EJ_L
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Everything posted by EJ_L
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Very nice details and excellent painting! She is coming along very well indeed! While I do not recommend changing anything at this stage nor feeling bad about this, a couple of years ago, they discovered the actual coloring of Victory's hull and it was significantly different than the more common "bumble bee" appearance. See the link from HMS Victory's website here. Again, do not lose any sleep over the difference but I thought it might be an interesting read on her coloring. -
Finally made it down to the hobby store this afternoon for more nails and more drill bits. I also picked up a scalpel style knife as I have been wanting to try them out to compare to the standard Exact-o that I've always had. I already like the feel of the handle better as it is flat compared to the rounded Exact-o but full judgement will have to wait till I have logged some serious hours. This week has not been idle though while I have waited on more nails. I decided to start building the stern cabin windows and that has taken up many hours so far. I've also ran into yet another issue that has come up from modding the kit. The kit was designed for a 5 window layout which I am changing to 6 to better match the paintings of her. My hope was to use the laser cut window panes so as not to have to make them all from scratch only the ones for the doors. So after modifying the aft panel to accommodate the new layout and installing them in their new arrangement, I found out that the stern of the model is not wide enough for a 6 window configuration using the provided panes. I can get 6 sections but the door ways are narrower than the window spacing and also, there should be decorative mullions in between the windows but fitting those will be somewhat problematic as well. So, now I am at that critical junction of deciding what to do. I am sticking with the 6 window layout but do I rebuild all the panes to a smaller size to allow for the equal spaces plus mullions or, do I fudge the designs a bit and make it work as best I can? Every part of me says to rebuild them correctly even though that will be a huge pain the rear, the scotch is telling me to rebuild them and even the Admiral commented on the unevenness of the spacing and if she noticed it then it must be a problem as usually I only hear, "Looks good dear!" So I guess I know what I will be doing but apparently I just needed to see it spoken out loud. Anyway, here are the pictures of what I have done so far. I did turn the lights on to see how that would look through the windows and so far that is a decision I am very happy with. This will be getting posted again after the changes are made. Enjoy, and as always thanks for the comments, likes and just looking in!
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What colors/stains will wales or trim pieces be? I would use contrasting colors to make them "pop", so if the wales are going to be a dark color, go with the provincial. If lighter than stain the hull dark walnut. If they are all going to be the same then pick your favorite! I think the light, special walnut stain for the interior is a good choice as it simulates a well worn white color that in my opinion would be appropriate for the interiors.
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1,000 nails have been installed and I still see a lot missing so onward and upward! While logging my time I realized that on November 29th I reached one year of building Soleil Royal and as of tonight I just marked 530 hours! With no other builds currently in the shipyard, although plans and ideas are appearing more and more in my head and even few on paper , but as none have come to fruition yet I will be able to continue a steady amount of time towards the build. So here is a quick update. As always more to follow and thanks for looking in!
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Don, I would say around 7. The process is not hard, mark out the pattern, drill the holes, insert the nails. Many aspects of rigging are far worse. It is the sheer numbers that get you. I am estimating around 1,500 nails just in the wales alone! Granted this is a huge ship so the scope varies on each model. The tree nails can become even worse as there are thousands more especially if they are shown correctly at each frame and not just at the ends of the planks like many modelers show. I have not yet made up my mind if I will show the tree nails or not. I doubt I will show them on the hull as they were rarely visible in real life anyway after painting. On La Couronne I did show them on the decks and I rather liked that look so I may do that again on S.R.. Scale also makes a difference, since if the scale of the ship is too small, the nails and bolts wouldn't look right. Looking at your Stefano I would say that it is probably big enough to model them with no problem! I recommend doing a test strip first, a scrap plank or something but either do it as 3 or 4 planks wide or close to the length of the model. This will tell you first off if you even like the way they will look on the model and secondly if the work involved is something you wish to pursue. If you hate doing it after only the test or it is not looking the way you want it then you have lost nothing. .
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Hi Don! I decided to drop in and take a look at your build so I could better answer your question about bolts and nails on my own log. Very nice work so far! I'll pull up a chair and stick around to see how she comes along.
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You could try to stain the tree nail lumber a heavier shade of walnut to make them a darker color. It would still be subtle but I think more noticeable than it they were the same shade.
