historical – sixthseal.com

lord nelson hms victory

I’ve always been fascinated by these things. It’s a newly launched magazine that comes with a full model of the HMS Victory! It appeals to the inner man inside, the urge to build something coherent from pieces. I think it might be an evolutionary step, right after we got through the hunter-gatherer phase.

Build Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory features a section in the magazine dedicated to the history behind this ship, particularly with its regards to history. If you’re a history buff, you’ll know very well about the Battle of Trafalgar and this is one of the ships built during that late 18th Century period.

The HMS Victory is Britain’s most famous warship and it’s also the oldest commission warship in the world!

The basics of marine modeling is also explained in the magazine, which included a guide for beginners. It’s a very serious hobby in some circles and authenticity and attention to detail is highly sought after.

These model kits usually costs in the thousands but this magazine allows you to have one (albeit in stages) for a fraction of the price.

cannon

Issue 1 comes with a DVD that explains the process of modeling very well. There’s a bonus in every issue in addition to the remaining parts of the ship you need to complete HMS Victory – the first issue has a complete cannon kit!

The cannon is made of metal and it’s modeled right after the original Victory’s 12-pounder guns. The attention to detail is incredible – there’s the barrel, vent, thimble, trunnion, carriage, quoin and even trunks to make it movable!

You’ll need some tools and materials and to start off with, Issue 1 provides you with a small bottle of PVA glue.

You can subscribe and get a FREE model tool kit, which is quite comprehensive and suits the needs of this project and also a magnifying glass (told you it was for serious modelers, a toy, this is not).

The best part about this is the incredible detail of HMS Victory supplied with the magazine – it’s faithfully modeled on the original ship and when done it’ll be a 1:84 scale which comes up to 1.25 meters in length!

hms victory

There’s also a removable cutaway section in the finished model which allows you to see the action below decks. It comes alive with the addition of the ships crew in the heat of naval combat. It’s be the ultimate model!

The magazine cum modeling kit is called Build Lord Nelson’s HMS Victory and it retails for just RM 9.90 for Issue 1. Get more details at Build the Victory. It’s out in stores now – you can find it at your nearest newsstand or book store. The issues will be released weekly so there’s something for you to do every weekend to make your very own HMS Victory! 🙂

old batavia

Kota Tua is loosely translated as “Old Town” and it’s the old part of Jakarta. It’s also known as Old Batavia and you can still see the scars of the 1998 riots here – burned buildings are still around and refurbishment hasn’t touched most of it yet.

kota tua

We were staying at a hotel just nearby and one morning, Jazz woke me up to experience the place. The streets were closed on that day, due to a function that’s happening on the square.

kota tua no vehicles

It was the event itself that caused the closure of the streets – it’s called Hari Bebas Kenderaan Bermotor Kawasan Kota Tua 2012 which translates to “(Motorized) Vehicle Free Day (in) Kota Tua Area 2012”. Heh.

kali besar

Kota Tua is bordered by a canal called Kali Besar which is famous for its overpowering stench. I could smell it, but it wasn’t anywhere as bad as I was told.

buskers

The beauty of Kota Tua Jakarta lies in its vibrant community of stalls and buskers – there were people playing various musical instruments and I even saw an improvised percussion system made of glass bottles nestled on a wood frame!

pos indonesia

This is one of the refurbished buildings – their post office. It’s part of their efforts at making this historical town into a UNESCO heritage site.

kota tua stalls

It is primarily a tourist attraction with it’s souvenir stalls – there’s also a theater called Museum Wayang there that plays traditional Indonesian Wayang Kulit (a shadow play with puppets).

museum wayang

Several vendors also offers rides on pimped up (or rather dolled up) bicycles for two, complete with flowery hats.

old jakarta bicycles

However, it’s definitely worth a visit – you can catch a local puppet show or grab a snack from a roadside stall. I had Otak Otak Ikan which is completely different from the soggy fish paste we get here.

otak otak indonesia

The Indonesian version of otak otak is crispy and eaten with a chilli paste. It’s cheap street food, I think I paid less than RM 1 for this.

indonesian otak otak

Kota Tua Jakarta has something for everyone. It’s called Old Jakarta for a reason – a lot of history and heritage can be found in this area. I’ll allocate at least half a day for a proper visit, and a full day if you want to pop into all the museums and catch a wayang kulit show.

kota tua indonesia

…or you can just sit at one of the cafes and watch the vibrant scenes – families at play, people collecting discarded cans for recycling money, old men chatting animatedly while standing around in loose circles.

Build your own ship!

A morning stroll at Kota Tua Jakarta