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Hubac's Historian

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  1. Hubac's Historian
    Thank you everyone for the likes and comments. I have been having a ton of trouble with my relatively (or at least to me) NEW iphone7, which among other things, will not lately allow me to log onto MSW. So, for the time being - while I go to war with Apple (who is apparently dodging their warranty obligation) - I make my posts from my home computer, where it is much less convenient, or timely. Sorry for the delayed response, here, and to all the other builds I follow. Frustratingly enough, I can view updates in email, on my phone, I just can't link directly to the sight, from email, to comment. Also, I lost all my phone contacts. GOOD TIMES. God!, what I would do for the artillery might of the actual SR, pointed in Apple's direction, right now I will say, though, that I have had much success in-letting dolphins into the upper bulwarks, and have almost finished that stage of the modifications. I have also installed the "poop royal" sheer railing, on the starboard side, and that looks very good, IMO. So things are moving along. Pics and a more developed post to follow. All the best, Marc
  2. Hubac's Historian
    As I mentioned in the last post, I've been busy extending the sheer railing at the poop and poop royal level. This project necessitated creating a strip of stock that matches the profile of the exposed timberheads, as well as a strip that matches the sheer strake, itself. For the timberheads, I laminated two pieces of .032 strip that I cut to slightly over-wide strips. I then sanded the laminated piece until the edges were flush and I had matched the stock width of the exposed timberheads - just slightly wider than 1/8". Then, to match the vertical mouldings with which I had framed all of the timberheads, I edge-glued the same .020" x .060" strip stock that I had used before. The strip pictured, to the left, is my timberhead strip: The caprail strip is three pieces of .030 x .100 strip that I laminated together, in order to match the thickness of the stock caprail. To this, I then glued to the outside face a half-round moulding that was just thinner than the thickness of the caprail to leave a shallow flat to either side of the half-round. A slightly better picture of this stock can be seen here, to the right: So, next it was just a matter of adjusting an angled cut so that I could join over-long sections of timberhead from fore to aft, taking great care to match the rake of the timberheads relative to the rising sheer, as well as the spacing between timberheads: Before I started gluing these in place, I had made a styrene tracing template of this section of the sheer. Once I have all of the timberheads placed, I will use this template to trace a parallel line (to the original sheer strake), and thus trim these timberhead extensions down to about an 1/8", more or less. I will then be able to fix the new cap rail in place. Simultaneous to this project, I have been relieving my sheer cap dolphins from their backgrounds. I learned from my earlier port enhancements, and this time, I did not attempt to completely sand away the backing of the casting because I now knew that would result in dolphins that were precariously too think in the tail area, and that the general profile would not be terribly consistent. So, instead, I sanded away the background to within a heavy 1/64", and then used two of my gouges that neatly fit about 90% of the carving's curves to trim away the background. The area around the head was easily cleaned with an Exacto blade. I have been using Henry's spare bulwark pieces to figure out exactly how I was going to go about in-letting the dolphins into the sheer strakes. Several early attempts to hold the dolphin in place and trace where it crossed the sheer strakes with an Exacto knife were just too sloppy for good finish work. I realized, though, that by starting with the belly (the largest overlapping glue area), I could use the same gouge I used to design the carving to mark it onto the bulwark piece. Once I had notched in the belly, I had a better hold on keeping the dolphin in place while I pressed in the intersections of the tail and snout, using a much smaller sweep of gouge
  3. Hubac's Historian
    After much scraping and re-touching and glue clean-up, I have finished the panel framing of the timberheads: This was tedious, but well worth the effort, IMO. Next, I set about making these scalloped details that define the aft edges of each step in the sheer railing. I cut these from really thin sheet styrene - maybe .020". Not sure, exactly, but thin enough not to stand proud of the lowest moulded detail on the upper bulwark pieces. This same thickness of sheet styrene will also, eventually, be the base of the new frieze. I wanted there to be a bead moulding on the trailing edge of the piece, and considered engraving it into the plastic with a scratch-stock. Ultimately, I discovered a method of gluing styrene rod, that is about 1/32", to the edge of the part using phenolic plywood as a base, and blue tape as my clamp. Here are the scalloped pieces without their bead mouldings (except for the one wider one): Here is a piece with the straight (and mitered corner!) bead glued in place, before setting the curved bead: Here, I've set the beads tight to the scalloped pieces by burnishing blue painter's tape all around the perimeter: I had made a few extras, and not all of them had perfectly tight joints, but I was able to discard those and use the best. After lapping the backs on an emmory board, and scraping the faces and edges clean of glue, I trimmed them to size and glued them in place onto the bulwark pieces: Here you can better see the slight moulded detail of the applied bead: I am not yet sure whether I will actually carve out the scalloped area of the backing styrene - the bulwark, itself. My plan is to glue one of my discards to Henry's extra bulwark pieces and cut out the scallop to see what that looks like. Ultimately, I may simply blacken this small crescent with the same flat black that the backs of the timber heads will be painted, and let the yellow ocher of the timberhead framing, and scalloped pieces pop. Before getting into the installation of my sheer railing dolphins, I will next build up the low poop-royal railing, at the stern. Although, I did cut away the a-typical fourth sheer step, from the stern, I do still need some height back there, to accommodate the poop royal deck, itself, and to conform more closely to the Berain drawing, which shows a timberhead railing, continuously, right up to the stern lanterns.
