SO i recently won a heller 1/100 hms victory. Do you guys have any advice for me while building it? also, i am wondering where to go online to shop for figures that i could put on the ship. i am also looking for any good reference material on how to rig the cannons and where i could buy any blocks or tackles needed to do that?
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Join the Pete Coleman website. Do a web search for Heller Airfix Victory.
There’s been quite a bit of discussion online let alone on this forum over the years.
My only piece of advice would be that this is a very long term project and it makes the most sense to tackle it in stages.
Wow…Where to start?
This is arguably the most sophisticated and demanding plastic kit on the market. In most respects it’s an excellent kit - beautiful, accurate, and detailed. It also has some serious problems. It’s widely accepted, I think, that the hundreds of rigging blocks and deadeyes are worthless. (A two-piece rigid mold physically can’t produce a part with a hole through it and a groove around it.) And the most bizarre omission: there’s no means of fastening the yards to the masts.
There’s at least one website devoted entirely to this kit. It’s operated by a gent named Pete Coleman. I don’t know the address, but I’ll bet some other Forum member will jump in with it.
There are dozens of books about this ship. I recommend two to start with: C. Nepean Longridge’s “The Anatomy of Nelson’s Ships” and “HMS Victory: Construction, History, and Repair,” by Alan McGowen and John McKay.
You’ll need those books - and probably others - because the instructions in the kit are a scandal of the hobby industry. The original French text is bad enough, but the English “translation” is pure garbage. It seems to have been written by somebody who neither understood French nor had attempted to build the model.
So far as I no there are no 1/00 naval figures on the market. You may be able to find some from one of the Revell 1/96 kits: the Constitution, Cutty Sark, Thermopylae, Pedro Nunes, Alabama, meat sarge, Golden Hind. “Spanish Galleon,” and “English Man-of-War.” ( The latter two. As far as I’m concerned, are worthless except for the figures.) the American wood ship model company Bluejacket has talked a little about releasing some figures. I think that’s a fine idea
I don’t want to sound too discouraging, but to build this kit even moderately well takes years. In the time I’ve been in the Forum at least a dozen members have started it. So far as I know, none of those people has ever finished it. I don’t recommend it to anybody who doesn’t already have quite a few sailing ships under his/her belt.
Sorry if I sound discouraging. But I firmly believe that any modeler is entitled to go in to such a project with eyes wide open.
Right that advice.
I’ve only pre-purchased enough extra line and blocks to build and rig the anchoring cables, messengers and the gun rigging. That alone cost me close to $ 100. I bought only the best- Jotika and Caldercraft. Arguably Bluejacket or some other firm may well sell items of equal quality, but thats easy to research online. But there’s no point in economies when you’ll be spending years and years on this thing.
When and if I get to masts and rigging, I will look into deadeyes and blocks for that. But in the meantime it’s kind of a waste to buy stuff and just stash it away (huh? can’t believe he said that!}
I am already reconciled to stepping the masts (not topmasts), rigging their stays and calling it done.
For references, there are a couple of very good web sites, with lots of pictures of the ship as it now sits displayed. Of course, no guarantee of the accuracy of its restoration, but you could model it “as it sits” if you do not trust accuracy. Do a google searches, both web search and image search.
You might want to consider doing an admiralty model if you are shying away from the rigging. This is a quite common practice and can result in a really fine outcome.
If in fact you plan to do any rigging, I would highly recommend Syrene as a source for blocks, cordage, and, they will be offering deadeyes as well in the near future.
http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/)
Also, Scaledecks offers a veneer wooden deck for the Victory as well. Not cheap, but an awesome AM product. You can check out an example of it at http://pete-coleman.com/forum . Scroll down to the HMS Victory Modelers Diaries and find Tim’s Heller Victory build. (I tried to direct link it, but it wouldn’t work for some reason.
copy and paste the link below - should work.
http://pete-coleman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2207&start=165
thanks everyone for the advice. I have realized that this project will take a long time and am fully prepared to see it through. Recently i just finished building Revell’s 1/96 Constitution which took about a year to do and before that i had built a 1/96 united states and that took about a year and a half!
Hello;
You have to answer a question to register at Pete Colmans site. What was the surname of Nelsons captain at Trafalger, I cant seem to find the answer. Any help would be appreaciated.
Bill
Hardy.
Thankyou very much.
Bill
You are welcome
Bill