jack.aubrey

Thanks to Wacko & Mecheleir for their enthusiastic comments, I really appreciate you like my work. Thanks again . . Friday, June 13, 2014 Today I finally installed the figurehead. . after . . the usual 24 hours waiting for the glue to polymerize . . Unlike the two statues of the stern, the figurehead has been already processed with bitumen of Judea. See you soon, Jack. 01 P1090820.jpg 02 P1090822.jpg 03 P1090821.jpg

Thursday, June 12, 2014 While I'm working on the preparation of the "serpi", that I decided to finish before mounting them on the hull (could prove a risky decision but so I decided ..) I work also on other tasks: at the moment I'm finishing the installation of the stern decorations. It is an activity that involves a lot of downtime because the epoxy glue. In fact, only for a few decorations I've been able to use the trick of using a small amount of cyano-acrylate together the epoxy . . for many this was not possible. Here is a roundup from right to left of the stern, almost finished: the poop three lanterns and some other minor details are still missing. Only at the very end I will apply a light coating of oil or transparent paint to hide some few spots of glue that could not be, despite all my attention, avoided. The two statues that sit on either side of the upper balcony should be treated with bitumen of Judea to age their color. 01 P1090815.jpg 02 P1090816.jpg 03 P1090817.jpg 04 P1090818.jpg 05 P1090819.jpg See you soon, Jack.

Saturday, June 7, 2016 Since last Saturday I was engaged by homeworks: installation of an air conditioning system and subsequent wall painting of the three "air-conditioned" rooms. Obviously I was not the "main protagonist", it is not my field of expertise, but it was enough to distract me for almost the whole week from any work on the Soleil Royal. I'm currently working on the preparation of what in italy we call "serpi". Unfortunately I do not know the right english term but I hope the images will help. Shortly I'm writing of two pre-cut pieces of plywood of 1.5 mm. thickness. The preparation is trivial, but their installation at first sight has caused me a lot of doubts: the instructions recommend to well soak these pieces and then paste them. Undoubtedly the main problem is "weakness". In addition, you will have later to work for painting and applying golden decoration on the pieces: basically a "hard work". . with several difficulties. . I think it would be better to work on the piece not mounted on the hull, apply all the decorations, paint the whole and only at this point apply the resulting, finished piece. In order to use this method I decided to reinforce the precut plywood (of not very high quality wood) pasting with glue a fine fabric on the inside. The idea is to avoid breaking when bending during the final bonding. In the two photos you can see to the two "serpi", the one on the right is the outer part, the left shows the inner part treated with the fabric. On the whole a couple of coats of diluted vinyl and finally a coat of primer: the objective is to harden the wood as much as possible. Will it work ? I hope . . 01 CAM00217.jpg 02 CAM00218.jpg Finally, I worked on a "custom" version of two decorations located below the poop lower gallery. The decorations supplied by De Agostini are made to be mounted on a flat surface. On my model, unfortunately, this surface is absolutely not flat, so the piece does not fit at all. It seems that the problem is not only mine but many other modellers encountered the same. At the time I evaluated several solutions, which I have already discusse time ago and I don't want to repeat, but today I tried another solution. You can see it in the picture below. 03 CAM00219.jpg Immage disappeared Unlike the original pieces, in the image pointed by link 04 marked with (2), this is in copper wire twisted and welded which can be modeled on the shape of the surface, and then adapted perfectly. It is aesthetically much more simpler . . All for today, it seems quite nothing but it needed a lot of time and efforts . . really. Regards, Jack.Aubrey.

