Hubac's Historian

Hello All,

I am having a different problem.  For my current build - an extensive modification of Heller's Soleil Royal - I have been hand-drawing a scale field, or outline that matches the moulded profile of the kit's lower hull and upper bulwarks, which I will be using to save the time of a full scratch-build.

I sketched in one, each, of various repeating elements and a few specific ornamental details that were easier to draw by hand, in order to match the kit parameters.  On the advice of several members, here, I intended to digitize the pencil drawing and import it into Corel Draw, where I could trace over what was there, and add in all of the other missing details.  Ultimately, the objective is just to see what all of my additions and subtractions will look like in relation to each other, and to make it easier to layout the complicated frieze of the upper bulwarks, which would be a nightmare to do by hand.

Today, I digitized the paper drawing onto a flash drive in JPEG, PDF and PNG file formats.  Here is my hand-drawn plan in PDF format. For whatever reason, the site would not allow me to upload the JPEG drawing, here, and I don't even know what a PNG file is, but I was able to upload the PDF:

20170102130746616.pdf

Everything was going perfectly well until I came home tonight, ready to download Corel 7, only to realize that most early versions of Corel are not compatible with Mac computers.  Corel makes a very current CAD software that is Mac compatibile, but I'm not sure I need CAD software for what I'm doing.  I'm not lofting frames, or in any way trying to create a three-dimensional hull shape.  I just need a compatible 2D drawing software that will allow me to import, re-trace and manipulate the various ornamental elements that make up the ship's decoration.  I'll also be dropping the main and fore channels down to the upper, or main deck and will need to draw in the mast locations and layout the shrouds, so as not to interfere with the guns.  This drafting exercise is really just about laying things out so that I can be sure that everything lines up nicely before I start cutting things away.

Not long ago, I updated my OS to 10.11.6, El Capitan.  I'm a complete novice to computer drafting of any kind and am looking for something that is relatively easy to learn and use.  I'm frankly overwhelmed by the volume of drafting software, which seems more sophisticated than what I need.  All suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Marc

Tonight, I drew in the Angel and horse of the head rails.  I've only traced in the top outline of the head rail to show how the horse wraps around the topmost medallion of the head rails.

In order to add this detail, I would only need to shave off, two leafy horns from the sides of the head rail medallions, as well as a short length of garland on the aft head rail, which doesn't connect or relate to anything else in the kit decor, anyway.  I would also lose the forward most antler escutcheon carving because the angel is now in that position, but this is a reasonable trade-off, in my opinion.

The angel's arm positioning isn't exactly as drawn by Berain, but I had to adjust her stance in order to reconcile the kit gun port positioning, and my new square port accents.  She's also more 20th C. Victoria's Secret angel, than 17th C. chaste angel, but I reserve license in these matters.

I think the detail is worth including because it will balance the angel figures to either side of upper quarter gallery window, and the horse head is a nice echo of the figurehead.

I think, at this point, it's time to download Corel and learn how to digitize what I have so that I can make it into a complete drawing.  There probably won't be much coming out of this post for a while.  I'm tempted, of course, to start prepping and detailing the lower hull halves, but that would only be time taken from the plans drawing in Corel.  Hopefully, I'll hear back from the Musee sometime soon.  I will share whatever I learn from them, as soon as they do.

Hello All,

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday and is looking forward to the New Year.

Tonight, I had a chance to draw in the decorative filigree between the knees of the head.  The forward end will join the tail of the figurehead.

This addition, as well as the head rail support stanchions are an absolute must for this re-build.

I am thinking about adding the horse head and angel to the aft end of the head rail, without modifying the head rail itself.  I'll have to play around with it a little to see whether it will work.

So, after re-working the banner, this is what I have now:

A quick visit to Wikipedia shed some additional insight into the meaning of this inscription:

While the motto relates to the allegory of the "Sun King",^[2][3] its precise meaning is obscure.^[4][5] Philip F. Riley calls it "almost untranslatable".^[3] Historian Henri Martin called it "very pompous and, above all, obscure and perplexing".^[6]Louvois, Louis' War Secretary, interpreted it as seul contre tous — "alone against all";^[4] lexicographer Pierre Larousse suggested au-dessus de tous (comme le soleil) — "above all (like the sun)".^[4] John Martin says "[Louis'] matchless splendour was expressed by the motto Nec Pluribus Impar - not unequal to many suns.".^[7]Yves-Marie Bercé gives Suffisant (seul) a tant de choses ("Sufficient (alone) for so many things") or Tout lui est possible ("Everything is possible for him"), i.e., "not unequal to many [tasks]".^[8] Louis himself wrote:^[5]

Those who saw me managing the cares of royalty with such ease and with such confidence induced me to add [to the image of the sun] the sphere of the earth, and as its motto NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR, by which they meant to flatter the ambitions of a young king, in that with all my capacities, I would be just as capable of ruling still other empires as would the sun of illuminating still other worlds with its rays. I known that some obscurity has been found in these words, and I have no doubt that the same symbol might have suggested some happier ones. Others have been presented to me since, but this one having already been used in my buildings and in an infinite number of other things, I have not deemed appropriate to change it.

