EJ_L

Thank you all for joining the log! 
 
O.C., of course I’m building a fleet. You can’t control the seven seas with just one ship! Hahaha!!! 
 
Been a productive week if not very exciting. Most of it so far has been spent fairing frames and building the stern counter. The fun part started happening just recently as I started to build out the interior of the lowest cabin. 
 
I also received more LED lights to illuminate the interior in the mail today. Just in time for the weekend! 

It is finally time to start the new build! Royal Louis by Mamoli. This will be my third ship in my series of French warships. First being La Couronne, second Soleil Royal and now Royal Louis. My goal with these is to show an evolution of ship building and design throughout the 17th century and into the 18th. I am no expert on the topic, and this is really just for fun but, it has been a very learning and exciting ride so far.
 
Yes, Soleil Royal is still under construction and I have no intention of leaving her unfinished. Much like I did during L.C.'s build, I will be swapping back and forth periodically between the two builds. I have found that for myself on these large and very long builds, (Soleil Royal is quickly approaching the completion of her second trip around the sun with easily another to go) that being able to switch between projects helps to alleviate a lot of those monotonous places in the build that often times drives builders to quit. I just want to give fair warning that if the build goes silent for a long length of time, I'm most likely on the other and feel free to join me there!
 
Next up is the newest addition to my shipyard, the Professional Build Slip from Hobbyzone. I have been wanting to build or buy a build slip for some time and a while back I read through an excellent review and tutorial on assembling this one on MSW. Link here. I decided to give it a try. So far I am happy with it and it has already been a huge help in fixing some of my common issues of bulkhead alignment. I think this will be the start to a lot of years with a great new tool.
 


 
Now we come to the kit itself. Most of what is in it is fairly common kit pieces. Laser cut false keel, bulkheads and misc. framing pieces. Packages of the usual cast decorations (I will again be carving my own) canons, carriages, furniture etc. The rope looks decent. Not the best to be had but perfectly usable for anyone not wanting to upgrade and still have a nice model. The wood probably impressed me the most. Looking at the bundles, I see nice straight strips, uniform thicknesses and plenty of it. A nice change from the quality of my last two kits. How much of it will I use n this model is yet to be seen, though not from quality but, from color and species choices. Since I am trying to keep my three ships looking relatively the same, I will most likely be switching to mahogany and walnut for the outer hull. We shall see. The instructions are decent but, not for a beginner. Like most kits similar to this one, the drawings and "instructions" leave a a lot of detail out and makes assumptions that you know what you are doing in order to achieve what it shown. Plan on using a lot of outside resources for rigging, planking etc.. All part of the fun right?!
 



Probably the most annoying thing so far that I have seen, is how much stuff is cast metal. Ladders, railings, the ship's wheel and even the boats are all cast metal. I will not be using any of those items on this build. Like most of these kits there are no sails, only the flags so I will need to make my own, though that is a very long time from now. I'm looking forward to another fun and educational build!


 
So let us get started. While waiting on the new slip to get here, (I had a month as it was coming overseas) I was able to get the keel glued together and test fit all the bulkheads and decks to check alignments and to see what modifications I will need to do to accommodate my personal changes. The main ones being the build out of the cabins along with lighting. I did this on S.R. and intend to do the same again. Now that the slip is in and assembled, I sett he keel in place and began to set the bulkheads and installed the first deck.
 









Off to a good start. Filler blocks, fairing the frames, extra supports and all those fun hours of sanding that go into the sub structure that make the model turn out nice is up next. I hope everyone enjoys the journey! 

Hi George - I hope all is well, and I would also love to see an update on this project.  One of my favorite things about this model is the way that you represented the nailing, above the waterline; at scale, this just looks fantastic!
 
BTW, in the interim, since last speaking about this subject - I have come to the conclusion that a forecastle capstan is, indeed, likely.  I am basing my observation on the allowance made, for such, on the Louis Quinze model at the Musee:
 

 
The capstan pawls are clearly evident, as is the hole in the deck for the drum.  Admittedly, the inclusion of gratings without coamings is curious.

Looks beautiful Kevin. Great painting job!

As long as it isn't eye-poking, then we are headed in the right direction, me hopes.

Eye popping!

Leetle by leetle, Soleil Royal rises from the ashes.  This will be my best paint work, yet:
 

Exactly.  It's sort of like looking over Da Vinci's shoulder while he painted.

A raised bar is to be expected when a masterpiece is being created. I have no hopes of every being able to emulate Johann's work, I'm quite content to sit and watch as his masterpiece unfolds. 
 
 

You know, there is a point where raising the bar any higher just makes some of us feel more inadequate..😁

Continuation: Ratlines for the topmast shrouds - Enflechures
In the meantime I was able to finish the ratlines on the starboard side of the mizzen topmast shrouds. 
The tangle of ropes in the upper right corner of the following picture are the topgallant shrouds and royal shrouds that have not been fixed yet.
 
In the next step the main topmast shrouds will get the ratlines.
 
To be continued ...

Thank you Marc! It is from people like yourself and the work and effort that you put into a project that inspire and push me to continue to try to improve. 
 
Well, the last few weeks have been busy ones as I have been working on installing the second planking layer. As of today, I have finished from the wales to the keel. 
 
The wales are in walnut as are the keel, stem and stern post. The lower hull has been planked in cherry. None of this has been sanded or finished yet so it is a bit uneven and faded in color. 
 
