This model is INCREDIBLY hard. No new news there! And something everyone who has done it, is in the process of doing or has started only to find something else that grabs their attention (sadly, to stow away their partial attempt).
Should I have started a wooden ship with it's need for detail in laying out the hull, doing deck plank work and the future of all that standing and running rigging? I don't know, I think for me the most frustrating part is just how careful you need to be and how much experience with this type of model helps.
Caldercraft's instructions are really very good. This after spending 14 months building Trumpeter's Titanic. Those instructions were just pictures. I think the difference there is the shear volume of YouTube building blogs for the Titanic that help builders. I know there are building blogs for the Victory, but they vary between the various kits and there aren't as many out there.
As my biggest critic, I am so frustrated or unhappy with various parts of my build. I know that as I peruse other blogs, I see some areas where I have done a better job and some areas where I am sorely lacking.
Regardless, I will continue to plug away. England needs their ship and I will not let them down!
As I was waiting on the chucking nut for my airbrush, I decided to work on the gratings, cannon ball holders and stairs for the upper gun deck.
First was work on building 7 grating blocks. They were actually pretty easy. The first one I laid the first side of slats and then put a piece of masking tape over it to flip and work on the other side. The only issue with doing that was if they are perfectly square, they are hard to slide into place with the tape holding them tight.
The rest I would flip over and then peel the tape away allowing the structure to float back and forth as I put the first slats in. After, a good wash with watered down wood glue and they seemed fine.
Cutting the coamings to surround the gratings wasn't as easy as it appeared. The plans call for mitered corners. I have a full size band saw with a 1/4" blade and was able to cut the coamings, but not at a 45 degree angle.
I bought a very cheap cutter on Amazon. It was plastic and really was pretty rickety. The blade broke after cutting 2 or 3 pieces of the 3mmx4mm walnut strips.
After flipping the blade I also found that cutter 45 degree angles was impossible and the cuts were never 'square'.
So I looked online and found another tool that cost about $20-$25 more and seems much more robust. I did a few practice cuts and I'm looking forward to using it. It also uses standard utility knife blades.
The coaming I did with straight on 90 degree angles. The rest I did with mitered corners using the cheap cutter and I was forced to fill in the gaps with wood putty.
Placing the little cannon balls was easy. Kind of peaceful after all the things I've done to date. They do require a serious dollop of CA glue, but I think once I give the deck a coating of matt finish, it will cover any CA staining.
Finally, my first attempt at making stairs. The directions seem to suggest that 'ideally' a jig should be made.
Without it, there was NO WAY I could get it done. It was a comedy of errors and my first set looked like a staircase in one of them old fun houses or a Dr. Seuss book.
All I did was glue two pieces of wood sprue onto a board. This did help. The 1mm thick treads barely fit into the side rails. The jig makes that easier. After finishing a set, I coated with watered down glue. My fear was that the stairs would end up glued to the jig, so I removed them and the pressure the treads create on the side rails caused them to pop out.
It was an hour of pure hell.
The middle one was my first attempt. LOL...so sad.
The far right was my 2nd attempt and I took it out too soon. The side rails disintegrated trying to keep it together
The far left one I left in the jig for a bit. Even after removing it, pressure did start to push it apart and I used a mini clamp to keep it together.
There is a bit of twist to it.
The only saving grace is that only the very top will be visible and gives me practice so I know what to watch for when I build the rest that are much more visible.
Sill...so sad!
