HMS Victory and Le Redoutable at Trafalgar (1/300)

[dafi]

Wonderfully done!

In those days, these anchors were the biggest industrial made product as far as I know.

XXXDAn

[wefalck]

Well done ! They are carved/filed from styrene profiles, I suppose ?

They seem to be even smaller/thinner than the ones I just produced with the aid of my laser-cutter. Makes me almost redo again mine

[Dan K]

Those anchors are brilliant, Marijn.

[Willie]

Hi there Marijn and all,

Congrats for your new master pieces. Working with styrene myself all the time, I can smell the process you have gone through, and the results are brilliant.

Not only that these anchors are way better than the metal models (themselves not bad either) but also that you have the added satisfaction of having done them yourself. Not little satisfaction, because in the end, this is modelling.

Nice going and best regards,

Willie.

[Martocticvs]

Great looking anchors!

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks everyone!

Well done ! They are carved/filed from styrene profiles, I suppose ?

Yes, they are.
The stock is square rod, filed to shape. The main part of the shank is rod, while the small square at the top right below the stock is a separate piece. The part of the shank at the top of the stock (through which the ring fits) is a separate small piece of square rod. I prefer butt-gluing these things to the stock, as opposed to drilling through the stock and fitting the shank like the real thing.
The arms and palms are cut/carved/filed from sheet. The arms were the most complicated and time-consuming to get right.

In those days, these anchors were the biggest industrial made product as far as I know.

Now I can really believe that!

Not only that these anchors are way better than the metal models (themselves not bad either) but also that you have the added satisfaction of having done them yourself. Not little satisfaction, because in the end, this is modelling.

I think there are many ways of enjoying this hobby. But you are right, this is certainly a way I do enjoy a lot myself!

making things thinner an finer is always the right thing to do!

I couldn't agree more!

And here, there is the added motivation that on both Victory and Redoutable an anchors will be part of a focal point of human activity:
- French soldiers trying to board Victory by climbing over one of her anchors.
- Soldiers trying to save themselves by climbing out of the water on a loose anchor of Redoutable.

So they shouldn't feel out of scale next to the human figures...

[EJFoeth]

I prefer butt-gluing these things to the stock, as opposed to drilling through the stock and fitting the shank like the real thing.

I always worry that such a joint is not strong enough and breaks during handling... though you did not really have the space here to do so and you'd need to then drill a square hole in the rudder stock (use magic drill) and so, hmm, no drilling today...

[Martocticvs]

Could always insert a length of thin gage wire between the two pieces to add stength. Debatable if you get much benefit at these sizes though.

[wefalck]

If the glueing surface was free of grease, the welding bond of styrene glue should be almost as strong, as the original material.

Geetting the shape of the arms right is indeed a challenge. This is why I build mine up from laser-cut layers of Canson-paper - unfortunately my laser-cutter does not cut white styrene.

[marijn van gils]

I always worry that such a joint is not strong enough and breaks during handling... though you did not really have the space here to do so and you'd need to then drill a square hole in the rudder stock (use magic drill) and so, hmm, no drilling today...

Could always insert a length of thin gage wire between the two pieces to add stength. Debatable if you get much benefit at these sizes though.

Thanks guys!
You're right, strength is always desirable and often necessary!
But in this case, the anchors won't bear any loads or won't have to withstand any other stresses. And handling... well, I'll just have to be careful! But I have to be for most items anyway...

I did consider 3 options to make it stronger:
- I thought about inserting small pieces of 0,2mm brass rod too, but figured indeed it wouldn't be worth the extra work.
- Another way would be to drill an oversized round hole through the stock, glue the shank and fill the remaining gaps. That would be pretty strong, but more work and harder to get everything to line up perfectly.
- Or I could have made it like the real thing: stock in two parts, with a half square channel carved in each side, then glue the shank in between. But lining both sides of the stock up would be a pain, and extra cleanup would be required with a chance of damaging the rest of the anchor. And making the stock in two halves would be a lot more work of course...