Next up I will flip her over to continue moving up the hull with planks. Still working through some of the upper color scheme and deciding if I want to represent the colors with natural wood or paint. This will really come down to what colors are chosen. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EJ, this is all off to a smashing start!  I have really enjoyed watching your skill progression, from one build to the next, as you are never daunted by the opportunity to try something new, and you always finish with a model that is way better than the sum of it's parts.  I'll be following with great interest!

Sometimes it is for the best. You are not alone in shelving a model project for any number of reasons. I've got a few unfinished ones myself. Maybe one day you will return to it, maybe not. In either case, life is too short to be unhappy in a hobby. I will keep an eye out for your Surprise build log. Good luck on that build!

Main cabin floor is complete! Now I can start to trim the room and install the aft seating in front of the stern windows. 
 
First though I will apply the second planking layer. Best to get that finished before I add too many interior details. 
 
Here are some pics of the floor in progress  as installed. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

More cabin progress has been made. Wall paneling is well underway and the LED's for two of the lamps have been installed. I finished designing the floor pattern and have begun building it. Very time consuming, but fun! A different sort of challenge than those normally faced with model ships.
 
I also took some time and milled down a pile of lumber for the outer planking. When I finish the cabin flooring I will switch back to planking to put the finish planks on.
 
To help with all of this, I got a new band saw for Christmas. Been needing one for a long time so when my tool store announced a sale, I quickly hopped in the truck and drove down to get one.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello all!
 
I have discovered a long time ago that I cannot simply build one ship at a time. As I am only working on Royal Louis right now, and am nearing the halfway point, I found myself with the itch to start a new build. I do enjoy doing things this way as it allows me to switch back and forth between builds when I get to a point where I need more research or am simply bored with what I am currently doing. I was originally going to build Sovereign of the Seas, but every store I checked was currently sold out with no expected date of restock due to global shipping conditions. The one I found was priced far higher than normal and so I passed. Thanks particularly to Doris' breathtaking build of Royal Caroline, this beautiful yacht had been at the top of my wish list for some time and so I decided to go for it. 
 
As usual for me, I intend to heavily bash this kit, particularly to build out the interior cabins and provide lighting to illuminate those details. Working with a far larger scale than I am usually accustomed to, 1:48 compared to my other current build of 1:90, means that I will have ample opportunity for showing those details with clarity, and far less excuses for shoddy work... 😬
 
So please, pull up a chair and join me if you like. I build slow, so get a big bucket of popcorn and settle in. I hope you enjoy the journey.
 
First off, the unboxing. I will not go into too much detail here as these are all largely the same. What is inside is typical for a Mantua brand kit. Decent laser cut parts, clean wood and fair castings, fittings and some line for rigging. Nothing spectacular but the components will make a fine model out of the box. Some stuff I use, some I do not and will be explained as the build goes on.







 
 

hello Kathy.......now I really feel embarrassed      4 years..............that's the same as a term for the presidency!  has it been that long???  to be hones,  she's been under drape all this time.....doing my best not to let the dust settle on her.  I do have a reason for getting her back on the table......but I did as well in the case of the Half Moon.......and I missed the boat on that one too    

I was in the process of trying to find the life boats for her,  since the kit has a shortcoming on this area.  the aft supports are dry fitted in this photo,  I believe....another pair are to be positioned on the roof of the forward cabin.  it been trial and error.......so I think I will settle for what I've got and go with them.......I'll just fudge them a little to suit.   I also wanted to add a few other bits of detail.......and with that,  I think I will lower the scope a little,  so the project will be a bit more achievable.  
    the idea of building a second model to accompany this one did come to some sort of fruition........I built a hull {using that one bow bulkhead I showed back in the early part of the project},  but instead of continuing it as the Cutty Sark,  I thought to do something very different.  I decided to build a clipper battle ship.  there are some aspects that I still need to iron out....like propulsion {I plan on 2 to 4 screw},  and masting,  but it is doable.  I have pictures of what I have done on her......I am so 'itching' to digress.......but I shouldn't.  here is just one picture of the hull.....

I guess the idea came about,  when I was working on the Arizona {which I still need to finish as well}...or I might have been tinkering with the guns on the New Jersey {which I am so itching to start}.  the idea ran though my head.......could I make these from wood?  ....and that's what kicked it off.....
I have some PE to play with for her.......it's been about a year since I last pulled her out.   I'm always play'in with something.....make no mistake.  one day I may get up the gusto to create a log.....I just don't want to scare folks,  thinking that I've gone off the deep end   I have......>evil grin<.  so keep an eye on this log.........I will be back  

 

 

 

Thanks EJ. So far, I've put more hours in the Surprise in one day, than I put in the SotS in a week.

Sometimes it is for the best. You are not alone in shelving a model project for any number of reasons. I've got a few unfinished ones myself. Maybe one day you will return to it, maybe not. In either case, life is too short to be unhappy in a hobby. I will keep an eye out for your Surprise build log. Good luck on that build!

Sometimes it is for the best. You are not alone in shelving a model project for any number of reasons. I've got a few unfinished ones myself. Maybe one day you will return to it, maybe not. In either case, life is too short to be unhappy in a hobby. I will keep an eye out for your Surprise build log. Good luck on that build!

Sometimes it is for the best. You are not alone in shelving a model project for any number of reasons. I've got a few unfinished ones myself. Maybe one day you will return to it, maybe not. In either case, life is too short to be unhappy in a hobby. I will keep an eye out for your Surprise build log. Good luck on that build!

thanks guys , this project definitely pushed my capabilities , and patience !  but i learned a lot  and with some great guidance from this forum , was able to complete it  ,i think a nice display case and  a proper stand is next 
 
   thanks  jeff