Tuesday, May 28, 2014 Tuesday I could not do much more than just sticking some new decorations on the poop. Their position did not allow me to proceed further until glue was dried . . that is, until the next day. Below the top four support columns, human shaped ? . . I do not know exactly what they represent . . which connect the intermediate gallery with the upper part. The left side has already been completed on Sunday. 01 CAM00210.jpg And here two other columns that have the same function between the upper gallery and the intermediate . . 02 CAM00212.jpg Finally, while I sat in silence watching the model without being able to touch it, I realized that I glued the two decorations on the transom in reversed order. The horse heads had to be outside while I've fixed just the opposite. It's a big trouble now because I think it's pretty complicated, perhaps even impossible, to detach them. Surfing the internet it seems that there is no treatment or solvent that can soften the epoxy glue once polymerized. The only alternative seems to be a mechanical action . . impractical in my case without causing not predictable damage. I'll leave the problem to settle, it will not run away . . within a week or more it will be still in the same place. 03 CAM00211.jpg Having nothing else to show and considering now completed the installation of the guns and gunport lids, I feel it's now the right moment to list the steps in the exact sequence used for their assembly. 1) - preparation of the wooden part of the lid; it is a work described some time ago; here it is useful to remember that on these pieces, reproduced in image http://forum.model-space.co.uk/default.aspx?g=posts&t=11962&p=8 October 13, 2012 - Gun port lids", I applied the two small copper bars simulating the hinges with some cyan gel glue; 2) - drill the three holes required to insert the eyebolts; 3) - bond eyebolts with liquid cyan glue; the outer two on the upper face and the center one on the bottom; 4) - glue the gunport lid on the hull; glue used: epoxy for robustness and cyan (gel) for fast fixing; 5) - drill the upper left or right side of the inner wall of the hull inside the gunport with 0.5 mm drill to insert and lock a rope head; 6) - put the rope through the hole and let scroll it into for one cm. or more; then place a thin brass nail into the same hole; leave a small drop of cyan on the nail head and push it fully into the hole so that the glue holds the nail and the rope together; with a round brush touch up the tip of the nail head in black. 7) - fix the other end of the rope to the center bottom eyebolt, leaving the rope rather abundant; fix the knot with a dash of liquid cyan; 8) - drill the hole for the half barrel guns; to make the hole in every gun-port in the same place I have prepared a template that helps positioning; glue the half barrel, aged earlier, with liquid cyan glue; 9) - now it's the moment of the two ropes that are used to open the lid; first drill two holes of 0.5 mm where insert the rope; 10) - put the rope as in step 6, and then the brass nail, etc; connect the other end of the rope to the eyebolt and run a knot holding the rope taut; consolidate the knot with a drop of liquid cyan and step on the second rope of the lid in the same way. All this for about 70 times . . I must also say that in order to develop this apparently simple approach I have tried different alternatives but the one here described, in my opinion, is the best. Sincerely, Jack.

Sunday, May 25, 2014 Closed the guns parenthesis, I shifted my interest on the head and, at the same time, I decided to install at the end of each working session some new decorations. In fact, at this stage there are still many decorative elements missing; but their management requires quite a long time due to the long time needed for the epoxy to harden. So with this strategy every day I will apply something that will be able to harden during the intervals between one sessions and the next one, an average of 20/24 hours. Pinrails at the mizzen mast. The instructions provide for a different location for the pinrails back of this mast, but honestly, although there was enough space for its placement where indicated, it did not seem to me there was also the possibility of operating it "seriously". So I installed it on the deck immediately above, where its operation should be completely assured. 01 CAM00206.jpg Installing the bowsprit, or rather the stump of the bowsprit: also this mast must follow the fate of the other three. I think it is coming quite well. To get to the result seen in the two images, I needed two separate sessions: in the first I focused in creating the conditions for properly fix the mast and, at the end, secure it; in the second finishments, painting and fix the ropes that bind the bowsprit at the stem. 02 CAM00205.jpg 03 CAM00202.jpg Finally, some new decorations attached to the poop: I leave to more willing and eager of you the task (or pleasure) to locate them: once they have been positioned I cannot not touch the model until the next day . . 04 CAM00204.jpg 05 CAM00203.jpg See you soon, Jack.Aubrey.

