The HMS Victory Part 1
So as you may have gathered, I am a bit of a nerd… One of my major interests growing up has been the Napoleonic era, especially The Age of Sail and the naval combat surrounding that period.
Last year as a birthday surprise my Mrs, Laura took me to Portsmouth for the week and we stayed at a hotel overlooking the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Once she revealed the season pass tickets to go into the dockyard, well I was like a kid at Christmas! She asked me what I wanted to visit first but she already knew my answer… the HMS Victory! The next day we set off into the dockyard and I b-lined it for the ship. I have been to Portsmouth quite a lot before, visiting friends but I’ve never been to the dockyards as I didn’t want to burden or bore my friends and also due to physical health I was worried about my legs up and down the decks of the ships.
I had a brilliant time exploring the Victory for the first time, Laura was incredibly patient with me letting me talk about things on the ship, letting me take hundreds of photos and also helping me take my time up and down the ladders (stairs) A lot of the ship was covered for restoration work so hopefully when we next visit I will get to see more!
And on the way out after the first day, Laura snuck off in the gift shop and got me Revell 1:450 scale HMS Victory kit!
It had nearly been a year unopened as I felt intimidated at making a scale model ship, let alone one of my favourites and also it being a birthday gift.
In January 2026 I had a accident tearing my MCL in my right knee adding to my mobility issues which has resulted me being off work for a long time. There was a period of pain where I couldn’t think straight enough to paint anything but I wanted to do something productive. So I got this kit out and set to work!
The kit was really easy to put together, there was some flash on the sprues but that was nothing a hobby knife and sanding stick couldn’t deal with. I built her in a hour with half the time being the fiddly parts like the Ratlines (climbing ropes)
I have primed her Colour Forge Matt Black and she is ready for painting! I feel there is enough detail where I won’t be overwhelmed painting her, historical models I try my best to be as accurate as possible but if I am not on this project I am sorry.
Stay tuned for part 2 and until next time, take care!