HMS Victory - Caldercraft / JoTiKa 1/72 Scale - First proper wood ship build

Hi Stratomonkey, I suggest you perform the angle both fore and aft before laying the planking
 
Stratomonkey said:
Hi to all and welcome to my first build log.

So, in case you are wondering why on earth would I want to choose this as a first build of a wooden ship? Simple answer is because I love large models and this has been on my bucket list for a number of years and a few months ago I got the chance to acquire this beautiful kit. Also, I have over time, acquired various tools which should aid me in making a halfway decent job of this kit.


I have reference material and I have various things to help me, I have already made up a few one time use jigs for cutting planks for the decks and jigs to taper the masts and yards with.


View attachment 336627

I'll be honest here, I have already been at this kit for a couple of months, I have the 18 bulkheads glued to the false keel and that took two weeks of fettling and filing to get them to fit.
I have the lower false gun deck not yet glued
Lower gun port blanks are glued in upper gun port blanks not yet glued in because I need the false deck here to be a removable item while I plank it. As it stands here the framework of the ship is straight and true to within 1mm.

The bulkheads, the false keel, the dummy barrel strips and the false lower gun deck are all in CNC cut 5mm ply. As it stands it is currently just shy of 36 inches long!


View attachment 336770


I am currently at a stage where I am planking the false lower gun deck. The actual manuals only calls for this to be done where visible from the other decks but I am doing the whole deck.

The planks are Tanganyka strips (as supplied in the kit) 4mm x 1mm and cut to 85mm long. im staining each plank with a stain called Georgian Medium Oak.
My centre plank, or king plank is 6mm wide. Ive used this width because of the false keel's 5mm width and to allow the 4mm strips to run either side of this keel as som of it protrudes through this false deck.

I laid the 6mm centre plank against a steel rule clamped in place and then after that dried and the rule was removed I ran parallel lines of black thread either side of this plank for caulking. I am currently still adapting the technique of laying my planks and caulking with black thread, and so it is still not a fully developed technique but it does seem to be working for me.

View attachment 336775

Anyway that is a brief summary of where I am with this build and so I try to keep this up to date as I didn't intend to put this on a forum but now I have.

I have missed out loads already that I have done but there is so much more to come and hopefully I can build this.

Thanks for now

Cheers
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Appreciate your commentary. There's always useful information to be found.
 
Frank48 said:
Hello, yes to the hull planking, I ask, is there any reason to do the decks first? Thank you
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This deck is a structural part of this hull. Once it has been put in and glued it should be planked at this point because the support beams for the next level deck go in and are also structural. The side gun port patterns are then fixed in place, three on each side. After that the hull is then faired and the then hull [planking can begin in earnest. That's the build sequence

This 5mm thick plywood lower false deck doesn't need to be planked entirely because not a lot of it will be visible. However, for my own reasons I have decided to put planking on the entire deck.
 
Good luck on your Vic build. Caldercraft seems to have one of the best kits out there; you should look forward to having a lot of fun building her. I just finished mine a few months ago - after 11 years and 5,400 hours!. I decided to put sails on her as well, which added even more time to the build. Although I didn't post a build log here, I did post one on MSW if you're interested. Here's a shot of her as I was fitting her to the display case. If there is anything I can do to help along your journey, just let me know. Regards,
Ted

P1040818.JPG
 
Stratomonkey said:
This deck is a structural part of this hull. Once it has been put in and glued it should be planked at this point because the support beams for the next level deck go in and are also structural. The side gun port patterns are then fixed in place, three on each side. After that the hull is then faired and the then hull [planking can begin in earnest. That's the build sequence

This 5mm thick plywood lower false deck doesn't need to be planked entirely because not a lot of it will be visible. However, for my own reasons I have decided to put planking on the entire deck.
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Hello, Thanks for answering me, good modeling
 
Congratulations on starting the Jotika kit of HMS Victory. I wish you the very best on this great ship.
My experience of building Jotika./Caldercraft kits is that they are accurately made and are accompanied by excellent instructions and drawings.
My first model was HM Bark Endeavour and I am now building the Jotika/Caldercraft Mary Rose about quarter of the way into this ship.

I find that building these models develops an interest in the history or the vessels, their construction and riggiing beyond the information in the kits.
having delved into the history of English Naval Sailing ships from 1511 (Henry VIII) to the Victory, I stumbled across the ships of the English Navy from the reigns of Charles I and his son, Charles II. These ships are probably the most elaborate vessels in term of decoration that existed in the English Navy, and having read numerous books on the subject I am about to start work on drawing and making a 1/48 scale model of a Third Rate 70 gun Ship of the Line.
In building ships of this type from the period 1650 to 1790 there are numerous books that you may wish to read or use to assist in this special subject, particualry the rigging of naval sailing ships.
Best wishes with HMS Vistory, you are in for a treat, and the results of a finished ship in its display case is a delight to behold and show to your friends and guests.
 
tedrobinson2000 said:
Good luck on your Vic build. Caldercraft seems to have one of the best kits out there; you should look forward to having a lot of fun building her. I just finished mine a few months ago - after 11 years and 5,400 hours!. I decided to put sails on her as well, which added even more time to the build. Although I didn't post a build log here, I did post one on MSW if you're interested. Here's a shot of her as I was fitting her to the display case. If there is anything I can do to help along your journey, just let me know. Regards,
Ted

View attachment 337141
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That, Sir, is a thing of beauty. I only wish I could hope to come even slightly close to a finished model of that quality. I shall certainly have a look at your log on the other place. Thank you for sharing a photo of that lovely model. Ive never seen one with sails and it looks amazing!
 
