Hi!
Just a quick note.
I have started a photo log of my HMS Victory build at:
http://kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=yxhxisj.8noyhnn&x=0&y=jn324h
Any and all comments welcomed!!!
Thanks.
Gleason,
Very nice! I really like the work you did on the decks. They look great.
Regards,
Congratulations! Nice painting job!
BTW, would wome members of this forum be interested in a HMS Victory group build? It would start in january, 2006. Though, I’ll build a wooden model (Manuta), and we are four modelers (today) who will start building a wooden HMS Victory model in january, 2006. It would be nice to compare the different models.
Michel
I’m in. I’m still plugging away at my Revell 1/96 USS Constitution, but I’ve got the Heller kit sitting in my garage. If anything this will motivate me to finish Old Ironsides more quickly:)
Jose
Gleason, that looks like high-quality work. I’m impressed. Please post more pics in the future.
Dave
Looks great so far. You’ve got a long way to go, but it’s clear you’re taking it slowly and carefully. The methodical approach you obviously took to the painting and assembly of the guns will pay off many times.
Thanks to all who have commented so far.
Will post more photos as I continue to work on the model, and
will post an update to the forum.
I shiver when I see those bloody canons! I still have the top and poop deck guns to do!
Looks great so far, I need to get some more updated pics of mine done.
Gleason
Nice job looks great.I’m very interested in how you plan to paint the stern and the other details.Keep the great pictures coming.
Rod
Thanks!
The group build sounds interesting…
What do you have in mind?
Also noticed you on the DDM website… 
Thinking of working on the stern here shortly, but have not reached a final
painting method yet.
Will keep everyone updated.
Thanks!
Hi Guys
I am very new to modeling and have found it extremely relaxing and good for stress relief. Thanks for the interesting forum.
I would like to ask a few questions if I may.
The HMS Victory you are building is plastic I assume?
How long would an average ‘modeler’ take to complete this project?
I have looked at various modelling websites and can not find the 1/100 Heller HMS Victory, is it still in production?
Is Heller a good make (compared to Tamiya)?
Thanks
Airfix have released the very same kit, so check them.There is no comparison, Tamiya is far better! Anyone who’s built this 1/100th kit will testify that it is no kit for a “learner” try one of the smaller ships first.
I think it’s regarded as one of the best detailed plastic ship kits out there, but that comes at a price! in terms of time, I think Gleason started his about the same time I started mine, he’s a little way in front of me, but still has a longggg way to go, and we started back in June/Jully I think, so don’t expect this one to be a weekend project,lol.
Heller is the best in large scale plastic sailing ship models. Tamiya does not compete in that area.
Thanks for the advice guys.
What would you recommend is a good boat to build in preparation for the HMS Victory?
We took up this very question a couple of days ago in a thread labeled “Battle of Trafalgar.” It’s a few steps down the topic list from this one. My reply to that topic contains about all I have to offer on the subject of good plastic sailing ship kits for newcomers. Unfortunately there aren’t many of them. This is a sadly neglected segment of the hobby.
Regarding the relative quality of products from different manufacturers, I have to agree with Chuck Fan. The Heller Victory probably is the best plastic sailing ship kit on the market, with the Heller galley La Reale a close second. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of competition at the moment. Revell used to offer a big range of sailing ship kits, the best of which, in my opinion, were at least as good in terms of scale accuracy as anything in the Heller line. But the American Revell catalog now only contains two sailing ships. (Revell of Germany offers a few more, but all of them are extremely old and hardly represent the company’s best efforts.)
The only other companies that have ever seriously competed in this area are Airfix and Imai. Most of the Airfix sailing ships are out of production - but the Airfix Wasa is still in the catalog and can be made into a beautiful (though pretty small) model. Airfix and Heller are under the same management; the big Victory is currently being sold under the Airfix label, but it’s just a reissue of the Heller kit. The Japanese company Imai made some excellent sailing ships back in the late seventies and early eighties (its Cutty Sark, in my opinion, is the best rendition of that ship ever), but has been out of business for a long time. Several of the smaller Imai kits have resurfaced recently under the labels the Minicraft label, and in the past couple of months several of the bigger ones (including the Cutty Sark) have been reissued by Aoshima. Unfortunately the prices of the Aoshima kits are sky-high.
I wish Tamiya or Hasegawa would get into the sailing ship field, but so far they haven’t.
my response was meant that Tamiya make a far better kit than heller, the heller kit may well be very detailed, but it goes together pretty badly. It takes and is taking a great deal of time to get things to fit nicely, whereas Tamiya kits tend to just fit right and not require so much effort.
All are in agreement though that it’s not for the faint of heart! If it were not for my stubborn nature, this would have been cast asside some time ago,lol
Agreed!!
Well, here is our problem :
- 3 or 4 modelers building a wooden kit
- 1 modeler building a cardboard kit
- 2 modelers building a plastic kit.
I do not know a forum that would host all our pictures. So, I’ll create a website to host our pictures (maybe even I’ll buy a domain name) and I’ll open a new forum, with a straight link between the gallery of pictures and the new forum.
Though, the plastic kits can be discussed here.
Michel
Sounds like a workable plan to me!!