I'm glad I decided against these, as the butt joints turned out pretty strong. After all, the plastic was melted together...

If the glueing surface was free of grease, the welding bond of styrene glue should be almost as strong, as the original material.

Yep! These pieces proved that again to me. I did make sure to use as much glue as possible though, and put a little pressure on the pieces to firmly bond the melted surfaces.

Geetting the shape of the arms right is indeed a challenge. This is why I build mine up from laser-cut layers of Canson-paper - unfortunately my laser-cutter does not cut white styrene.

I agree. Usually I say that 'it is easier than it looks'. But I have to admit these pieces were more difficult than I thought.
The anchors were overall more time-consuming than I anticipated too. But nevertheless fun to do and satisfying!

[marijn van gils]

Anchors, anchors.... More anchors!

I scratchbuilt the 4 anchors of the Redoutable too:


They are quite a bit smaller than Victory's. Of course, they only had to hold a much lighter ship...
But smaller is of course more difficult to make. Also, the arms and shank have octagnal sections instead of rounded, and the shank tapers towards the stock, both of which make them a bit harder to construct too. That's why I chose to start with Victory's anchors...





Luckily for my hand they are not as heavy as the real thing!

[Neptune]

Awesome work Marijn, probably took you some time to build these! And they're just a tiny part of your diorama...

Curious about their positions in the diorama now

[GewoonWouter]

This is modelling on a whole different level Marijn, and seems you are a strong man too

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks guys!

Curious about their positions in the diorama now

Me too! So I placed them in position...

This one will have a number of French climbing over it to board the Victory, with more behind them on Redoutable, and soldiers on Victory getting ready to repel them. So, it will probably be the 'base' for the most important focal point on the ships:


Starboard side of Le Redoutable: the forward anchor was shot loose and is only hanging by a cable from the cathead.


Several figures are climbing on it, but I'm not sure yet whether they will be trying to save themselves from the water, or trying to save the anchor from getting lost. In any case, it should look a bit like this:


Port side of Victory:


Starboard side of the Redoutable:


And this was the main reason why I wanted to check out their position: the hulls are so close together that I wasn't sure if I can only fit the forward anchor on Victory's starboard side.
Turns out it can, but only if the fore topmast backstays and maybe the last shrouds are cut and part of the anchor comes on the deck of the Redoutable. Also, it interlocks awkwardly with Redoutable's rear anchor.
So, I think I will leave it off as shown here, guessing Victory lost it when/after her starboard cathead was shot to pieces. A lot of anchors got lost at Trafalgar... That means I made one anchor too much, but it's always good to have spares, no?


And all anchors in view:

[dafi]

XXXDAn

[dafi]

"Several figures are climbing on it, but I'm not sure yet whether they will be trying to save themselves from the water, or trying to save the anchor from getting lost. In any case, it should look a bit like this: "
My strong guess is that it was to save the anchor. Essential part of the security of the ship an expensive and even more difficult to replace. Nelson gave order to anchor after the battle, but this was ignored by Collingwood. Knowing a storm coming and being on the lee coast like Cape Trafalgar was, every anchor was vital.

Also do not bother too much about the correct position of the anchors being stowed. I strongly believe that the collision most likely had torn them out of position, plunged them into the opponents wood or even bent them.

As far as I recall, only 3 or 5 frenchmen managed to climb over as the gap and the difference in height were still too big. Actually I do not recall how many British marines and sailors were present to repel them as the upper deck was quite deserted for some time, making the french believe that the Victory had struck ...

Actually the majority of the french boarders was killed by the carronades of the Temeraire when she came alongside, making Luca believe that he would have been victorious if this did not happen.

XXXDAn

[j.mahieux]

Really fantastic work !
Jean

[LE BOSCO]

HI Marijim

I am speechless in front of so much know-how thanks for sharing
cheers
Nicolas

[wefalck]

Indeed coming along very nicely !

[Ludwig]

exellent work Marijn; looking forward to the next up-date