  4. Hubac's Historian
    Work on the railing detail continues. Pics of that, soon to follow. In the meantime, I found a really excellent photo essay of a 1/350 Heller Soleil Royal, in a diorama setting. I do not know who made the model, but it is very well done. The sails, in particular, are really good. It is hard to achieve a good billowing effect in a larger scale, let alone this small. There's so much to like about this model, but one thing that jumps out at me is the effect of a slightly more pronounced rake of the main mast. The 1/100 Heller kit has the main mast nearly perpendicular to the waterline; the rake is very slight - maybe a few degrees. That also appears to be consistent with the Louis Quinze model in the Musee de la Marine. This model, however, appears to have doubled that, and the effect is more in keeping with what I have observed of other contemporary art work from this period.
  5. Hubac's Historian
    I love the progress on your beautiful model of the Provincien, YankeeD! I've been checking in from time to time, and not saying anything, but you are doing an excellent job!
  6. Hubac's Historian
    Alex, this is all superbly well done, and I am happy to follow along. I am looking forward to seeing how this project shapes up.
  7. Hubac's Historian
    Beautiful, clean build here Zappto. I really appreciate the quality of your efforts. This looks like an excellent kit that you are making into a beautiful model!
  8. Hubac's Historian
    You are getting there, EJ! Great work!
  9. Hubac's Historian
    This, for me, is the key; 1/2 an hour doesn't seem like much time, but it sure makes a difference in the long-run! Incremental progress. You will get there. And this really is a superb execution of the Le Mirage kit. I will be following along with great interest. Also, with regard to your cyano bleeds; you should be able to simply sand your surface and apply finish. I use cyano to repair un-intended breaks when wood carving, and the glue line never shows through the surface finish.
  10. Hubac's Historian
    Superb effort, Patrick! With the highest compliments - you are a master of tedium.
  11. Hubac's Historian
    Yes, I can see that aspect of your dillema, now - the accumulation of color in corners and how that would be especially apparent around the rigols, for example. It seems to me that the antique wash coat will help a great deal with that issue, and I like that you will “dirty” her up a bit, as anything that goes into the sea does not remain pristine for long.
  12. Hubac's Historian
    Whatever inconsistencies there may be in color tone, they don’t show in the photographs. Though these are diluted wash coats, I would think the color would even out after a certain number of applications. If not four wash coats, maybe 6? Perhaps, also, making up a large enough batch of diluted paint to do two to three wash coats from the same batch, might improve the consistency of the color.
  13. Hubac's Historian
    Hello Siggi, The paint looks phenominal. Is this all hand-brushed? Acrylics?
  14. Hubac's Historian
    You are welcome! I often say the same thing about the talent and collective IQ on this site. I have and continue to learn a great deal from all of you. Happy Friday!
  15. Hubac's Historian
    Hi BetaQ, The following link is to a really excellent modified build of Heller’s Le Superbe. He used ModelSpan tissue to make his sails, whicch is excellent for smaller scales. He provides a fail-safe tutorial for his method, which I think is quite Superbe!
  16. Hubac's Historian
    Hey Vic and Mark, thank you for your kind words and comments. And a hearty thanks to everyone else reading along and for their likes and comments Vic, you raise an interesting question concerning at what point an existing product has been sufficiently and substantially modified to become a new, independent product. I suspect that despite changing the dimensions and profile of the upper bulwark pieces, as well as, clearing away 85% of the moulded detail - I suspect that what remains is still substantially and recognizably a Heller product. It is an interesting question, but not one that I have any interest in pursuing. My hope was to inspire others to take this kit and apply their own interpretation of primary sources; to, in other words, kit-bash the hell out of it and see what they came up with. What remain my intellectual property are the carving masters that I am making to embellish the kit. I suppose that, if someone really wanted them, I could make new rubber moulds from those masters, for their own use. I would hope, though, that most would want to take a stab at making their own carving masters and castings. I hadn’t done it before now, and the relative success of it really propels the project forward. It is what makes all of the truly tedious stages like scraping off perfectly nice existing detail, or building up my sheer railings worth it. Because I now know that I’ll be able to put my indelible stamp on the kit, just as I drew it on paper. Nothing about this will be perfect, but it will be mine. As a side note, I have begun taking small-work to work with me. I have a union sanctioned break and a decent lunch time with which to get something done, and most days I do. This is so much nicer, in the day, when I’m fresh. Little by little; incremental progress day by day. It’s been a couple of years now, since I started drawing and modifying, but when I look at how the parts have transformed, I am amazed by the progress of the project. I’m glad, now, that I didn’t wait around for a “better time” to get started. I’m also glad that Dan Pariser persuaded me to start a build-log. The log, itself, is a huge motivator. Thanks, again, Dan!
