Rigging Victory before the Internet using Hackney and Longridge only.
In around 1975 it was very difficult to find information on the rigging of Victory. I used Hackney and Longridge's books and Campbell's plans. I found that Longridge was good for all the details and Hackney was great for the sequence of the rigging. When I was finished I only had two ropes that I couldn't find belaying pins so I belayed them to the cleats on the shrouds. I felt that for an amateur that wasn't bad. Around the same time, I found a book by the well-known diorama maker Shep Paine. It was then that I decided to make a diorama of my ship. I call it a storyboard diodrama. I got the storyboard idea from how Walt Disney would storyboard his cartoons. Diodrama is something I made up to distinguish it from a purely scenic diorama. Storyboarding is a way of directing the views eye to a sequence of events. Ship rigging is all about just that bow to stern and deck to flag a perfect sequence. The problem I have is how do I do this with an already completed model. Back in the day pics were very expensive, about a buck a shot so needless to say that was out of the question. Today it would have been so much easier to devise a step-by-step methodology of the Victory under construction. Rather than pics of the completed model using pictures. I think that the diodrama aspect will make this thread interesting I hope. I will try my best. Cheers! John.
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What is "Drumming Daybreak" It was a ceremony that was performed each day when the ship was in the harbor under bare poles. All the ship's personnel would be up with manned guns ready to fire. When the officer sitting on the bowsprit would give the all-clear of enemy ships a cannon would be fired and a flag would be run up at the stern.
The Flying Jiboom. You will notice the split in the larger rope. That was where the tragedy almost occurred while putting the model into the case. There were three of us as we slowly lowered the plexiglass onto the base then I heard a crack! Damn it we broke off Jib boom and all of the rigging with it When I regained my composure I untangled the mess and with much patience and glued everything back on. You really can't see it now but I know it is there to remind me never to take it off and on again without lots of help to keep an eye out.
You may wonder why there is no paint on this model. It really is very simple I like wood and brass for a decorative model. I also know how it will age wood and brass will get a beautiful patina over time. I don't like oils because they take forever to dry and acrylics have not yet had a chance to stand the test of time. It is a choice that you have to make early in the build of this ship.
I took all of these pics with a 10 and then a 20-pixel camera on auto. Lighting was supplied by mother nature or a hand-held light in one hand and the camera in another. I move the light around to take advantage of the shadows it creates. I really had to watch any reflections from the case but sometimes as you will see it is impossible to accomplish. You really don't need a lot of fancy equipment to take good pics just a bit of creativity.
An overall look at the lower bowsprit and where it enters the ship. Here you can see the drummer on the Marines walk accompanied by an officer. Lower and to the right bottom of this pic you can see a sailor on the head. Yes, I know that it is the wrong flag on the flagstaff, too late to do anything about it now, and no I am not about to take the case off the base to fix it.
You may notice that the figures are painted a little brightly. I did this so they wouldn't get lost in all the rigging. Speaking of figures they are all modified to fit in with what they are doing on board. The officers had uniforms(which they had to purchase themselves) The ordinary sailor could where what he liked as there was no standard uniform for them in that era.
Very good, Reid!! I like her!
I am 82 now and enjoying every minute of it. I may have a little shake in the hand and the odd pain here and there but in my earlier years I made six dioramas all in museums and I am very proud of that. I had a lot of help along the way from my dear friends especially Shep Paine(the diorama guy) and Ken Hamilton( the car and truck and structures guy). Shep has passed away now, God bless his soul and Ken is still alive and kicking and doing his own thing building models.