Derek Payne said:
Congratulations on starting the Jotika kit of HMS Victory. I wish you the very best on this great ship.
My experience of building Jotika./Caldercraft kits is that they are accurately made and are accompanied by excellent instructions and drawings.
My first model was HM Bark Endeavour and I am now building the Jotika/Caldercraft Mary Rose about quarter of the way into this ship.

I find that building these models develops an interest in the history or the vessels, their construction and riggiing beyond the information in the kits.
having delved into the history of English Naval Sailing ships from 1511 (Henry VIII) to the Victory, I stumbled across the ships of the English Navy from the reigns of Charles I and his son, Charles II. These ships are probably the most elaborate vessels in term of decoration that existed in the English Navy, and having read numerous books on the subject I am about to start work on drawing and making a 1/48 scale model of a Third Rate 70 gun Ship of the Line.
In building ships of this type from the period 1650 to 1790 there are numerous books that you may wish to read or use to assist in this special subject, particualry the rigging of naval sailing ships.
Best wishes with HMS Vistory, you are in for a treat, and the results of a finished ship in its display case is a delight to behold and show to your friends and guests.
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Hi Derek, thank you. Hmmm, its very interesting what you say about the Mary Rose kit, I did look at it and wonder if I should do that. I'll be honest here and say with hand on heart that I kind of know what I am doing, however I am not daunted or phased or even scared of the size and complexity of this kit. I see this build as a set of challenges to overcome and am currently focused on solving the mast and yard tapering challenge without resorting to using a lathe.

The 18 sets of drawings that come with this kit are something to behold themselves. Three manuals come with this kit, one for the hull and fittings, one for the masts and rigging and one that has the parts list! Its pretty comprehensive but as I have already learned the build sequence has to be anticipated ahead of time as well as followed.

The project you are embarking on sounds very interesting and certainly one I would follow. I rather fancy a scratch build myself and I think I know what that one might be.

On the subject of books, these are what I have, oddly enough I have had these for many years, thats how long I have been intending to do this!

0001008.jpegIMG20221001123458.jpgIMG20221001123514.jpgIMG20221001123525.jpg
 
Bigger models are EASIER to build. You can pack in more detail and access with your hands is better than small models. There's a reason HMS Victory is the most popular model ship built these days. Since Victory still exists, you don't have to make any guesses as to how features are constructed, and that's a huge advantage. Research is EASY.
 
Congratulations on starting the Jotika kit of HMS Victory. I wish you the very best with this build.

I will follow your build with interest as I have the same Caldercraft kit waiting for a start, as I finish off my Billing Vasa. Hopefully this will be by Christmas this year when I can start.

I am impressed that you are doing Victory as your first build. I also have noticed a shortage of Build Logs for this kit, although there are a lot for Victory.

Good luck - You will have quite audience!!

Regards,

PeterG
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
Bigger models are EASIER to build. You can pack in more detail and access with your hands is better than small models. There's a reason HMS Victory is the most popular model ship built these days. Since Victory still exists, you don't have to make any guesses as to how features are constructed, and that's a huge advantage. Research is EASY.
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These are also my thoughts entirely :)
 
PeterG said:
Congratulations on starting the Jotika kit of HMS Victory. I wish you the very best with this build.

I will follow your build with interest as I have the same Caldercraft kit waiting for a start, as I finish off my Billing Vasa. Hopefully this will be by Christmas this year when I can start.

I am impressed that you are doing Victory as your first build. I also have noticed a shortage of Build Logs for this kit, although there are a lot for Victory.

Good luck - You will have quite audience!!

Regards,

PeterG
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Hi Peter,

Thank you for the wishes, I will put it the same tin with all the lucks I been sent by others. It looks like I'll have plenty in reserve to call on when things arent going too well. :)

This kit is really something and I am excited and raring to go building it. In the next few days I'll be posting some photos on what I am actually doing now.

I have been told that there are a few build logs of this kit on other forums and I still have to seek those out.

I have been overwhelmed by how many people here have expressed an interest in what I am doing and that is a great incentive for me.

As I said before, this is my first proper wooden ship build but I'm not a stranger to modelling in wood, plastic or metal or anything that suits my build needs. That though was many years ago and to have this kit to build as an ongoing project for the foreseeable future is a good thing :)
 
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