the challenge I sought. Soon I noticed that this ship was a sought-after topic on the forum, but also that there were different brands and corresponding differences in quality. However, the choice was not difficult. It became the Victory by Caldercraft, scale 1:72.

When my package arrived from England and I opened it I immediately got confirmation that my choice was the right one. The wood is of the best quality, the 18 drawings are huge and the building instructions are very comprehensive. M.a.w. build away.

The months before, I had read through several build reports on the forum. It gave a good impression of what would be in store for me. But above all, the helpfulness of the various builders who followed this forum appealed to me. I was eager to make use of their expertise and critical notes.

At that time, what were my personal goals?

• Working with the best material and build description. Well this worked out quite well with Caldercraft's kit;
• Building as true-to-nature and historically correct as possible, although that's a stretch, I've since found out;
• Below the waterline one side copper and the other wood (varnished, so the planking is clearly visible);
• In due course, do a lot of work on the ropework, although I am still a bit hesitant about buying other rope and blocks because of the price;
• Last but not least: working as meticulously as possible

I know myself to be followed and supported by several colleagues on the forum www.modelbouw.nl . Their advice, comments and critical notes are most welcome.

By now we are over 2.5 years on and I have already spent some 1,200 hours on my Victory. Except for fitting a few fragile parts, the hull is completely finished and I started making the masts this week.

Why my story on SOS too?

During my building process, I was also introduced to the forum www.shipsofscale , which would immediately make my view of modelling global. Even more knowledge, even more quality, this is where I want to belong too.

Therefore, I will first share with you in a nutshell my experiences of the past few years, and then report further on them in sync with my work. I am not going to describe in detail how all the components in the package should be put together, that will be familiar to everyone. What I do want to share are my personal experiences and choices, which I made and implemented during this project.

Good afternoon Wil. Welcome and I will certainly follow your Victory build. Enjoy. Cheers Grant

 

[Scheepshoorn]

The construction slope

First, using 8 solid lugs to align the keel along the axis. Then, at the bow and stern, made a vertical (book) support to keep the keel properly upright. The longitudinal hull will soon be locked in place because trusses 1 and 18 will be tight against these bookends. And finally, a moveable centre section, which will allow me to align the trusses properly at right angles to the keel.



Then made the 3 recesses in the keel for the M3 threaded ends. Immediately put the nut constructions together with two-component glue and let them harden. Next day, glued in the keel with superglue. The keel is rock solid on the slope, held upright by the two "bookends". Placing the trusses can thus begin.



In the keel there are 4 slots for the 3 masts and the bowsprit. The slots for the masts run quite a bit below the lower deck. I was wondering if I should add some reinforcement at the bottom here to prevent lateral displacement of the undersides of the masts and bowsprit.

Besides, I had been brooding on the next egg for several days:
When building one of my previous boats (Elbjorn), I made an attachment on the swivel head of my photographic tripod, which allowed me to fix the boat upside down in all positions. Here, I then used the quick coupling you can normally put on your camera. I would like to use this very handy functionality with the Victory too, were it not for the fact that the Victory will be much heavier than the Elbjorn. That's not going to be it in this form, I feared. I had to come up with something else for this. Hence the egg. To be continued.





In between jobs, I glued most of the trusses to the keel. Depending on the moment, 2 or 3 pieces a day. When all but truss 1 was on, I went back to fitting the lower deck. I noticed that, at this point, the hull is still flexible enough to accommodate very small deviations in the trusses to the left or right. But by eye, everything looks pretty well aligned.

Before finally assembling the lower deck, I wanted to check all the cutouts for the masts and the bowsprit for the dimensions of the spars provided. Then I could also decide whether I needed to add any reinforcements at the bottom of the masts and how loose/tight the masts should be in the recesses.

Then it turned out, what I was already afraid of, that the fit for the masts was not so good. The recess for the forward mast in the keel had to be made slightly wider, the other two recesses were actually too large. This then made me decide to apply the previously intended reinforcements to the left and right of the masts anyway, so that the mast bases are now fully enclosed the lower 5 cm. After gluing each mast immediately tested and the stability appeared to have increased enormously. If at a later stage it should turn out that the masts need to be fixed in a certain position, I can make the masts slightly longer and make a slot at the bottom of the masts that grips around the keel.



Sorry for the English translation, this is what DeepL made of it.

 

[Scheepshoorn]

The tilting attachment

Meanwhile, the idea for the support structure for "the fuselage upside down" was already taking shape. This would determine the building sequence in the future. After studying the drawings and the construction description, it appeared that the next decks only had to be fitted after, in fact, the outside of the hull was largely finished. At least both planking, the sanding and painting and possibly the cuppering. After this phase, the hull can then be turned back to its normal position and the decks completed.

This meant leaving the lower deck completely free during that time to allow an auxiliary structure to be attached to it. The attachment of the hull was mounted on a steel frame with 4 M6 bolts. For this, I glued 4 MDF blocks of 5cm long, measured from the keel, between trusses 4 and 5 and between 11 and 12 against the underside of the lower deck. I drilled 6.5 mm holes through the deck and these blocks and mounted a M6 screw-in nut on the underside of the MDF blocks. This way, the steel frame is screwed and fixed to the hull structure.

