Revell HMS VICTORY

QUOTE: Originally posted by jtilley I've got a copy of the Biesty book, and I really like it. I can't claim to have gone through it with a fine-toothed comb, but I don't recall noticing any significant inaccuracies in it. It's certainly a great way to introduce kids to naval history.

Hey, not just kids either! I picked up a copy of the book because I was getting a bit confused reading the Patrick O'Brian books. Now, at least, I know what an elm tree pump is and how it works.

My wife calls me a big kid, so maybe that explains the appeal of the book.

Regards,

As per buying "Revell Germany" kits that were once produced here in the US, I am batting 0-4 for getting a good kit. It seems like the molds are way past their prime, and are not worth the "extra" price. It really is too bad, I have an old Victory kit from the 1960's, and it is a very clean kit minus the tacky ratlines and other extra "details".

Sorry to hear that the "step" problem seems to be universal. Sounds like the mold got damaged.

I've got a copy of the Biesty book, and I really like it. I can't claim to have gone through it with a fine-toothed comb, but I don't recall noticing any significant inaccuracies in it. It's certainly a great way to introduce kids to naval history. I've also seen a computer game based on it, but haven't bought it.

Another kids' book I recommend is The Star Spangled Banner, by Peter Spier. It's a thin book with big pages, designed to tell the story of the National Anthem to kids. Mr. Spier is a native of Holland who immigrated to the U.S. quite a few years ago. He's also an excellent ship modeler; some of his models were featured in FSM's "Great Scale Modeling" a few years back. His watercolors of the British ships bombarding Ft. McHenry are some of the most exquisite pieces of nautical art I've seen. Modelers can learn a lot from them - not only about details of fittings, rigging, and color schemes, but about such things as the way ropes and furled sails behave on an anchored ship. And if you're an American and can get through the book without getting goosebumps there's something wrong with you. Mr. Spier's illustration of the phrase "and this be our motto: in God is our trust" could stand particular attention and contemplation at the moment.

Jtilley,

I just checked the two hull halfs and yes, one side had somewhat bulbous steps below the entry port. But it looks like I can trim it with no. 11.
I thought about using the Airfix figurehead on Revell but I thought it might be too big.
Just curious, have you ever seen the Steven Biesty cross section book that covers the Victory? I have it and it's a sweet book but I wonder if it has some inaccuracies being a book aimed at young people.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks,

Jake

djrost_2000 - sounds like your reactions to the kit are about like mine. Does yours have those blobs on one side where the entry port steps are supposed to be? One hull half of mine is fine, but the other seems to have come from a defective mold.

I fully agree that the lack of proper carriages on the upper gundeck is unfortunate. On the other hand, they'll be barely visible on the finished model. (In order to see them you'll have to look through the gaps between the ship's boats.) If I were doing it, I'd be tempted to try painting a black line around the base of each "carriage" and then add some "trucks" made from slivers of plastic rod. I haven't tried it, but suspect that approach would give an acceptable result. Paint covers a multitude of sins.

The "dummy carriage" approach actually does have something to recommend it. I can recall, on similar models, letting loose some bursts of obscenity when rigging lines got hooked around gun barrels and, before I noticed what was happening, yanked the carriages loose from the deck. If I were building this old kit I'd probably leave those barrels off until I was almost finished, and slip them into the dummy carriages from outboard.

Regarding the figurehead - it's been a long time since I looked closely at either kit, but my recollection is that the Airfix figurehead is (a) beautifully executed, and (b) too small. I wonder if it might be possible to graft the Airfix figurehead onto the Revell kit. Alternatively - if my memory is correct, the Revell figurehead's big problem is that it's flat. The two cherubs holding the shield are supposed to be oriented at 90 degrees to it. If one were to cut the cherubs loose from the shield and cement them to the sides of the head knee, a little additional work with filler and a careful paint job might solve the problem. Again, I haven't tried it, but it looks to me like that approach might work.

Most modelers seem to have forgotten about this kit, but it's actually quite a good one for its size and age. The Victory, of course, is an enormously popular modeling subject. Over on the Drydock Models website we recently had a discussion about the various kits that are available; there are at least a dozen. In my personal opinion four of them are worth consideration as the basis for serious scale models: Skytrex (white metal, 1/700), Revell (plastic, about 1/220), Heller (plastic, 1/100), and CalderCraft/Jotika (wood, 1/72, price about $1,000). The 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar is making Nelson and the Victory big news at the moment. Maybe we'll see some more kits.

I bought my Revell AG Victory last year and have just started building it. The only thing I don't like are the plastic ratlines (which I will replace), and like jtilley said the figurehead is distorted. I started building the Airfix Victory a few years ago but an accident destroyed the model. I'd say the Revell Victory is more finely detailed. Airfix is a little bigger if that's an issue. Another thing I don't like about Revell Victory is cannon carriages on the gun deck are molded right into the deck, so a close look will reveal a detail problem. I might actually shade the lower portion of the carriages so they look like they are above the deck.
Despite these few problems I'm still happy with my Revell Victory so far.

Cheers,

Dave

Jake - We took this up just yesterday in a post headed "Airfix Royal Sovereign 1/168," started by Aerowing. The bottom line is that I like the little Revell Victory a lot - better than the slightly larger Airfix one. The surface detail is a bit heavy and, because of its small size, some of the details (the figurehead, for instance) are a bit distorted, but it's a remarkably accurate and well-detailed kit for its size and age. One of my biggest criticisms of it actually concerns the painting on the original box top (which is reproduced in Mr. Graham's book, on p. 32). The artist, Philip Shelton, attached the square sails to the footropes. Pretty funny, if you think about it a minute.

I'd be interested to hear from anybody who's bought the most recent re-release of it, which comes from Revell Germany. The one I have is an American one that I bought about twenty years ago (at which time it was already an old kit; it originally appeared, according to Mr. Graham, in 1959). Mine, in addition to having the predictable amount of flash, apparently came from an aging and defective mold. The steps leading up to the entry port on one side of the hull are indistinct blobs - quite unlike the nicely detailed ones on the other side.

Turning this kit into a serious scale model would be quite a project, but I think it would be worth the trouble. It's a sound basis for a scale model.