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Hahaha!! Yes, this is one of my slower builds that is for certain but, I am not that upset by it as I am learning a lot more on this build as much more of it is scratch build which is causing me to think a lot more about what, when, why and how. I think that is one of the things I do like about the tedious details. They force me to slow down which in turn creates more time for me to notice and think about future aspects of the build. For example, while installing the never ending thru bolts, I have been looking at the upper deck construction and what all will need to be installed prior to fitting the next deck. Aside from the obvious canons, there are many other eyebolts, knight heads, capstan, and a variety of other rigging blocks and tackle that would be far easier to install now before they are covered up. I have been making good progress on her this week. Nearly went through another 500 nails and I am thinking I should probably buy another 1,000-1,500 (they come in 500 packs) as I'm thinking that aside from the thru bolts on the wales, I may have some more use for them elsewhere on the build. Still waiting on the hobby store to replenish their supplies. Hopefully this week. Meantime I will finish up with what I have and there is plenty more to work on!
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Thanks for posting those pictures Michael. I was going to do that myself when I got home tonight but now I can get back to building!
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From what I have seen they were a common item on the actual ships. Look at pictures of the real Vasa and you can see them well, pattern, size etc.. We are used to looking at images of more "modern" ships for example Victory and Constitution due to the fact that they are still present and well documented. 17th century is harder to picture as very little survives compared to 18th. In looking at the older ship designs, something to remember is that they were a rougher design. Hulls were less streamlined and bulky items such as bolts were just part of it. A necessity to hold the ship together but not important to painters of the time who were more focused on the sculptures and the overall appearance of majesty in the ship. As time moved on and building materials and practices evolved, many improvements were made and the builders were able to conceal the bolts better. Still, if you can see the surviving ships up close or can find clear pictures many bolts and nails can be seen through the paint coatings. As for models, this has been more hit and miss based on the builders desire to model them. Unlike tree nails, the bolts are more pronounced and therefore easier to model. Scale is always a major factor. Too big and they look out of place, too small and whats the point? Trying to find a medium to use that will look good in scale is hard and the entire process is tedious. For example, I'm closing in on 1,000 nails so far and I'm barely half way done. I encourage it if you can find a way to make it work.
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I do have a Harbor Freight in town. May have to go check it out and see what I can find. I just realized how scary that statement will sound to the Admiral. May have to phrase that differently if I want to take the good ship Visa with me....
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Thanks everyone for the nice comments and likes! This sure is a tedious process but I think it is worth it looking at the end result. As for impaling my sailors, so far so good! I did not have to worry too much about it on the lower hull as it is all dummy space anyway with nothing inside to see. As I climb upward though I will have to trim down the nails so they don't come through. The seas were hazardous enough without a sadistic ship builder adding to the dangers. When I go back to the store to get more nails I am going to have to buy more drill bits also. I've snapped two of them already and am on my last one before I get too big for the nail to still have any wood to hold onto. I could go smaller but I have to be careful that way that it does not get too tight to split the wood. Fortunately they are cheap enough to buy but I wish the store sold them individually so I did not have to buy a whole index.
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Hi Don and welcome to MSW! You certainly have an interesting model there. It will be a fun journey just to learn about her history both of the model and possible real life connections. Have fun!
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Welcome to MSW! Best of luck to you on your build!
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First 500 bolts in place. About a third of the way done now. I’m going to have to go get more soon. I still have another pack of 500 so good to go for a little while yet. Have to wait for the hobby store to get more in stock.
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The thru bolting has started!! I’m using HO scale track nails to simulate the bolts. Predrill the holes and hammer in the nails and it seems to be working well so far.
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First group of cannons have been built. I won’t be installing them for a while yet but it is good to have them built and ready to go. I do still have to make 18 more for this deck but those are the mock up ones so they will go much faster. Now Im going to start working on the thru bolts for the wales. Pictures of that to follow.
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Looking good! You could try spraying the copper plating with Dullcote. That should help tone down the shiny copper. The holly wood will hold it's whiteness well. I've used on some other projects and years later it is still as white as when I first turned it.
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That is still a possibility. I had started to use the strips that I had in the room with me. This morning while at work I began to think that I do have a bunch of larger blocks of wood out in the shop that could simplify the process by doing exactly that. We shall see what happens.
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Thank you Don and Denis and to all the likes! Don, I was thinking about something similar but instead of glue, I was thinking of double sided tape. My vise keeps the pieces from separating but the tape would maintain the alignment better. In all reality it is not that slow of a process now that I have done a few and gotten a rhythm going. Still, never hurts to find way to speed up mass production!
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I have not built this kit but this is a common problem in many kits. While I know this is not helpful advice, I'm thinking you are just going to have to get creative with sanding and shimming to get the alignments right. Hopefully someone may have better suggestions or have built this kit and dealt with this issue. Just part of the fun of wooden ship building! You are doing great on it so far and will get this figured out also!
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Building gun carriages. I decided to make new carriages out of a bunch of scrap walnut pieces I had lying around over the kits laser cut ones. I will still use the laser ones in areas that won’t be seen but for the exposed guns I wanted something that looks better. Unfortunately I now have to cut out each side individually but I think it will be worth the effort.
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