To HMS Victory and beyond

[dafi]

The days I have again made some guns, 2 horizontal, two lashed upwards, one with etched parts but unpainted and an old one painted but without etch parts.



Then some shipwrights came by and installed a makeshift deck in the aft capstan area. The caulkers came also immediately and left a giant mess with their tow and tar ...



I'll spare you the curses of the sailors who had to clear the deck, they were terrible, but afterwards the whole thing looked passable again.



Here is shown the area covered by the capstan bars� radius.





And this is where the guns come into play: in their normal position, they are simply in the way of the spars. But stowed lengthwise on the ship's side, it looks much more spill user-friendly.

Here in the lashed position with the muzzle on top, without chair and the coin.



Here with the barrel in the horizontal position, chair and coin inserted.



And just to check: even when run out, it's not enough for a decent bar radius.



It remains exciting

XXXDAn

[marijn van gils]

Wonderful!


Will you be lashing them to the ship's sides, to keep them from moving in heavy seas?
Or maybe they didn't take the effort, as the guns only needed to be kept out of the way while working the capstan?

[dafi]

Thank you Marijn,

I think this would have been made dependent upon the circumstances. But more safe of course would be an appropriate lashing, just to make shure, as moving guns were seen as an enormous danger - even for those days

XXXDAn

[marijn van gils]

I think this would have been made dependent upon the circumstances. But more safe of course would be an appropriate lashing, just to make shure, as moving guns were seen as an enormous danger - even for those days

Yes, even a loose canon ball rolling around on the deck could already cause serious injury... If you imagine a gun like that rolling around!

[Guest]

Hence the expression "loose cannon" to describe someone of undesirable qualities. Regards, Pete in RI

[marijn van gils]

someone of undesirable qualities.

... and of dangerously unpredictable behavior!

[Martocticvs]

Great work on the guns!

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Just wondering: would the crew working the capstan maybe had to crawl over the guns, and others had to hold on just a bit tougher while some others weren't firmly on their feet because of the guns? Just another inconvenience in the way of perfect working conditions which we demand nowadays? It wasn't quite so in the past if I'm informed correctly...

[dafi]

Thank you Sirs

Once you take a look at the whole thing manned, you immediately see how tight it is inside and out.





Seen from above, it's clear that even the diving away under the swifter and running back that some people assume will be somewhat difficult here, and could quickly throw the others out of rhythm. If, while the bars are being inserted, the rest of the crew is heaving the guns over, a smooth work flow is guaranteed while turning. I'm not talking about work safety here but of a smooth rotating flow



The Swifter was led by a notch at the end of the bars. Whether there was only ever a knot in front and behind the bar or whether it was secured for example by a half hitch I will still find out.

Interesting also in the lower perspective. Jumping over the guns wasn't possible there either, the deck beams were only a few centimeters above the heads, and the outer sailors probably have to watch out with the hanging knees anyway ...





Here you can see it nicely what I mean, at 0:15 - This action combined with deck beams one would then hear a rhythmic "Klock" when hard wood (sailor's thick head) hits hard wood (deck beams) ...

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/jill-afloat

Simply delightful to see.

And for the naval officers in the boats finally a possibility to look unpunished under skirts, as the girls up there come along on the spar ...

It remains exciting

XXXDAn

[marijn van gils]

Or how a model can help us better understand real life!
The extremely limited height between decks is so easy to forget. Period illustrations don't help either, because they often exaggerate it too, and not even a little bit.

I was thinking: would there be space to move the guns further aft, completely out of the way of the capstan crew? Maybe that would be a bit more work (but not too much maybe, as they did have wheels? ), but it would provide a bit more space for work and circulation.

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/jill-afloat

Oh, the diorama possibilities in that video!

[dafi]

Since I can't physically get to my tinkering place at the moment (movingd box stacking place), here are at least some further developments on some detailed topics

The new cathead with the Order of the Garter as decorative plate instead of the crown.

The first picture shows the kit part, then the first draft and after that the optimised version: The proportions were adjusted, the star of the was emphasized and the cassette compartments got the cambered base typical for the time. However, there are still a few small things to be done.











The two-part fighting top, the masthead and the cap have also been reworked again.















But as usual, every corner solved draws two new ones behind it It remains exciting.

Greetings, Daniel

[JIM BAUMANN]

That looks very very sharp--with all the usual 'Over-the-Top' detail...

Looks like the 3D printer is working hard...

JIM B

[dafi]

Thank you Jim.

As I said, I did some touch-ups, rounded the slots of the rollers at the end - usually the edges were drilled - and also the hole for the stopper knot of the cat tackle (or for the cathead stopper??) is there now. Also the cleat now sits in such a way that its bolts to should not get in the way with anything else



Checking the angles, fits so far







And then first the colour samples. Here is the pure colour.



And then my usual treatment with black ink in the inner edges and white brushing of the outer edges. It looks quite different again





And here is the Order of the Garter in its original colours.



Whether it was so colourful around 1803 is questionable, since all decoration was cut back. Therefore, inspired by contemporary models, here is another version.



XXXDAn

[Martocticvs]

Beautiful work, as always!

[dafi]

After all this going "over the tops" ...



... and the newest "Must heads" ...



... I was finally ready for "next step" one could easily also say next steps







...hihihihihihihihi...

XXXDAn

[Guest]

Soooooo......Dan......are these new improved parts going to be made available to us drooling public? Regards Pete in RI

[dafi]

Oh yes, watch this space

The steps will be replaced with immediate effect, the new canopy is almost ready for delivery.

All the best, DAniel

[Guest]

Awesome news!! Thank you. I knew there was a reason I haven't started building yet, and not just laziness. lol

[marijn van gils]

Fantastic work, as always!

Great to know about the Order of the Garter on the cathead too

[dafi]

I already mentioned the next steps, now the next step was the rest of the entry port. Here, too, it is wonderful to see what else is still possible

But first define the size correctly and I realised that most entry ports on models are a bit too small, because they mostly align on the top edge with the gun ports besides. So I added a little more air at the top ...



... and provide them with a frame for the passage.



The scrollwork is presenting itself beautifully, note them in comparison with my epidermal ridges!





And what is even more important, even in this size well paintable, for this I tried different heights in some printer's rounds, but I think now it fits





Enjoy!

XXXDAn