HellerHMS Victory Boat Model Building Kit, for 14+ years

I've spent months searching for a large Victory model that actually had all the guns and level of detail I wanted. I was kind of worried at the price of this Heller model. It was NOT cheap, but I ordered it partially out of frustration for not finding a better one. I actually ordered one of the Airfix HMS Victory models a couple of years ago, and painted it start to finish. It looked great! BUT the model did not fit together properly at all. I could not assemble the hull...it was warped. I was totally enraged. Needless to say, I hesitated to buy another plastic model. That said, this Heller model is a quality in plastic I have NEVER seen before. It soared so far beyond my expectations I believe it's worth every penny. I can't wait to get this together, and if you want an EPIC ship of the line model, this is it! Just make sure you have enough space because it's huge!

Model arrived on time but will be very difficult to build. Instructions not detailed. Glad I built the USS Constitution first.

Lots of fit issues. Decks overlap too much, decks sit on braces that sit higher than the rest of deck locator. Second deck halves don’t line up evenly. I work more on making things fit than building so far. The directions are unreadable for rigging. The code system for thread and rigging is a joke. Only purchase if u need a haircut, u be pulling your hair out. Thumbs down 👎 don’t buy. For the high cost this should be a lot better. No stars. Parts 228,229 beveled wrong part 359 awol (gone). For those who say u must be an advanced modeler to build this kit and the rest of us r no good I say heller should have made easier to read and understandable directions that didn’t look like carbon copies. They don’t care. Top of the line models should have top of the line directions these aren’t it

I debated and dithered for over six months before deciding to purchase this model. I was concerned due to the review on this page about the broken hull, as well as quality control issues I encountered with another, smaller kit from this same manufacturer. The only other large scale models of the Victory are wood kits with price tags over $1,000, and my wooden kit skills are not very good, having only built two wood models as opposed to over 40 plastic ones.The detail level of this kit equals or exceeds the Revell 1/96 Constitution which I have built four times as gifts for friends and family. That is the good news, but things start to go downhill from there. The instructions for this kit leave a lot to be desired. My high school French of 45 years ago were inadequate so I had to work from the English plans whose translation was poorly done and frequently quite confusing. In addition, the English instructions have several instances in which the parts to be employed are numbered incorrectly, so you will be searching for the correct part by trying to match it to the illustrations, which appear to be reproduced on an old copying machine and can be difficult to decipher.Parts sprues are sealed in plastic bags for protection but I found about a dozen parts floating loose inside the bags which will slow your efforts at matching them up given the blurry illustrations. Also, 7 parts on packs 13 and 16 were broken. I was able to repair these but was left wondering what recourse I would have had if this had not been possible, considering the manufacturer was in France and the form for ordering replacements was about the size of a matchbook, with instructions to include five postage stamps (???) when sending it in.After three tries and three failures I gave up on attempting to use Heller's shroud and ratline making frame and had to do it the old fashioned way. Although in my case I found the instructions indecipherable, a more experienced modeler with more experience in using this type of construction frame might have much better luck than I did. The experience certainly enhanced my preference for pre-molded shrouds and ratlines.Masts and yards really demonstrated the major problems with both design and lack of quality control. This is the first model kit, (other than wood) where I found no attachment slots, pins, indentations or any indication of how or where the yards attach. The instructions indicate measurements in millimeters of yard separation but you will have to create your own attachment points using a file or other tool to provide a place for the cement to take hold. Only after removing the parts from the sprues did it become obvious that several yards and three mast halves were warped, two yards to the point of being unusable. I had to purchase wood doweling and create those yards.In pursuit of realism, Heller designs all three masts to pass through holes in all four decks and step in slots in the keel. In the kit I received, the fore mast and mizzen mast passed through all four decks, but the mainmast did not. The hole in the spar deck is off set by about half of its diameter. Unfortunately, I did not make this discovery until I attempted to cement the mast in place. Arguably this could be considered to be my own fault, since I did not check the alignment prior to installing the main deck. Had I done so, I could have reamed out the hole to twice its size so that the mast would fit all the way through. But if the fore and mizzen threaded all the way through, and the main is in the center, the fact that the hole is not in the proper place indicates a manufacturing error and not a mistake from me in installing the lower decks.The kit comes with two spools of white thread in .3 and .6 diameter. In the instructions, it is pointed out that you will also need a quantity of .9 diameter thread which is NOT provided. Perhaps someone can explain to me why, if they are providing two sizes of thread, they tell you to find the third size on your own. Also, if you want the rigging to be realistic, you will have to dye the provided white thread or just toss it and provide your own in tan and black. I chose the latter option.All in all, this will make into a very impressive display model but the quality control issues make this a very difficult build. Model building is a hobby for me, and while problem solving can be part of the hobby's pleasure, the problem solving with this kit fell over the line from pleasure to frustration. If you have expert modeling skills and lots of experience you may well enjoy building this kit. I feel that my own skills are at least at or above average, and I cannot recommend this kit under those circumstances. I sure wish Revell would come out with a kit of this ship in a large format.

It was bigger than I thought, nice, good quality.

Model arrived on time, and in good condition. Packing was great. This model is large and complex, and the directions have been reduced in printing to the point where they are difficult to read. Some of the notations on lengths (in mm) are completely unreadable, and zooming up the section does not help. With good references, this model should be buildable, if you have some experience building ship models. Based on the price, it would have been nice if Heller had at least produce instructions with the level of detail that Revell provided with their USS Constitution kit, but there you have it. The molding is really good, crisp and clear. Rigging is somewhat hopeless, with a limited amount of thread provided, and completely useless instructions. Again references, and a trip to your local hobby store will be necessary to make up the deficiencies. You will also need to refer to references for details on painting the model. You can also access the Victory website in the UK, which will provide you with some good visual references. There are also a large number of pictures of this ship available on the web. Models like this are becoming rare, outside of wooden model ship kit producers, so if you want a large scale model of a ship of the line, that will not take you years to build, this is your best choice.

Added to my collection