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Hubac's Historian

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  1. Hubac's Historian
    My suggestion would be not to worry about changing the hull shape. If anything, you need more of a concavity in this area, so it would be more a problem of subtraction than addition. Sometimes - most times, in fact - I think, the pre-determined kit architecture can’t reasonably be defied. More importantly, though, the Heller shape is close enough to be reasonably representative, here. If you have it in mind to attempt these sorts of plastic surgeries - and there will be a whole host of incongruities, in the bow area, between the Heller Hull and the SP monograph - then, I think you would be far better served carving a solid hull from the SP plan-set, and then detailing that with either wood or styrene. I have always thought that the primary motivator of modifying this kit was that one could use the basic hull shells as a their basis; not having to construct a hull, from scratch, is a huge time-saver. You will want that time later, as the project progresses, because adding all of the missing detail and the particulars of the SP ornamental plan will be extremely time consuming. ... my two cents.
  2. Hubac's Historian
    The unfortunate thing, I think, is that the hobby has fallen out of favor with young people. With today’s tech, kit manufacturers could put out product that is vastly superior to Heller’s best efforts in 1977. But, there isn’t a long-term market for it. My son sees me working on the model, all the time, in the evenings. We’re slowly building a model plane together, but he has little drive or inclination to work on the thing himself. It is very difficult to compete with tech for young people’s attention.
  3. Hubac's Historian
    All great advice - thank you, gentlemen!
  4. Hubac's Historian
    Well, Mark - that should take the guesswork out of the whole equation. Thank you for the references!
  5. Hubac's Historian
    I do not think it is accurate to say that blue colors could only be derived from blue stones, prior to 1706. I am pretty sure paints were being mixed with copper oxides to produce lighter blues.
  6. Hubac's Historian
    I enjoyed watching the feature, Doris. The recognition of your talents is well deserved.
  7. Hubac's Historian
    Glad to see you back, but your pics don’t seem to be showing.
  8. Hubac's Historian
    Coming along beautifully, MD - nice, clean work!
  9. Hubac's Historian
    I agree completely with Kirill. To be clear, I am not arguing against blue and gold. Blue will still figure very prominently in what I am going to do. My main argument, here, is that it would not likely have been a dark ultra-marine. I have chosen this lighter Cerulean shade as my primary blue, mostly because I like the way it looks against the yellow ocher. Strictly speaking, though, I do not think this is a period-correct color for 1689. All models are a pastiche of correctness and stylistic choices. Some of the paint choices I am making are deliberately to emphasize all of the work that was put into the ornamental program. As a finishing touch, I will buck orthodoxy and make the style of lanterns that I would like, as opposed to what Berain drew. That doesn’t necessarily make them “correct” choices; just my choices.
  10. Hubac's Historian
    Hello Chris, For a variety of reasons, I have had nothing to do with FB, from its inception. Mark Zuckerberg’s apparent willingness to promulgate dis-information and propaganda under protection of “free speech,” in recent years, has cemented my conviction to never create a profile. Indirectly, he has infected the minds of millions with straight-up nonsense, while simultaneously eroding their ability to discern objective reality. It is a real problem in America, in particular. That being said, I don’t condemn anyone else’s use of the platform. Live and let live; just don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining 😉 If you would like to publish pictures of my model on the SR page, you are free to do so. I’m more than happy to engage with anyone who then decides to join our community at MSW. I don’t know that I will necessarily take on the mantle of “leader of the reds.” What I am doing, I think, is historically plausible; the faded evidence of red exists on Berain’s original drawing, as you noted. I would never say, though, that what I am doing is absolutely the truth. It all remains an educated guess.
  11. Hubac's Historian
    The objective reality - through microscopic paint analysis of the ship’s timbers - is that she was painted red. Deep, ultra-marine blues were cost prohibitive throughout the 17th Century, as they are made from ground pigment of lapis. Our tendency to want to paint models that color is a conditioned preference, resulting from popular depictions, like Landstrom’s work - as noted by Bolin. If you don’t like red, there is nothing to stop you from painting the ship blue. It is your model, after all, and you only have yourself to answer to. If you absolutely want to know the truth, though - the truth is red.
