Customer Reviews

The 100-Gun Ship Victory (Anatomy of the Ship)

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John McKay's book is well up to the very high standard set by the "Anatomy of the Ship" series and covers HMS Victory in fantastic detail. Anyone interested in the ship (or other sailing warships of the period, which would be similar in detail) and especially anyone interested in building a model of the Victory should add this book to their collection. My one disappointment with McKay is that he didn't include any drawings and only one illustration showing HMS Victory in her pre-1801 condition with her original elaborate figurehead and open stern galleries; the book entirely focuses on her appearance at Trafalgar - admittedly her most famous battle but she was also Sir John Jervis's flagship at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent and it would have been useful to have more data on her pre-reconstruction configuration. Another book well worth having on the Victory is C. Nepean Longridge's "The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships," which I also highly recommend.

Historically, this has been an extremely difficult book to purchace, as once you own it, you will not give it away. From the false keel to the top-gallant trucks, there is nothing as comprehensive as this book.

This 119 page manual covers the history and every aspect of the victory, including deck, rigging, belaying, framing, 3D perspectives and cross sections.

Every cannon and carriage, mast and yard, block and tackle is drawn for you, including all tables for the rigging.

Rare archived Black and White photos are included. Any model maker, or anyone interested in owning a piece of histroy, this facinating book is almost as good as building your own.

So, you're thinking about purchasing this book? Well let me tell you that it is incredible. The 100-Gun-Ship Victory is the most comprehensive book I have ever seen when it comes to the ships construction. It has just enough historical info about the Victory's career to make you salivate and then you get to the drawings, WOW! It is chalked full of drawings after drawings about details that you wouldn't expect and the ones you would. Most of the drawings are in 1/192 scale some in 1/48 scale. If you get the revised edition it has a full Victory rigging drawing cleverly printed on the inside of the book jacket. The actual cover of the book depicts the true colors of the Victory. Lots of effort went into creating this masterpiece of information, if you are not sure about this purchase; relax, you will thoroughly enjoy it.
Michael

McKay's book is an invaluable guide for the model builder. From its concise history to the detailed, well-illustrated narrative, the book provides a wealth of information to guide the reader to virtually any level of detail desired for a ship model. Relying on this book, combined with Longridge's excellent book and participation in an on-line forum dedicated to modeling HMS Victory, I can now approach the task of building a quality model of this noteworthy ship from Heller's 1/100th scale kit.

Detail in drawings opened up a whole new understanding of the ship's rigging. Many thanks

It is an excellent book. Very informative. Gives you added information needed to Build your model. The plans are easily read and can be reduced or Enlarged to other scales without too much problem. As I am new to model Scratch shipbuilding it is a great start for the information needed to carry out the task. Also the Historical interestThe 100-Gun Ship Victory (Anatomy of the Ship Series)

Admiral Lord Nelson, the most successful naval commander of all time, died on board his flagship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Arguably the world's most famous ship, HMS Victory was never decommissioned by the Royal Navy and is now the world's longest serving warship.

Writing this review as someone who, primarily, conducts research into ships but also as one who builds model ships, this book is ideally suited for either purpose. Beginning with an explanation of "First Rate" ships and a list of all those which held that rating, author John McKay takes the reader briefly through a career summary of HMS Victory before moving on to her design and construction. From here on he leaves no stone unturned as he describes each and every facet of the ship - right down to how many tons of salt meat or biscuits she would carry.

Everything from her various repairs and refurbishments to the more specific aspects of her steering gear, ground tackle, pumps, boats, sheathing, accommodation, masts, rigging, yards, sails - and so the list goes on, is fully explained in excellent detail.

The equally excellent photography is only eclipsed by the ultra-high standard of technical drawings which cover every aspect of the ship.

One final point; This excellent series of books include a scale drawing of the vessel to which the book refers on the reverse side of the dust jacket. These are sometimes overlooked.

Altogether a "First Rate" book.

NM

This book contains all the information you would need to "scratch-build"
HMS Victory in any scale or to improve any kit on the market. The detail is amazing and leaves no guesswork whatsoever. A "top-of-the-line" book,
just like the ship itself. Lord Nelson would approve.

An excellent source of detailed diagrams of the ship. The only drawback is that in the description of the building of the Victory, the author uses old English building terms that are not defined for the modern day reader. One must find the definitions from another source to understand what part the author is describing or the buildng process. A minor drawback for the wealth of information.

I have just completed a model of the Victory and most of the rigging information I used came from this book. The rest came from Alan McGowan's book in which comprenhesive drawings are also by John McKay. If you want to know what's what on the Victory this is the book to have. This is a must have book for Victory modellers and enthusiasts. My copy became very grubby in the course of the project so I will be getting another copy.