Friday, May 23, 2014 Today I finished the installation of the (half barrel) guns . . . Here below the two gunport lids and guns at the beakhead bulkhead. 01 CAM00199.jpg . . and here the four guns aft, installed under the lower gallery. Given their "uncomfortable" position it was more complicated to assemble the whole but after various body contortions it was achieved decently. 02 CAM00200.jpg 03 CAM00201.jpg Sincerely, Jack.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014 I finished all the activities for the gunport lids also on the remaining side. To work on the right side I developed a more practical, quick and "rope saving" method then the one used previously . . . it was much, much better. There are no aesthetical differences but the process was better on everything else. I found also some time to fix the guns, or rather the half-barrels, of the upper deck. These guns are lighter than the same on the underlaying decks and the port lids are here substituted by a golden decoration which defines the outer edge. I would say that 95% of the guns of the three decks are installed: there are now remaining four guns aft and two hunting. Regarding the sixteen guns located on the forecastle and the quarterdecks it is a totally different matter: these are completed with blocks, ropes and tackles. First problem: I need to use blocks of suitable size, similar to the ones used for the guns on the upper deck below the waist. Those provided by the De Agostini partwork are simply "enormous", totally out of scale. I have to find them. I raised an order to a model shop . . If these missing pieces will become available in a short time I'll probably start working on these 16 guns. If not I'll start working on the bow: head, figurehead, bowsprit, etc. We'll see what next. Regards, Jack. 01 CAM00198.jpg 02 CAM00197.jpg 03 CAM00192.jpg 04 CAM00196.jpg 05 CAM00195.jpg

Friday, May 16, 2014 Today I continued to work on the gunports and at the end I managed to finish the entire right side. I thought it was a longer work, however, using the "improved" method, it was smoother and faster. Below are some pictures (taken with the smartphone) of the ship side with all the gunport lids opened. The sight on the side seems to me considerably richer and more crowded with the new details . . Now that a good deal of work has been done and, above all, I optimized the method of working, I'll try in the next post to list all the necessary steps to complete a port lid like the ones shown, starting from the beginning. Sincerely, Jack. 01 02 03 04

Many thanks to Wacko, Yves and all the other users that appreciate my work on this model. Wednesday and today I'm working to prepare for the installation of an air-conditioner. It's several years that I make plans for an air-conditioning system and now I've taken (or better my wife) the final decision. Here in Italy the prices of this kind of equipment are now four times less than in 2005, when I planned the first time to install them. Good news !! I'm laying dedicated electrical wires from the electrical meter to the place where the external equipment will be placed: in practice I've to cross all the length of my house . . . good luck !! Cheers, Jack.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 Work on the gunport lids is still ongoing . . Today I fixed the gun half-barrels on the left side, using the same method tried yesterday on the right side. After this activity, I started to experiment the mounting of the ropes, on the external side of the lids, that serve to raise them. I think this is the most boring part of this group of activities. For today I have limited myself to work on six / seven doors to find the best method in terms of results but also in search of the more practical execution. I tried a couple of solutions and at the end I found what I prefer. For now I will only show three images of how the gunport lids look like once finished. As soon as I have more time I will describe the procedure in detail. 01 P1090796.jpg 02 P1090795.jpg 03 P1090794.jpg Greetings to all, Jack.Aubrey.

Monday, May 12, 2014 The work proceeds quite slowly. After I've finished installing the ropes to close the gunport lids on both sides now I started to apply the half-barrel guns. . activity much less boring than the previous one. Tomorrow I plan to complete also the right side. For the installation I built a simple tool that helped me to accurately position the drill to make the hole in the right position into the gumport background. In this hole it's then possible to insert the half-barrel of a gun. . . With this tool it was a mere matter of making holes with the drill of the appropriate diameter. The bonding of the half barrels was done using the two-component epoxy glue. 01 CAM00180.jpg 02 CAM00177.jpg 03 CAM00175.jpg 04 CAM00170.jpg 05 CAM00171.jpg When I'll have finished installing the guns on the other side I will start the next activity that I think harder and more tedious: the two ropes above the gunport lid needed for its opening. See you soon, Jack. PS: I've taken these photos with my smartphone: they are significantly better than I did a while ago with the same equipment. Maybe, after so many scribbles, I start to learn.

Sunday, May 11, 2014 Not a very productive week. Apart the short time dedicated to the model, most of the work done on it was to work around the gunport lids to fix the ropes used to close them. Nothing significantly for taking a photo. In the interval between these boring activities I have finished the fourth lauch, the "green" one, and I fixed it to its support together with the "blue" launch. The two pictures here below show the two boats on its basement . . . 01 P1090793.jpg 02 P1090792.jpg . . . while the remaining two images show the boats on board of the vessel. They are only positioned, not fixed, because I do not think it is the right time to definitely bond them in place. I'm thinking about a fixing method that uses pins instead of glue so it can be removed if necessary for access to the details installed on the deck . . . 03 P1090791.jpg 04 P1090790.jpg I hope next time I'll be able to show something more interesting. Sincerely, Jack.Aubrey.

