The HMS Victory. Club first.

The ship from which Nelson commanded at Trafalgar, in wood at 1:87 scale, officially licensed by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. A 5,388-part kit to build piece by piece, from the first frame to the last line of the rigging.

HMS Victory: Nelson's ship at Trafalgar (1805)

Few ships can tell the story from the inside: Victory was there. Launched at Chatham in 1765, she was already forty years old — with battles like Cape St. Vincent behind her — when Nelson hoisted his flag aboard and led her into Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. She defeated the combined fleet; she lost her admiral. Today she remains in commission, the oldest serving warship in the world, and can be visited in the dry dock at Portsmouth.

Three gun decks, 104 guns and the restrained Georgian elegance of a first-rate ship of the line. None of this is interpretation: it is documentation.

Expert level: 5,388 parts and around 1,000 hours

Nearly four feet of ship: 1,172 mm (46.1 in) overall length and 785 mm (30.9 in) of masts. It is the highest level on our scale, and the numbers explain why. At ten hours a week, around two years of work.

That is not a warning: it is the project. Each session moves one specific part forward — a deck, a battery, a mast, a stretch of rigging — and the model waits for the next. The video tutorials cover the complete build.

How it is built: from hull to rigging

Assembly follows the order of a real shipyard. First the false keel and the frames, which set the shape of the hull. Then the strip planking, bent and fitted one strip at a time until the hull is fully closed, with the black and yellow checkerboard between the three batteries that made Victory famous after Trafalgar.

With the hull closed come the decks, the artillery and the ornamentation at bow and stern. Finally the masting: three masts, yards, standing and running rigging, and the sewn sails. It is the slowest phase, and the one that gives the model its final silhouette.

What the kit includes

• All 5,388 parts of the model, laser-cut with precision
• Sewn cotton sails and braided rigging thread
• Scale plans and a parts list with measurements and materials
• Instructions in 5 languages with step-by-step photographs
• Parts identification sheet
• Assembly video tutorials
• Lifetime guarantee

HMS Victory model kit technical specifications

• Reference: 15008
• Scale: 1:87
• Length: 1,172 mm (46.1 in)
• Height: 785 mm (30.9 in)
• Width: 406 mm (16.0 in)
• Number of parts: 5,388
• Build time: approx. 1,000 hours
• Difficulty level: Expert

Woods and materials

Each wood is chosen for what it has to do: flexibility to bend around the hull, stability to hold the structure, fine grain for the visible parts.

• Basswood: strips
• African walnut: strips and assorted parts
• Sapele: strips
• Poplar: frames and decks
• Mukali: assorted parts
• Zamak and brass: cannons, ornamentation and fittings
• Cotton: sails and rigging

All our wood is FSC and PEFC certified.

Two ways to build the Victory

This is the standard edition: planked hull, permanently available, made to be built and displayed.

There is also a limited edition of 999 numbered units, built as an Admiralty-style model — open hull, internal structure exposed — in solid oak and mahogany, with a numbered wooden box and brass plate. There will be no more.

Is it suitable for beginners?

No. It is Expert level, the highest of the four. If you are starting from scratch, the Polaris or the Albatros are the place to begin; the Victory is the destination.

How much space does it take up once built?

1,172 mm (46.1 in) long, 785 mm (30.9 in) high and 406 mm (16.0 in) wide. Make sure you have a display cabinet or shelf before you start.

What if a part is missing or breaks?

Every Occre model comes with a lifetime guarantee. You can request a replacement for any part through the after-sales form.