— Louis XIV, 1662.

An image search of the phrase reveals the ubiquity of its expression during his reign.  I think that this fact, alone, argues strongly for its inclusion somewhere on the model.  It may not be practical to place it beneath the chase ports, but it does fit nicely there.  I have also been thinking about what I will do with paint, to the tafferal frieze of Apollo.

My color scheme for the ship will include a darker royal, or French blue for most of the upper bulwarks, however, the main deck guns of the upper bulwarks will be done in a much lighter, grey/blue.  This lighter, grey/blue color will be used as an accent color for the sky backdrop of Apollo, on the tafferal.  The clouds will be airbrushed to appear greyish-white and stormy, and I've been considering a stylized halo of sunburst rays, emanating from behind Apollo's chariot, in fine lines of orange and gold.  All of the paint work will be lightly aged with a, or a series of, washcoats, and the hull will be darkened in the manner of Herbert Tomesan's ships from the Texel Roads diorama. Here is his model of Hollandia, from the Texel Roads diorama:

So much of what I hope to accomplish with SR, in the way of added detail comes from my experience of meeting Mr. Tomesan, back in 2003, when I went to work at the Batavia Werf Shipyard for three months.  He showed me his process for prototyping these large (and small) Dutch warships, and work boats, and I was absolutely floored by his ability to render carved detail in plastic, while also taking great pains to incorporate so much of the construction fabric of an authentic seventeenth century vessel.  I remember him telling me, at the time, that what disappointed him with commercial kit architecture was that these models don't really look like ships, in the way that a Van de Velde portrait paints such a vivid picture of what these vessels really looked like on the water.  It was Mr. Tomesan, in fact, who planted the early seeds for this build in my head, because he told me that he once built the Heller kit, but that he cut the ship down a bit to lower it's top hamper, and thus he made it appear more ship-like, in his opinion.  All these years later, having studied the known architecture of the period, I have come to agree with him.

Anyway, his diorama is absolutely enormous and mind-boggling in it's completeness and consistent attention to detail.  What he excels at, in particular, is his paint process for creating realistic "in the water" patination of a wooden hull.  I held these models right up to my face and felt like a giant holding the real thing.

Here is an example of the shade of grey/blue that I was thinking of for the main deck bulwarks:

The color complements the gold leaf very nicely and the contrast in blues adds further dimension to the model, while setting off the delicate lattice work of the upper frieze, in the darker French blue. The large antler/cartouche carvings, between the main deck guns, have a small oval panel that will be picked out with the darker, french blue, with the delicate raised scroll ornament picked out in gold.

On a side note, here's a better picture of the stern window that I decided to jazz up a little bit:

Wheel and deck housing look great Matt! Thanks for the lead on the files.

Hello, Bill, and welcome! I am so glad that you will be following this build, and I look forward to trading tips and insight into whatever it is that we learn along the way.

My intention, once I have a full schematic of the modified and added to hull, is to post that plan to the site for anyone to do whatever it is that they'd like to; post it on a wall and throw darts at it, or use it as a jumping off point for their own theory of the ship. Overall, my hope is to simply show what's possible with this kit. I'm doing the best research I can, but in the end, there can only be a reasonable basis in fact for the decisions I make in representing SR. No absolute rights or wrongs.

So, welcome aboard, Bill, and if you start a build log, I will gladly follow you.

Wow Dan - another great find! Your parsing sounds much more appropriate than Google Translate, which offers the following: "or an odd number". The layout of the inscription on the cannon is even a nice suggestion for the design of the scroll, although, that particular design would place the ornament even closer to the waterline. I hear what you are saying about the following sea. Perhaps, if I do include this detail, whichever way I choose to simulate the tree-nailing, well, I could really emphasize the fastening of the banner to the hull.

There is a small flat, along the bottom edge of the lower gallery where this inscription could go, sans scroll. That space works out to just shy of an 1/8". Not impossible, but a daunting challenge. My inspiration for the banner below the chase ports comes from a fuzzy detail in Ludolf Bakhuizen's battle of Barfleur, where you can just make out a rolling something below the chase ports. Could simply be a representation of the rudder chains, but it got me thinking. The only other example I can think of, with a banner inscription anywhere near where I am proposing is the Provincien. She has her name inscribed upon a similar banner, just above the chase ports, but below the lowest gallery.

