Marine Art and Maritime Modelmaking

Welcome to my blog, it's primary intention is to keep my existing clients up to date with the progress of their commissions, but hopefully it will prove of interest to anyone with an interest in Marine art and modelmaking

Wednesday 20 February 2013

HMS Victory Airfix 1:100, 32,24,12 pounders construction

I have started putting together the Guns on HMS Victory, first of all I soaked the sprues in warm soapy water for 5-10 minutes and then set them aside and allowed them to dry thoroughly.

Next I removed 60 gun barrel halves(parts 14 and 15), trimmed off the plastic that attached the guns to the sprues and glued the two halves of the barrels together. With each gun I took a bit of time to ensure both sides of the barrels are aligned correctly, and  I was careful not to apply to much  glue, however the barrels still require scraping with a scalpel along the seam lines when dry.
After this I looked at the gun carriages, removed the 5 pieces, trimmed them and assembled them,I made sure the sides were square and that the gun barrels sat in the carriages at the same angle.
 The 32 pdrs barrels and carriages are the same size in this kit as the 24 pdrs, this is just a result of rationalization in the kit design,but in 1:100 scale the size difference is barely noticeable.
After 6.5 hours work, all 30 of the 32 pdrs and their carriages have been assembled, the seam lines on the barrels have been scraped with a sharp scalpel and the muzzles have been filed with a circular file.

Next, I repeated the process for the 30 x 24 pdr guns, this took only 5.5 hours as the process of assembly was refined and became increasingly efficient,I also stopped scraping the seam lines on the barrel on the part that rests upon the gun carriage as they will not be seen. Below the 60 32 and 24 pdr guns assembled.


Below in a close up of one of the above guns, you can see how I have drilled out a hole in the plastic on the breech of the gun to thread the restraining rope through. I have only done one, until I work out how visible this part of the model will be when assembled,thers no point wasting time putting in details that nobody will ever see !
 However some of the visible 12 pdrs on the deck will need super detailing,ropes, blocks and tackle etc.

Next I assembled the 24 x long barreled 12 pdrs and the 20 x short barreled 12 pdrs. Four or the short barreled 12 pdrs were missing one of the rests that sit on the gun carriage.These had to be replaced with plastic of the right diameter from my spare parts box.
 Over 20 hours of work later the assembled 728 parts that make up the formidable 104 gun battery are pictured below.

The guns have now been boxed up, prior to spraying and additional detailing.

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