Of course Yves, this is not a farewell but simply a "see you soon on another building log" . . . In the meantime I will continue to maintain the Soleil Royal log until its completion. Sincerely, Jack.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 Good morning to everyone. I'm adding this new message to communicate the closure of the shipyard and consequently this building log, following a mine personal decision. The long period (+/- 8 months) in which I had health problems related with three eye operations has allowed me to critically reconsider my current way of being a ship modeller. So I came to define plans for the future that represent a strong breakthrough from the past. The result of this new approach is practically a rather radical change of direction: I sold to a German ship modeler all the material, until now available, of 12 Apostles and, at the end of the partwork (it is now at issue no.65 but the complete partwork is up to 120 issues) I will send the remaining material; put on sale the partwork of the Sovereign of the Seas, again from De Agostini; at the moment it is around issue number 100 while the complete partwork will end to 135; put on sale the partially finished hull and the related material (it is a commercial kit from Artesania Latina) of the San Juan Nepomuceno, a 74-gun Spanish ship of the line who fought at Trafalgar, in 1:90 scale; http://www.deagostinipassion.com/forum/posts/list/13458.page finally, I will make the same with the hull and the remaining material of the kit of the Dolphyn, from Corel; it is a Dutch privateer, ketch rigged, in 1:50 scale; http://www.deagostinipassion.com/forum/posts/list/24837.page the only model that I plan and want to complete will be the Soleil Royal, that probably some of you already know from my building log in this forum http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1044-le-soleil-royal-by-jackaubrey-de-agostini-scale-170/ I think it is clear that once the Soleil Royal will be finished, which I think should be feasible by the end of next summer, I will have nothing to do from the past. . . and then what will I do? A few weeks ago I opened a topic in http://www.deagostinipassion.com/forum/posts/list/27707.page in which I presented a book, titled " The Restoration Warship" by Richard Endsor, describing a British 3rd rate ship of the line of 1678: the Lenox. Well, this ship will be (with the strong hope that the devil will not disagree) my next model. It will be built according to the English style called "Navy Board Model" which is not exactly what is generally meant by "French" admiralty ship modeling (I personally add "French"), which is quite different. I hope everybody knows the difference of the two types of modeling, in contrary I could open a specific topic to clarify what is meant by "Navy Board Model", or at least I will try to do my best. In the meantime I asked Richard Endsor, the author of the monograph, the plans in 1:48 scale that I proceeded to modify with AutoCAD to get the new plans in 1:84 scale; the scale that I have chosen for my future model. This experience served me to learn and basically use AutoCAD: now I'm quite able to use it for my personal purposes. Staying always available to interact with those who need help about 12 Apostles, I send a cordial greeting to all of you, Jack.Aubrey.

Thursday, May 1, 2014 This afternoon was quite fruitful, at least considering my way of working, notoriously rather slow. As a diversion about working around the gunports lids, I focused on the preparation of the support structures for the boats. In the following picture the structure coloured in red was already partially ready, I limited myself to prepare cradles with the shape of the boats hull, fix them and stain in mahogany. Finally some eye bolts to band the boats to the structure with ropes. The other two in the image, left natural wood, are the ones that will be placed on the basement of the display case and that will support the two larger boats. 01 P1090776.jpg Below the boats as they will when installed. They are almost all finished, there are only a few details (oars, rudder, etc.) to add on the "green" boat. 02 P1090777.jpg 03 P1090780.jpg Finally I tried the final fixing of a boat, just to see the final effect. It is one of the two launches which will be fixed on the basement. 04 P1090781.jpg 05 P1090782.jpg That's all for today, tomorrow I should have the afternoon available, maybe I'll continue . . Regards, Jack.Aubrey

