I’m new to this forum and I drifted in because, after a layover of 20 years or so, I’m back into modeling and undertaking the Heller Victory that’s been languishing in my attic for all that time.
Amazing changes have occurred in the intervening decades since I last attempted to model anything... advances in computer aided kit design and manufacture, PE, Resin, and other aftermarket components... better airbrushes...better glue... better paint, etc. However, I think the most profound change to ship modeling is clearly tied to the internet. The fact that I could rebuild my toolset from scratch at a fraction of the cost of the “old” days simply by getting on the good side of Model-Expo, Micro-Mark, and others... I even outbid a Belgian on eBay for a second kit after discovering warps and cracks on my original Heller model. Copies of McKay, Longridge, Chappelle, and others are just an abebooks or Amazon click away. Obviously forums such as this one are also an enormous benefit of the internet. In fact, the access to other perspectives and the ability to dip into the collections of museums around the globe, naval archives, and Wiki articles galore will make my Victory much different than it otherwise would’ve looked had I built it when originally purchased.
Researching any ship on the web is an adventurous hobby in itself. I’m amazed at how much conflicting information is out there regarding even such famous ships as HMS Victory and USS Constitution. I’m especially intrigued with these two since they still exist and many experts have clearly shaped their respective restorations. But do they accurately represent their most famous periods? Can I be confident that the restored Victory looks as she did on October 21, 1805? Can anybody? Because I have access via the web to plenty of information, including some very significant contemporary artifacts, I think I’m only confident in thinking that the great ship in Portsmouth represents a compromise across many expert opinions, and not necessarily her actual Trafalgar state. In fact she differs so much in some key respects to what appear to be reliable contemporary sources (at least sources that veterans of the battle were able to influence) that I’m inclined to think there are limitations to what can, and cannot, be used by her restorers as an approved source to modify her appearance.
Certainly anyone hoping to tackle a Victory model should start with the Portsmouth Victory website and the standard sources tied directly to the restored ship - Longridge, McKay, et al. But I didn’t end my research there - I’m trying to look a bit beyond... In particular I’ve centered on a few specific contemporary artifacts: The 1803 block model in the NMM Greenwich collection, the famous Turner painting (also in Greenwich), and the Trafalgar painting by Clarkson Stanfield commissioned by the United Service Club, London. Since I will base much of my Victory build on this last painting it will have a very different look from most other efforts. (In fact, I’m a bit surprised that my quick search on various topics in this forum has not turned up any previous discussion of this particular painting.)
If I could indulge a conceit and submit a brain dump to summarize my current research (mostly via the web) on each of these sources I think it might prove worthwhile to the few of you willing to wade through... Certainly I’d welcome contrary views and other perspectives that let me hone my approach.
Caveat: I have no academic credibility and my findings are ultimately my own compilation/opinion... My apologies in advance for the length of my dissertation and the oft travelled ground (on this and other forums) that I may touch upon.
I'll break my ramblings into several posts highlighting each source so that I don't break the record for longest single post.
Look for these headings:
Heller Victory Research - 1803 Block Model
Heller Victory Research - The JMW Turner Painting
Heller Victory Research - Clarkson Stanfield’s painting for the United Service Club, 1833