  12. Hubac's Historian
    That really helps a great deal, Michael - thank you!
  13. Hubac's Historian
    Red is the correct exterior color and it makes an excellent backdrop, if you intend to paint polychromatic figures. On the other hand, blue is a more striking backdrop, IMO, if the figures are to be done all in gold. Gold gets a little lost against red.
  14. Hubac's Historian
    You have to remember that SR has a gangway that connects the forecastle and quarter decks, thus overhanging and obscuring any view of the waist. The upper bulwark thickness could be a little heftier, but the view through the ports does not particularly bother me. I’ve found it useful to make some hard decisions about what to modify; the butcherblock table of a cutwater, with its wholly unrealistic engraving of timbers was worth spending the extra time. Respectfully, I have to say that the upper bulwarks thickness is not for me. I will add spirketting at the deck level, and a vestigial waterway.
  15. Hubac's Historian
    All the same, this simplifies things for me. Thanks for the pics!
  16. Hubac's Historian
    Your deck distressing looks very good.
  17. Hubac's Historian
    Siggi, I like the way your sheave blocks stand just proud of the surface. You have given me a very useful idea for simulating this in plastic.
  18. Hubac's Historian
    In order to do something about the upper bulwark thickness, I decided to increase the sheer cap thickness by a 1/32” - about 3”, at scale. This will be your primary visual reference for the upper bulwark thickness. I thought about planking the bulwark interior surfaces, but decided it wasn’t worth the extra effort because of the way that the bulwarks join with the lower hull
  19. Hubac's Historian
    Thanks, Michael. Kirill and Dafi are very talented, and I watch those guys as well. Nice tip on the bobbin thread. I remember when sewing stores used to be a thing, and thread was easily obtainable and discernible, in person. The other thing that I wonder about is what type of CA glue - super thin?? - and whether you wait to fix with glue until all of your lines are up and set, so that you can adjust tension. The worst, for me, is when one line going taught causes another to slack, when it shouldn’t be.
  20. Hubac's Historian
    The main thing that intimidates me about ship modeling is the rigging; in particular, neat servings, and lashings make such a huge impact on the model’s final appearance. Do you have any advice, Michael, with regard to how you first learned to approach these techniques.
  21. Hubac's Historian
    Clever sanding forms - can’t fail.
  22. Hubac's Historian
    Brilliant time-lapse. I love the clarity!
  23. Hubac's Historian
    This is an interesting presentation of sistered pairs of spindles. I really like the uniqueness of the design, and I may find a way to incorporate this into my ship’s quarter deck companionway.
  24. Hubac's Historian
    Thank you, John. It is the challenge of figuring out how to do something, and present a picture of the ship that is both functionally practical and beautiful. I am determined to show a coherent marriage of the Berain stern to these quarter galleries, in the hope (perhaps vain) that some may finally see that they have more in common, than not. It is a passionate argument that propels me forward in a way that is hard for me to explain. Yes, I will incorporate a radiant burst of sun energy emanating from all around Apollo and his horses, against a deep ultra-marine ground; this will be a nod to the artistic portraiture of this particular subject that I think will be a fitting coronation to this magnificent work of art that LeBrun/Puget/Berain evolved over time. I sympathize with you, re: Brexit. I have a hard time understanding how insular politics benefit anyone in the modern age.
  25. Hubac's Historian
    I have always thought that La Reyne was the most suitable subject for a Heller SR conversion project. The three broadside drawings of the ship, together with the survey drawing of the stern provide more than enough information to represent her with a pretty high degree of accuracy. Cedric has chosen an interesting and extremely challenging path; he is re-locating decks, guns and wales. Much of that effort is in anticipation of creating the particular head structure of these First Marine ships, which is quite different from that of the late 1680’s The head will be quite difficult to construct, given the existing Heller architecture, but not impossible. The other significant decision is whether to scrap the kit upper bulwarks, and simply construct everything above the main deck from scratch. It can be done either way, I think, but it may actually be easier to go the full-scratch route. It would be great to see where Cedric is at with all of this, but I know he is quite busy with professional and family life.

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