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My review of the AL Victory

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  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Elroy on Thursday, September 13, 2012 3:47 PM

(A) Even I understand & (B) I have no intelligence to insult.

I think computers are one of the dark arts whose secrets can only be unlocked by those wearing the prescribed apparel, are familiar with the appropriate chants and have access to deep dark secret forests.

So thanks David, that is very helpful, thank you.

I am travelling away for a couple of days on business and will hopefully start posting in about 3 days, which is when I should be back home.

The only thing that concerns me is whether I have taken enough detailed photographs, so I will check that before posting and attempt to fill in any gaps with photos that I then need to put into the correct sequence. It should be good to go within the next few days.

The way you go about the detail in your Black Swan, you would find a wooden kit a walk in the park. I am not a wood versus plastic kit modeler, by the way.

If anyone saw my collection of kits, they would find it impossible to determine my preference for subject, medium or scale, although I actually prefer the larger kits where possible. I have given all my completed kits away as gifts over the years and my son will probably end up with this when it's finished, so at least one may stay in the family.

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • From: Marysville, WA
Posted by David_K on Thursday, September 13, 2012 8:57 AM

Also, I can't emphasize enough how interested I am in seeing your progress, Elroy!  :)

Please don't hesitate to include any details of your technique, difficulties, advice on sequencing or interpretation of the foreign instruction booklet, or anything you feel like sharing!

I don't know how much experience you have with wooden POB kits, but as I mentioned, I have NONE and I'm really looking forward to seeing some Work in Progress action!  And obviously, any Victory kit is going to be a HUGE undertaking!  High-Five!

Thanks!

David

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Current Project:  Imai/ERTL Spanish Galleon #2

Recently Finished: Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark

Next Up:  ???

 

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • From: Marysville, WA
Posted by David_K on Thursday, September 13, 2012 8:49 AM

You know, a few months back the site was updated, and the method for uploading pics changed a bit.

It took me a few tries to figure it out!  There are a few steps involved, but once you know the process, it's a cinch!

I actually posted the steps for it on a recent thread for someone...let me see if I can find it...

Here's a copy of my previous explanation::

"I'll try to explain how I got it to work...hopefully it will make sense!  Like many things, it's difficult to be clear with just a *text-splanation*!:)

Okay, I see you have your Flickr account, and you have a pic on there.  First thing you want to do have one tab open on your computer for Flickr, and one open for FineScale....that way you can switch back and forth easily for posting multiple pics. Otherwise, it will just take a bit longer to load each page at a time.

View one of your pics on Flickr.  Above the pic, you'll see a little bar that has some icons for twitter, facebook, etc., and a button that says *share* with a drop-down arrow.  If you don't see this, click on the picture, it will then open it for viewing.

Click on the drop-down arrow next to *share*.

this will open a box in the pic, make sure you have the selection for *grab the HTML/BBCode*....and below that code, the HTML button should be selected. (it might already be set that way, or you might have to click on it).

In this box, you will see a few lines of characters, beginning with <A and ending with >A.

when you click anywhere within that box, it should highlight the entire group of characters.  If not, then hold the mouse button and get it all highlighted.

Right-click your mouse, and select *copy*

Now, you have the code ready for Finescale!

Switch over to the Finescale page, and get on the thread you want to post the pic to.

Your *reply dialog box* should have a button on the lower right that says *reply*...and to the left of that, some blue text that says *Use rich formatting*.  Click the *Use rich formatting* text.

This wil bring up a new Reply dialog box with a toolbar at the top of it, with different icons for the various actions you can take.  

First, type in whatever you want to say about the upcoming pic, then hit *enter* NOT UPDATE OR REPLY, just use the *enter* or *return* key on your keyboard to get your cursor on the next line, so the code doesn't get mishmashed with what you previously typed.

Now, on the toolbar above your text box, find the little button on the top row that says *HTML*.

This will specify Edit HTML Source, and maybe open another dialog box!  NOW, you can finally right-click in this box and select PASTE to input your code for the pic.

Then hit the UPDATE or REPLY button or whatever at the bottom of the dialog box, and it should insert your pic in the correctly viewable format.

Hopefully this helps....and hopefully I haven't A) made it too confusing, or B) insulted anyone's intelligence by overstating the obvious...."

        _~
     _~ )_)_~
     )_))_))_)
     _!__!__!_         
     (_D_P_K_)
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Project:  Imai/ERTL Spanish Galleon #2

Recently Finished: Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark

Next Up:  ???

 

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Elroy on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 7:44 PM

My wife is currently organising the photos taken so far while I am attempting to write a description for each photo that requires it.  I'm hoping we will have a journal within the next few days to cover my progress so far.