Continuation. . Now even the starboard side has been "decorated" with the gunports. Here, unlike the left side, the hinges are already present on the ports, or rather the bits of burnished copper that simulate them. I think the aesthetic is much better. Obviously I will have to mount the same details on other gunports on the left side. Now all gunports are positioned and well bonded. The next step in equipping the ropes to close them. To do this, I'll have to tie a rope on the internal ringbolt, drill the hull inside the port window in proper position, place the head of the rope through the hole and secure it with a some glue. This for sixty times. . 01 P1090765.jpg 02 P1090771.jpg 03 P1090773.jpg 04 P1090772.jpg To break the monotony at the same time I'm preparing the structure supporting the boats that you can see (only positioned) in the next photo. The work is still in progress. . 05 P1090769.jpg Cheers, Jack.Aubrey

Saturday, April 26, 2014 I've finished to setup the gunports. Today I've mounted them to the hull with the usual method (bi-component epoxy glue and cyano-acrylate). I've also definitely installed the masts on the decks. Here are the four aft gunports below the galleries . . 01 P1090766.jpg 02 P1090770.jpg . . and here are the two (not four as I mistakenly wrote earlier) gunports at the bow . . 03 P1090768.jpg 04 P1090767.jpg I'll continue soon . .

Tuesday, April 22, 2014 The day is dedicated to building a hundred rings with pin, to simulate the ring bolts on the gun ports, in order to have material enough for the remaining pieces. The photo below shows the procedure I used to build these "ring bolts": 0.25 brass wire with the ends bent and clamped in a tweezers. At this point everything is screwed around a drill bit and run enough revolutions to achieve the right piece . . simple but VERY repetitive, every 10 pieces I was surfing on the internet to change and relax. 01 P1090759.jpg Then I browned the whole so that they were ready for final assembly. Wednesday, April 23, 2014 At the last moment I discovered in my personal, old, unused pieces reserve some copper elements that may serve very well to simulate the hinges and I decided to use them. The decision resulted in looking at the gun ports already attached to the hull, where the top is very well visible and therefore this kind of element should improve realism. I then browned them too and I began to prepare them for installation by cutting them into pieces of appropriate length. In the first image we see the wooden gun ports ready to start work, pre-drilled to accommodate a group of ring bolts and also the ring bolts burnished. 02 P1090763.jpg Below we see the gun ports "finished", that is, ready to be bonded on the hull and then go to the following processes: ropes to open the ports, for their closing and the half-barrel of the gun. I forgot: after the operation a thin coat of matt transparent paint to even out the color and hide the spots of glue. 03 P1090761.jpg That's all for today, but tomorrow I'll continue with the same activities of today. I hope to finish all the gun ports according to picture 03. Regards, Jack.

Today, Easter Sunday, resting relaxed. I just checked when I went to pick up my mother-in-law to bring her to my house that the bonding of the gun ports, made with the epoxy came well: I have not tried the breaking point it seem to be, for my feeling, pretty high. So I'm fully satisfied with my choice. Cheers, Jack. CAM00163.jpg CAM00167.jpg P1090757.jpg

Saturday, April 19, 2014 - slowly but . . As I said in the title, slowly. . . but regularly, I resumed working on the Soleil Royal. This week I finished the installation of the chain plates and the deadeyes, left missing on one side of the hull. This time, thanks to the experience gained from the work of the previous week, I went slightly faster. I then changed type of activity: although it probably will not be the most appropriate activity in a logical sequence, I began to work to install the gun ports and the guns (or the half pipe skeletons of the gun) themselves. Twenty-six gun ports on each side plus four aft and four in the bow. I already prepared long time ago the wooden part of these ports. Now I have prepared brass rings starting from wire 0.25 rolled around a drill bit of 0.5. For every door will need three, two to lift it and one to withdraw, so 60 x 3 = 180. To make the story short, after having prepared enough material for one side, I set the rings on the gunports, and then I tried gluing the ports in their position. I used for this task the two components epoxy glue and a drop of cyan in gel format. The gel is useful to keep the ports in position for the 12/24 hour necessary to the epoxy for hardening. I think this is the strongest bonding possible, as confirmed by the prototype that I prepared and shown long time ago. Here are some pictures . . but the work still to be done is a lot. I took photos with the smartphone, so they are not very sharp, but still give the idea in their own way . 01 CAM00168.jpg 02 CAM00162.jpg 03 CAM00165.jpg 04 CAM00166.jpg