What I had to work out next was the remaining part of the supporting structure. For this, I first had to have a look in my iron rack to see what we still had lying around. The idea behind this was that with planking, modelling and finishing, I can mount the hull on a sturdy "stand", where I can also rotate and secure the hull in all positions between vertical and horizontal. After some welding and drilling, the workpiece was painted a nice blue and left to dry outside in the sun. The working height varies from 100 cm (fuselage horizontal) to 115 cm (fuselage vertical), ideal for working on your model while standing. The photos below speak for themselves, I think.

 

[Scheepshoorn]

1e planking



After the glue hardened, a first start was made with the 1.5 mm plywood strips with the gun ports. The building instructions indicate to start with the top and largest strip (part 270). But what will be the height?
At first, I positioned the strip dry against the hull, making sure that on the second deck, the distance between the gun ports and the deck would be the same everywhere. After all, you have to start somewhere.



The construction description indicated that careful attention had to be paid to the correct fitting of the pattern of the gun ports. This is because this must match the holes in the strips that will later be fitted to the inside of the upper gun deck, aft deck and inner bulwark (parts 273, 274, 275 and 276). So dry-fitted these immediately. For imaging purposes, I first put in the upper gun deck and Quarter deck. I kept the upper gun deck flush with the top of strip 276. This best matches my first impression.

What turns out: part 276 gears up at the bow all the way with the deck. The deck rests on the supports in the bulkheads. The middle part 274 fits reasonably well and the rear part 273 also fits well, but is too short. It became a bit of a search for the golden mean.



I have filled the spaces in the bow against bulkhead 1 with plywood scraps. I deliberately chose plywood here because I believe it is better than balsa when profiling. If balsa is used, the difference in hardness with the plywood parts of the hull seems too great to me, which makes profiling less fine. Anyway, profiling went perfectly after the glue hardened. First using the cutter in the Dremel for the coarse work and then post-profiling with the sanding slats I made.

With the hull in the correct position in the stand, I also had ideal visibility of the correct chamfer of the trusses. Before I started profiling, I briefly taped off the walnut of the keel to prevent damage and blacked out the spaces for the dummy barrel strips.



After doing some study on first planking and looking at other construction reports, I chose to let the planks flow in their natural shape over the rafters. This is in contrast to the classic method, where all planks are evenly distributed over the bulkheads.

Measured from the keel, I fixed every 4e plank on the bulkheads with nails (pre-drill first).
The starting point here is that between bulkheads 5 and 10, the course between the bulkheads is reasonably even, so that the boards can be applied in their full width in that zone. Outside this zone, a natural continuation to the bow and the stern is always given with a slight bend at right angles to the bulkheads. In doing so, particular care was taken to ensure that the planks connect well with the bulkheads and that no additional lateral pressure or steering is given to the planks.



Then, for each bulkhead, all mutual distances between the different slats were measured and processed in a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is set up so that the entire course of 4 planks is distributed over these 4 planks each time. So in practice, clusters of 4 equally shaped planks were made each time to cover the measured strip.

I did the bending of the planks with pliers, where you squeeze a kind of notch on the inside, giving the lath little kinks, so to speak. If you use the pliers perpendicular to the batten, you get a straight bend. If you do this at an angle, you get a twisted bend. Works really super fast. However, this method is not suitable for the second planking.



After marking out, I started the first planking. I started on the keel side, with the first series of 4 planks. At the bow and stern, I had to start inserting the planks right away because the natural course of the planks causes them to fan out.
I secure the boards in a number of places with nails, which I pre-drill first. In between, where little force is needed, I use clamps, into which I have glued a paper clip. Where there is more tension on the boards, I use small to large spring clamps for fixation.



The first planking has been completed, all planks are on and this has closed the space under the upper gun deck. In the end, I had to conclude that this part of the project did not disappoint me. It did go slowly because of the drying time in between, but gradually it proved possible to tackle port and starboard simultaneously.







Despite the many (measuring) preparations, after each series of 4 planks, it still proved necessary to measure and recalculate again, in order to eventually maintain the natural gradient in the planks. The sanding could then begin.

A day with lots of rain, used to sand the 1e hull planking into the right shape. I must honestly say that the tilt tool proved its services here. The hull stands stable as a house. This way, you have both hands free to tackle this intensive job vigorously. In about 3 hours, the whole job was done.
My aim of not having to use putty in the end succeeded. I was worried that the concave angle between the top and middle patterns would require additional measures, but on reflection, that was not necessary. With a rounded sanding block, there was enough material in the plywood to get the curve right.
This also applies to the convex curve between the lower and middle strip. This is slightly easier in terms of sanding, but of course you are not supposed to sand right through the plywood.
I first countersunk the brass nails, which were used to attach the strips to the hull, with a dowel.



What is still noticeable is that some kinks did appear here and there when applying the strips. The stains in the plywood show this nicely, if you sand long enough. My advice is "don't be too economical with sanding", it will certainly benefit the final shape.

 

[leysend]

Looking great ! You make nice progress and really fast. Thanks for sharing.