Another possibility, since I will eventually be designing new deck railings for the f'ocsle, quarter and poop decks, would be to incorporate this inscription into the forward face of the poop deck railing. For the time being, I will layout the new inscription and worry about where it goes later. In Corel, it will be easier to reduce the width of the banner because, as I mentioned, the whole affair is a little too heavy looking, but the shape and intent of it seem right to me.

I am continually impressed, Dan, by the breadth of your knowledge. Thank you, once again!

Hey Matt - can you make a good recommendation on files?  I have an old set of X-acto needle files, but I'm looking to replace them with something better.  The X-actos were good for a while, but the more useful profiles lost their tooth pretty quickly.

EJ, she looks great!  I'm curious to know what, if anything, the plans say about raking the masts. La Couronne is from a time period when mast raking tended to be more pronounced.  I ask, though, because I will need to establish mast position and rake very early for the SR build, and I won't be able to rely on the kit's standard positioning of the masts because I'm cutting out the bottom and building up the decks form scratch.  Most of what I see of mid-century rake for French ships - particularly the main mast - seems negligible, at best.  In fact, one could say that the main mast appears almost perpendicular to the waterline. 

I picked this one up a few years ago - one of my BONUS finds at the STRAND, here in New York.  I still go into the store, on the regular, because I know that one in twenty visits will unearth a real gem!  This is really a great book for the quality of the illustrations, the story of each model's provenance, and what it is to have the luxury to collect these truly fine works of art.

Far from perfect.  The lettering is too big.  But this would be the idea:

One of the artistic license details that I'm thinking of adding is a furling banner scroll beneath the stern chase ports, in light blue, bordered in gold.  It would be a kind of king's motto plate, like the "Dieu de Mon Droit" of the English royal coat of arms.

It might read something like this:  "Je suis le soleil du monde"  

"I am the sun of the world"

I think it appropriately captures the egotism of Louis XIV, and for that matter, all kings of the period.  I could even make a small baby face carving of Louis XIV, with the gilded rays of the sun shining around him, and mounted to the rudder, in line with the banner.

It's a thought.  Maybe good, maybe not, but I think I'll try and draw it.

I was thinking it might be fun to model the ship, preparing for action, since it will be a waterline diorama model.  It would be interesting to show the crew lowering the fore t'gallant mast.  I'd have to do some research to find out what, exactly, that process was for dismantling the upper rig because you would want to show the mast actually being lowered through the top.  Anyway, just a thought.

EJ, do you have any reading recommendations on the subject?

Happy Holidays to you and everyone here!

Great answer, Dan! Yeah, I wonder also, about one-on-one encounters. I'll have to delve a little deeper!

An open question to the forum:

In pouring over all of these images of 17th C. Ships of the line, in battle, it strikes me that the ships are almost always depicted as only carrying their main and topmast courses, even when it is generally known that the ship also carried fore and main t'gallant masts and sails. Was this a particular consideration for battle: less top hamper means less to clear and cut away, in the event of a dismasting? Was it simply the case that the extra sail power and maneuverability were not worth the cost in damage or extra manpower to work the sails, during battle? Just curious. All insight and theories are welcome.

I will definitely be updating my Dremel with a flexi-shaft to rough things in, but I anticipate grinding small scrapers and making a few micro chisels to do the detail work.  In my experience, 90% of carving is about having a good layout to begin with.  It takes surprisingly little to add shape and dimension, as long as the outline of the thing is to scale and a nice profile.  I say go for it!

Well, ordinary life stuff has kept me busy these past two weeks, but I have put in some drawing time.

Perhaps the most important carving on the entire model is the tafferal frieze of Apollo and his horse-drawn chariot, riding across the sky.  The Heller kit does a pretty good job of interpreting this detail, and really, it's a shame that I couldn't extricate it from the stock stern plate and glue it onto the new one.  However, it's too tall for the new frieze area, and it's also flat - unlike the round-up I intend to model into my new stern plate.  That all adds up to re-creating the carving from scratch.

My initial thought was to do a line tracing directly over Berain's drawing.  When I tried this, however, the background is too dark and muddy to read the lines I want to pick out through vellum.  The trick, here, is to pick out the essential outline of the thing and some of the detail, but leave out the really fine detail that will make our tracing difficult to transfer to the material.  The process of relief carving is one of removing material in layers, and by degree.  For the initial layout, I just need to know the relative sizes of the individual elements, and their relative position to each other.

In lieu of a tracing, I opted to map out the maximum area that the Berain drawing of the carving sits within.  With a simple grid, I now had reference points with which to map out the size of the chariot, Apollo himself, the torsos of the horses, etc.