  17. Hubac's Historian
    My decision to continue this frame and panel motif through the waist rail will, ultimately, be worth the effort. The project is not without its challenges, though. Chief among them is finding some way to neatly and uniformly cut stepped haunches into the vertical framing elements, so that they tuck neatly around the sheer moulding, itself. The parts are so tiny, that they can’t really be held and worked with your fingers, alone. My solution was to use blue tape to mark the shoulder of the haunch onto a steel ruler, and to then pinch the part between the ruler and an emory board, using a spacer block in-line with the piece being cut. I could then use my free hand (holding the 1/8” chisel blade like a pen) to make a series of shallow waste cuts, lengthwise, before aligning the back of the chisel blade with the edge of the ruler, to cut a square shoulder for the haunch. Just as you would for any other repeating part, I had to do a few test pieces, in order to get the dimensions right. Once I had it, though, the pieces fit snuggly along the length of the waist rail without additional fiddling. What you see, here, has not yet been leveled and a spot of filler, here and there, will be necessary. I just think this gives much better dimension to the timberheads and gives the whole thing a more finished appearance, befitting of her stature as a Capital ship. In other news, casting continues alongside this little project, and my castings look good and clean.
  18. Hubac's Historian
    Wow, Canoe! Your wife must be the Queen of all unicorns; not only does she tolerate your shipmodel madness - she actually wants to be a part of making it happen. Congrats to you, my friend!
  19. Hubac's Historian
    Hi Doris, I agree with you that the Vale painting is of little help in discerning the details of the tafferal. As ever though, you have done a masterful job of filling in the blanks. Magnificent!!
  20. Hubac's Historian
    Okay, so here is an attempt to illustrate the first defective mould next to the much better mould. The defective mould and casting are marked in red, and on the left. My overhead lighting makes it difficult to really see how much of a difference there is between the first and second castings, but it is significant. This next picture shows the difference in the moulds a little more clearly. You may notice that both these moulds have “cracking” around the perimeter, where it does not impact the casting. I wonder whether this has to do with the age of the product; although I have kept the stuff in a cool and otherwise neutral location, it has been some time since I first broke the seal on the containers. My port enhancement moulds did not show this cracking. Maybe one has to skim off and discard the top layer of mould medium, if they haven’t used the product in a while? I’m using the “Amazing, Super, Marvillosa” mould putty.
  21. Hubac's Historian
    Hi EJ - well, one mould came out great and produced a relatively clean casting, but the other produced a kind of textured surface on the casting. I noticed that this second mould had some uncured residue of the mould rubber on it’s surface; I suppose that I didn’t quite get the ratio equal for the two-part mould medium. I’ll re-make that mould and try again. Will post pictures of the difference later. Yeah, this whole exercise in making miniature carvings is a real head scratcher. I like what I’ve come up with, so far, for this build, but the appearance of these castings will be significantly improved with paint. If I were making an arsenal model, in wood, I would strive for a more crisp and clean presentation because the surface is the finished product. If my resin carvings pick up some light and shadow, and show some visual interest, then they will be a success.
  22. Hubac's Historian
    Truly spectacular, Vic! I know how you feel about those old pirate movies. The studio model-makers, from those days, really did quite a job. I can't wait to see your Couronne cut through the sea.
  23. Hubac's Historian
    Or, not hopefuly. Maybe I’ll embrace better technology like these upstart, results-oriented Millenials . An amendment - having read this over - I still hope to live a really long time! Going for 9-0!
  24. Hubac's Historian
    Ha! I’ll be a 45 degree angle in August! Hopefully, plenty of scraping ahead of me.
  25. Hubac's Historian
    My current project is a plastic model. I am making a number of carving masters for casting resin duplicates, in an effort to enhance the kit. I learned carving while attempting to do various reliefs in wood, mostly for furniture projects. The number-one thing I learned was that the design that one is working from must be proportional to whatever space it is intended to enhance; if the outline of the thing isn't balanced, then the finished carving - no matter how finely worked - will not be the best that it can be. So, my advice to this thread would be to take as much time as necessary drawing your carved work - whether your medium be pencil/paper/eraser, or digital - to make sure that the design works well with the lines and scale of your ship. These dolphins are sheer rail end-cap ornaments, in white styrene. Unlike the process of carving wood, where you are mostly shaving wood away, with the grain - after first cutting in the primary outlines of the design - with plastic it is mostly a process of scraping away material in a series of micro-bevels that will appear rounded to the naked eye. In diameter, these dolphins are about the size of a U.S. quarter. Wood or plastic, though, the outline of the thing is paramount; your shaping and modeling can be relatively limited, or as elaborate as you please; as long as the outline is proportionally good, though, then the carving will show well.

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