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Which "HMS Victory" kit - Caldercraft or Panart?

Does not matter what kit or scratch built. Hms Victory is a real nut cracker to build. Kit basher and so what, to pin point accuracy. Never made it. 74 nearly killed me, scratch built. Best of luck : hope your not house proud.
 
socalveteran said:
I guess I'm the idiot in the room because I've started on the Billingboat version of Victory. It cost about $300 on sale, which is far less than the Caldercraft. There are only images in the instructions, not words of any language, but the parts list is very complete and useful (and multilingual). What have I gotten myself into?
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You might check out this build on Youtube of a Billing Victory build. I watched a few videos out of interest, I don't think it is up to the quality of Ken's Caldercraft version but it came out quite nicely and you may pick up a few hints.

 
Because it was a subscription, I went for the D'Agaostini. Big mistake! Spending so much on after market parts, galleries, bow, fittings, etc., could've waited and bought the Caldercraft. Oh well, too late now, make the best of what I've got.

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ENJAY49 said:
Because it was a subscription, I went for the D'Agaostini. Big mistake! Spending so much on after market parts, galleries, bow, fittings, etc., could've waited and bought the Caldercraft. Oh well, too late now, make the best of what I've got.
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You may have put more time and money into it, but you're produced a wonderful model that you can be very proud of. I'll be the completion rate of subscription models is relatively low, so again, you've stuck with it and have an impressive model.
 
Stuart Little said:
I've got the Victory kit 'lying in wait', do I 'Give Up Hope Before Entering'? What's your 'The rapist's' phone # should he/she be needed? ;) ROTF
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Brace yourself for poor plans, instructions which are virtually useless and some shoddy materials and you should be okay. I found that laying down in a darkened room after a build session and thinking happy thoughts does help.

By the way, it's 'therapist' and not 'the rapist'. The police are now following me, so thanks for that.
 
Why do so many very expensive ship kits have such appalling plans, seemingly all the time? I built the Mantua Victory kit but had to spend several hundred dollars on plans, books, references etc. As a long time plastic modeler I was kind of used to doing that as part of the fun....I know some who haven't built anything for decades but know every detail of a Hurricane and have every kit, aftermarket piece and book! But if you wanted to build out of the box it's easy and the instructions are great. We get a pile of wood, a three view and instructions where the diagrams are rubbish and don't line up with text written in pigeon English!
It's a disgrace, quite frankly.
 
Sapper said:
My research in these forums leads me to understand that a "top of range" HMS Victory kit is one from Caldercraft. The kit from Panart however is half the price and more within my price range (although still relatively expensive). What are the differences between these two kits that would justify the extra cost? Are there any additions or modifications to the Panart kit that I might consider to "upgrade" it to a better quality build without forking out double the price for the Caldercraft kit?

(Not my first kit, but I can see no other forum to post this question in. Happy that a moderator moves it if more appropriate)
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I've just listed my Panart 1:78 Victory kit on the 'bay' for £395 ono. ?? I've decided to sell 2 kits & go for a Caldercraft Vic!
 
My thoughts…generally speaking we get what we pay for with kit quality and completeness. The exception might be instructions and plan sets…sometimes very expensive kits have less than helpful instructions. I think they assume a certain level of experience in the modeler. So with everything I tend to look for the more expensive kit that fits my budget. And I haven’t made a kit model yet that didn’t have confusing instructions somewhere and that benefitted from after market pieces and parts of better quality than what came with the kit. My stash is overflowing with subpar kit parts that I swapped out. Probably should have just tossed them out…
 
This is a very interesting thread to me. I bought the Occre kit, maybe from a lack of knowledge, as a bit of research would have led me to the Caldercraft kit. The Caldercraft at least from what I am seeing here is every bit as complete and with good to great instructions, compared to what I have reviewed so far in my Occre HMS Victory kit, for 2/3rds the price. It will be later this year before I even start on the Occre, as I have to get moved and get the new workshop set up first. I have no desire to even think about moving a partially build kit of this complexity. Since I am custom building my home, I have planned to wall off and heat/cool one bay (12’x28’) of the 4-car garage as my hobby room and workshop. I am being purposeful in lighting, benches, and center model worktable and plan on dust collection for the shop tools, and air in general. I goal is spending many hours in the shop after 2026, which is my final retirement goal…
 
With regard to the Billingboats version of HMS Victory, the John Aliprantis series of YouTube videos has been a reliable, friendly, and relatable guide. He put in lights, which I won't do, but he explains all his choices cogently. Where my work has differed from his, it's been on purpose. (I changed some of the colors for trim pieces on the advice of my granddaughter. Actually, my granddaughter is nine, so she doesn't give advice. She gives orders.) A lot of what he has presented on YouTube doubtless relates to other projects as well. Someone who was going to start kit building would learn a lot from the 80-some videos he has done.
 
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