Saturday, April 12, 2014 - reopening the shipyard . . It's almost two months since this yard was closed, due to various commitments . . Now it is a couple of days I've found the will to start working again and I immediately applied myself to finish the work I stopped before this health interruption. The new work consisted of installing in their place all the deadeyes and their chains . An operation that requires a good deal of patience and precision. At the end it came out with a job half done, in the sense that I finished the right side of the model and for the next few days I have to complete the left side. I forgot to write that before closing the shipyard I prepared the stumps of the masts, excluding the bowsprit. These pieces can be seen in some of the attached images. I omit the explanation of how I proceeded in fixing the chain plates, I think everyone can imagine how . I am very happy with the resulting strength and appearance. Here are some pictures to describe the work done and the results obtained. 01 P1090756.jpg 02 P1090750.jpg 03 P1090752.jpg 04 P1090751.jpg

Hi Yves, now my health is fine, the eyes are recovering very well. The only problem is that my sight from small distance (for shipmodeling is important) is now worst than before (while from far distance is ok) and I need new glasses . . . But I need some time again to stabilize the sight of my right eye (few weeks) before buying new glasses . . In the meantime i'm working to a new project for the future: the hms lenox of 1678. It is described in the book "the restoration warship" by Richard Endsor. Now I0'm working with AutoCAD to produce the plans.

Thursday, February 20, 2014 - still chain plates . . Today I started the painting of the more than 50 chain plates. - I prepared a small polystyrene frame on which I applied two strips of double-sided adhesive on which to place the pieces to be painted. - Once I placed all the chain plates on the frame I painted with the airbrush a metal primer on all the items. I then waited an hour or so waiting the primer to dry. - In the meantime I prepared the airbrush with the final paint color (the final color is not exactly this, but for now we can consider it so). - I then sprayed the chain plates and I left everything to dry thoroughly. - Tomorrow I will proceed to remove and reposition the chain plates on the other side to repeat the same procedure on the hidden side . Only at this point the task of painting can be considered as finished. At that point i'll have to mount them in place and, once established definitively, with the dry-brush technique pass a rather rough coat (only on the metal parts of the chain plates) with "gun metal" paint. Hoping everything is clear, warm greetings, Jack. 01 P1090736.jpg 02 P1090735.jpg 03 P1090738.jpg

Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - Display Case Cause a very aggressive flu I did nothing since my last post in this topic. In the meantime, however, I had arranged with a craftsman to prepare for my model a display case in plexiglass; this case went in the meantime available just these last days. It seems pointless to go back on the exposition way of the model, since it is a topic discussed in detail in the past. Here are some photos which show that, even with the selected display solution, it is a very nice "backside" although it's nothing if compared with the model completed with masting. Cheers, Jack. 01 P1090734.jpg 02 P1090733.jpg 03 P1090732.jpg 04 P1090731.jpg

Saturday, January 25, 2014 - Chain plates again . . On Thursday and Friday I continued to devote myself to the construction of the " blessed chain plates". After the ten prototypes that I have fully complied with, now it remains to construct another 50 to complete the full set. So these two days I started this business, pretty boring because of the high repeatability. Let's say that today, if I find a couple of hours to work, matter that is not guaranteed due to other commitments, I should add to the ten prototypes about 35-40 new pieces. Then I'll can finally proceed with their installation on the hull. But first, there is still another task to do : paint or burnish brass/tin with which they are made. 1st hypothesis : Painting Here the problem lies in how to prepare the pieces for painting . The solding flux paste leaves a film of dirt that must be removed in advance with a detergent. Then a coat of primer and matt black or gun metal. Does anyone have any idea what is better to use for cleaning ? 2nd Hypothesis : Browning Again, there is the problem of degreasing with the addition of the uncertainty of how the burnishing liquid works on brass and tin. If that produces the same color effect or not. In the latter case I would say that this hypothesis would be rejected. Has anyone an answer on this matter? For now it's all about, to hear from you, Jack.Aubrey.