HMS Victory completed photos (Airfix 1/171)

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

(Note that to save page load times, half of the images are clickable links - just click on them to see the photo)

After a lot of work, the Victory is now finished. This has turned out to be a much larger project (in more ways than one) than I originally envisaged, and I’m very glad I built a model of a smaller, simpler ship (the brig “Black Falcon”) beforehand! However I am very pleased with the appearance of the finished model. It may not be accurate in some areas (e.g the shape of the beakhead and angle of the bowsprit) but to my eye really captures the appearance of the real ship.



http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycomplete3.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycomplete4.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycomplete5.jpg

Rigging was added using the kit instructions and the supplied 0.3mm and 0.6mm thread. not sure of accuracy but it looks OK - not every single line is represented but it gives a good impression of the rigging layout. The colour of the thread (off-white) seems to be a fairly good match for the colour of the ropes on the preserved Victory. Flags are from the kit (paper, glued together with CA), and are rigged on short lengths of line rather than wrapped around the masts as the instructions advise.


http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorymasts2.jpg

Shrouds were added using thin black thread (from a Revell kit), holes being drilled in the deadeyes to loop the thread through. Most of the shrouds were attached one side at a time, by gluing them in the lubber holes and trimming the loose ends off - until I was advised by John Tilley to use the more accurate method of looping the shroud around the mast and through to the other side, allowing the shrouds on both sides to be rigged with the same length of thread. This saves a lot of time (halves the number of knots needed).

I didn’t add any ratlines (the horizontal lines on the shrouds), but in this scale it doesn’t look too bad; when I build something in a larger scale (e.g Airfix’s 1/72 Golden Hind), I’ll probably attempt adding the ratlines as well.




http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycloseup4.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycloseup5.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycloseup6.jpg
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pinniger/models/ship/victorycloseup7.jpg

As mentioned in previous posts, the kit was built more or less “out of the box” other than opened-up gun ports on the lower decks (the cannon barrels being lengthened and a deck “ledge” installed), and small refinements like drilled-out gun barrels, skylights and gallery windows. It’s painted mostly with Revell acrylics (Black and Ochre for the hull, Earth Brown drybrushed with Stone Grey for the deck, Leather Brown drybrushed with Brown for the varnished wood parts) and dry-brushed/weathered with craft acrylic paint. Tamiya Metallic Brown was used for the copper plating on the lower hull, heavily drybrushed to give a dull oxidised effect. Blue areas of the forecastle and beakhead are Citadel Ultramarine Blue, gilding is Citadel Shining Gold and Burnished Gold.

One thing it’s really missing, though (IMHO) is crew figures. However, I’m not really sure where to get these - are there any other plastic sailing ships in this scale range (1/150-1/200) supplied with figures? N-gauge (2mm) model railway figures are useful for more modern warships - in this scale, uniformed train and platform crew figures look close enough to warship crew if painted in the right colours - but not an 18th/early 19th century sailing ship.
It could also do with a few more boats (the real Victory had a lot more than 2), possibly if I acquire some suitable spare ones left over from another kit I’ll add them to the Victory.

Anyway, I hope to build many more sailing ship models in future - not sure which my next one will be, probably something smaller like one of the Pyro/Lindberg kits.

2

Looks good.

But a few minor points: In addition to the lower shrouds, topmast shroulds shoul;d also be blacked. The backstays, located right behind each shrould and goes from the channels to the top and top gallant masts; and the forestays which goes from the front up to the tops platform and crosstrees, would also be tarred black. Only those ropes which is actually used to move the yard arms and menipulate the sails are left in natural color. Every rope which goes from one part of the ship that is not suppose to move, to another part of the ship that is not suppose to move, would be tarred black.

Also, are you going to attempt to in put hammock nettings?

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Great build you have there.

Dick Wood

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[tup] congratulations ! You’ve built a truly nice ship here. Airfix Victory is a good model for a general market plastic kit, especially when you consider her age. It’s accurately shaped and reasonably detailed. However, Like Professor Tilley, I rather prefer much elderly and smaller but the superb Revell Victory. Even her plank shapes are one to one rendered in this 1950s kit ! Only problem with revell kit, is the ugly joint holes on the taffarel for the davits. They ruin the decorations and the sense of reality. A lot work is needed to cure it (I think a photoetch decoration would be fine)

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Thanks for the comments, I will remember the advice about rigging colour! (The top shrouds on my model -are- black, however). Where would the hammock nettings go? On the upper gun deck?
As can be seen, I also didn’t add any ropes to the gun carriages, I will attempt this in future on a larger-scale model.

Are there any photos of completed Revell Victory builds on the Internet? I’d be interested to compare them to the Airfix model.

6

The hammock netting folds over at the bottom to form bins that goes on top of the bulwurks on either side of the forecastle, the quarterdeck and the poop deck. They actually form the bulwurk for the midship gangways. There are also hammock netting on top of the railings in front of the quarter deck and the poop deck.

When not in use, the canvas hammocks the crew sleep in are rolled into a tight roll and placed in the hammock netting bings. Each bin is then covered with a watertight canvas cover. In action these tightly rolled hammocks in the netting bins shield the men on the upper deck, and can stop a musket ball.

In sailing ships models, adding the somewhat domestic looking details like hammock netting remove the sterile, antisceptic apperance of ship models, and gives the model a slightly lived-in, scaled-down real life look.

You can make the netting from wedding veil or similar light netting available from many crafts stores.