Berain's drawing shows Apollo's toga blowing, wildly, off his right shoulder and against the framework of his chariot.  I initially tried to include this detail.  I later decided, though, to leave it out on the final re-tracing because it just looked too busy and I was doubtful of my ability to pull off such a vague detail, in such a small scale.

With this final tracing, I refined the lines, and one can see that the whole business of the chariot is much cleaner and easier for the eye to understand.  Small considerations like the way the Horse's manes appear to blow in the wind add tremendous movement and interest, if time is taken to incorporate some variety into their array.  I played with this for a while until it looked good to me.  The tracing, at it's current size, almost fits the new tafferal area perfectly.  It will, however, need to be re-sized in Corel, which is why I didn't just trace it into it's location on the ship.

Looking good, so far, EJ!  I'm in for your build.

Yes, discovering Pinterest was like fuel on a fire for me.  It just exposed me to such a broad spectrum of original 17th C. ship artwork, schematics, models as well as contemporary models and full-size replicas - a few of which I have even worked on, personally.

I have a few ship blogs.  There's also Navies of Other Euro Nations, for everything else that wasn't specifically French.

Well, EJ, I scanned through Vaisseaus Du Roi Soleil several times, and could not find it - although, I'm sure it's in there somewhere.  For now, you'll have to do with the much smaller version (and poor iPhone photo-quality) from Designs:

In any event, it gives some sense for the paneling and general affect that would be appropriate in the aft cabins of a ship like SR.

Here are a few pics of the Royal Louis of 1692, 1/100 scratch-build.  Given the complicated nature of the carved ornament, I think this builder did a really exceptional job of using what I assume is polymerized clay.  He mentions, on the site where this appears, that he was breaking with his usual method and experimenting with "clay."  Really great work!!

Also, EJ, I was wondering what your choice for third 17th C. ship would be and I think RL, 1692 is the perfect choice, as it is so well documented with a contemporary model.  I recently found a really wonderful scratch build of RL, which I posted to my Pinterest Page, under my screen name Tafferal.  The blog is French Vaisseaus.  The model is 1/100 scale, and interestingly, he modeled ALL of the decoration with polymerized clay, and the results are really spectacular. Check it out, if you have a chance!

Hi Dan, thank you!  Yes, I know what you are saying about the placement of that window.  It's in line with the quarter deck guns.  Those are round port guns, however, and the window is furnished with mullions.  Interestingly, the color rendering of the ship shows two octagonal ports above the quarter deck guns.  Perhaps, this is Heller's halfway compromise to adding another piercing to the hull.  I will keep this a window port, as opposed to a gunport, as this additional small window is a common feature among 17th C. warships of all nations.

EJ - you are in luck!  I have in my possession, what was either the proposed decor of the three aft cabins of SR, or in fact, the actual decor.  It is contained in my book by J.C. Lemineur, Les Vaisseaus Du Roi Soleil.  I will try to take a decent picture of this later and upload it, here.  By the way, the same schematic is re-produced in the Admiral Paris, Dessins, 3rd Edition - albeit, much smaller and of a lower print quality.  

I was impressed with your build of Couronne.  I got to page 3, on my phone, and thought that was the whole log, so I started to comment.  After I posted, of course, the other 16 pages came up.  I'll be looking at that more, in depth, later.  Great build!

Great looking build, EJ! The planking looks incredible - very nicely done!

EJ, I'm so glad you stopped in to visit my build and I'm excited to have a co-builder to trade tips with. I wish I had made your acquaintance sooner because I recently discovered an interesting resource for French naval architecture of the 17th C.: Souvenirs De Marine - Collection Plans Ou Dessins De Navires, by Vice Admiral Paris, 1886.

In taking over the Musee de la Marine, V.A. Paris took it upon himself to preserve what was known about early naval architecture. He recreated lines plans, interior structure, masting, rig and sail plans for a number of important ships from all epochs. In this, the third edition, La Couronne is the feature ship. He also spends quite a lot of time on Royal Louis of 1692 - which I expect to be quite helpful in filling-in the blanks, here and there. It's in French, and apparently written in his maddeningly tiny cursive, but I am translating portions of it. Very. Slowly.

I know from my background in furniture making that the first time you build something is when you draw it. That's what I am doing right now: drawing, working out construction problems, theoretically. Every day the picture gets a little clearer. I know this must be frustrating to those who are following along. I'm sure they really want to see me do SOMETHING.

But, I promise the good stuff is coming. I have sufficiently developed hand skills to render in three dimensions, whatever it is that I put to paper. But if the design - the layout - isn't good, then the model won't be either. No matter whether it's well crafted or not.

I have a few more hand drawings to do, and then I will disappear for a while, while I learn how to use drafting software. But I guarantee my plan is going to be worth sticking around for.

Please start a build-log EJ, and I'll follow you, as well. Do you have pictures or a log for Couronne?