I am planking the lower hull at this point and I have found this part rather slow as I measure each piece for width and length so that it will look respectable when complete. I am not one for historical accuracy due to the many opinions and modifications carried out by different people over many years. My aim is to end up with a model ship that is pleasing to the eye, with the emphasis on 'model'.

Now, I just need to work out how to post photos...

Errol.

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • From: Marysville, WA
Posted by David_K on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 6:20 PM

I'm happy to hear anything you have to share about your build, Errol!

I've also recently purchased a wood kit, the Corel Berlin 1:40.  Never having built a wooden ship model, I'm doing what I can to learn from books and youtube videos!  Meanwhile, I'm still working on my latest plastic kit, and keeping the Berlin in mind (and on the back burner!)...

As you must know, the Plank on Bulkhead kits from non-domestic companies (AL being just one of several) have a polarizing reputation...

Anyway, I'm looking forward to following your trials while assembling this kit!

Pics?

Good Luck!

        _~
     _~ )_)_~
     )_))_))_)
     _!__!__!_         
     (_D_P_K_)
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

Current Project:  Imai/ERTL Spanish Galleon #2

Recently Finished: Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark

Next Up:  ???

 

  • Member since
    June 2012
My review of the AL Victory
Posted by Elroy on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 5:28 PM

After reading the instruction manual, I realised I was on my own with this build. This kit is more of a scratch build than a scratch build. That sounds odd doesn’t it, but if you read the instruction manual, you will soon realise what I mean.  Unlike previous models, there are no full size colour plans by which to measure, compare and orient pieces.

This particular kit is more suited to the wood worker. Plastic kit experience is of no benefit that I can see.  I must admit that this kit is more suited to those with masochistic tendencies. It is not a matter of part A attaching to part B, it is more about figuring out what part A actually is and then constructing part B from any spare piece of timber lying around. Once you have this together, put it aside because it may come in handy one day if you ever decide to go snow skiing in Afghanistan in summer.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the colour photos of the model under construction in the book/manual, are actually three different models, possibly more.  Each one has variations and what AL has done is to photograph parts of each individual build and present it as the same unit. The plans also do not include some very important measurements required for positioning  things like gunports, which are the most obvious omission in the beginning, and the ‘instructions’ contained in the manual just go downhill from there.

WARNING: The dark coloured timber, Mansonia, may cause skin and/or eye irritation in some people and the dust can cause heart disrhythmias in susceptible individuals.  So be careful and use appropriate skin and breathing protection when cutting and sanding any timber.

 Now to the build.

First off, I gathered all the ribs/bulkheads and keel/spine pieces and eventually figured out what went where. This was more a case of trial and error as the A4 printed parts sheets added to the kit for indentification of the lasered plywood parts,  were next to useless.  The parts list in the manual is of an earlier version of the lasered parts which had incorrect identification numbers stamped on the timber pieces.

The lower deck pieces, once I figured out which parts they were, went in easily, but I spent several hours wondering how that happened.  I was sure I had the wrong parts, but in the end I went with it and all was fine…for now.

I made up a jig, which I forgot to photograph during the process, to hold the bulkhead and deck pieces in position while I applied liberal amounts of glue to every join I could find. I then reinforced every join with hobby pegs which were left over from some long forgotten projects.  At this stage I left the stern and bow pieces loose. Having read well ahead, it was obvious that there was going to be a lot of awkward work to be done if left in situ. As it turned out, I was able to perform some heavy work on these parts and then fit them once I had finished.

Warning. If you buy one of these kits, have a look at how the instructions describe the assembly of  the gun carriages. The instructions are incorrect. The carriages should be assembled with the narrow part at the front. (Cannons on ships were referred to as guns, so I will refer to them as such)

The second deck went in easily. I have no idea why deck planking is fitted to this deck area, but it does serve as a practice run for the upper decks.

Be warned. When it comes time to plank the hull, you will need to do some serious packing to get the planks to run true along the length of the vessel and you will need to measure very carefully, the starting point for your planking. The ‘instructions’ are somewhat vague in describing the starting point and you may find that by the time you get to the gunwhales, you could be out by a plank on either side. Not a good look.

The gun ports were cut as the planking was fitted rather than cutting out later which I think would be a real pain with having to make up even more jigs for the job. I have deviated from the 'instructions' on most of the build so far and am using the technique applied to 'real' ship building. Holding a Ship's master's ticket and and a marine engineer's certificate gives me no advantages when model ship building, but a basic knowledge of woodworking techniques would give one a very slight advantage.

I will post my build log soon,  if anyone is interested, which may demonstrate the packing I have done and how I overcame the first few problems. I hope this information is of some help to anyone who has bought this particular kit and I should add that I would buy the same kit again if the opportunity arose.  If you accept the lack of information as a challenge and have an interest in scratch building, this is the perfect kit for you and like most wood kits, it is horribly overpriced, but then no one is forcing anyone to purchase this brand. 

Errol.

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