The 1803 block model in the NMM collection.Certainly some caution needs to be exercised when evaluating a dockyard model – many of the details are never translated to the real ship. I don't know why this model exists - not every refit warrants a model - but the projected cost overruns beyond filling in the stern galleries perhaps triggered this one before the commissioners would give final signoff on the 1800 - 1803 Great Repair. Work started in 1800 but as it proceeded an increasing number of defects were found and the "middling" repair developed into a very extensive reconstruction - including the addition of two more gunports on the lower gundeck. The original estimate was £23,500 but the final cost totaled £70,933. This model is intriguing in many respects: Bulwarks built up on the Focs’le, no entry port, heavy railings on the poop, ornate stern, different bow configuration from the restored ship. Ironically on the NMM website the blurb underneath calls out the bulwarks as being the only element not present at Trafalgar - considering the presence of bulwarks on the Turner and Stanfield paintings (and the bulwark option now provided in the Jotika model indicates some modern experts agree), it seems likely that element is the ONLY one that was almost certainly at Trafalgar. The missing entry port obviously calls attention... How much Nelson was able to influence any modifications in the great repair is subject to debate, but it was understood that she was being refitted for his flagship and it seems almost certain he was consulted. The guy knew what kind of a melee fight he wanted to induce and I personally think he would have preferred a gunport and not have wanted an unobstructed gaping entry port with a direct line to the base of his mainmast when going yardarm to yardarm with the opposition.
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/nelson/viewObject.cfm?ID=SLR0513It also strikes me as very interesting that the model generally corresponds with the Constable drawings that resurfaced back in 2003. The drawings show Victory lying in the Medway following her 1803 refit. The model stern in particular looks very similar to Constable's stern view drawing. If true, then Victory had a much more ornate stern following the refit then what we see in the John Livesay drawing following Trafalgar (which closely aligns with her current stern). Perhaps the decoration was deteriorating and was replaced during the four week refit following Nelson's fruitless chase across the Atlantic and just prior to the Trafalgar campaign. It is also interesting to note the thin "blast" shield Constable depicted on the poop deck that corresponds with the one provided in the Jotika kit.
The bow is a bit strange... But if you imagine the center "knee" combined/overlayed with the lower knee, then it would generally align nicely with the bows depicted in the JMW Turner and Clarkson Stanfield paintings.
