Hubac's Historian

Wow - jackpot!! Interesting? To say the least! Thanks, Chris!

I’m not entirely sure if I understand what you are grappling with, here Mike, but with a square tuck stern, it is adviseable to plank the transom and counter first, so that your hull planking can overlay the transom/counter plank ends, and be cut flush with their outboard surface.

Thank you, guys, for your likes and comments. And thank you, BW, for that tip on the picture - it worked! I don’t know what I’m doing to create that problem, in the first place, but it only seems to happen when I post from my phone. That’s an interesting idea about scraping away excess resin, Dan. I think, though, that because the stuff begins to cure so rapidly, that doing so might compromise the quality of the casting. Last night, I got a perfect cure without even the assist from a blowdryer. And the first mould was already hazing over before I topped off the last mould. That said, it might still be worth an experiment, and I appreciate the suggestion. So, I probably won’t be posting much in the coming weeks, as I continue along with these main deck port enhancements. Following that, I will just slog through the clearing and surface prep for the new frieze ornaments. However, before tackling the frieze, itself, I will concentrate on my cap rail enhancements. While I won’t be increasing the thickness or the appearance of thickness for the upper bulwarks, I will almost double the thickness of the sheer railings, from their backsides. I will also be adding ornamental panelling to the frame extenshions that make up the sheer railing supports. I will add back a little height to the top most “poop royal” level of the sheer, in the form of a low, open railing, per Berain’s drawing. This is necessary because the shortenned poop royal deck will now sit virtually flush with the reduced sheer line - which was often a real feature of period practice. Lastly, I will carve and cast masters for the ornamental sheer cap “dolphins.” Following all of that, I will build up the new ornamental frieze because I should be pretty good at this casting business, by then. AND FOLLOWING ALL OF THAT - I will begin assembling all of this into a ship, and I’ll begin the painting, and the making of a thing that resembles my interpretation of Soleil Royal. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me from the beginning, and to those newcomers who are now following along. This is about to get much more interesting!

Frustrating, for sure, but the fix will be well worth it. Middle balcony really came out nicely, EJ. I’m still puzzling as to how to write the Ship’s name in such a small space. This may be an application for photo-etching.

Including last night, I’m four rounds of casting into this process, but I think the first round (top row) is a total discard: It’s hard to see, but there were a lot of air pockets in the volutes of the scrolls, and also at the tails of the scrolls. After this first round, I found it helpfull to first prime the mould with resin, and then press the resin into the mould with a gloved finger. Then, I would top off with just enough resin to get a good cure. Lastly, I lightly drag a tooth pick into the crevices of the mould to draw out any remaining air bubbles. You have to work quickly because the resin really does cure rapidly. You have three minutes from the time you start mixing. A little low heat from a blow dryer ensures a thorough cure. The other good reason for discarding the first castings (left line) is that, initially, I was mixing twice the amount of resin that I really need. That produces blanks that require a lot of wasting, just to remove the ground. I found that even with the Dremel, the wasting step is a bit time consuming. Drum sander, first, to reduce the perimeter and then roughly reduce thickness from the back of the blank. Next, I use a cylindrical burr to get a little closer to the margins of the ornaments. Finally, I take each blank to a board that I’ve double stuck 100 grit paper to. This whole process has been trial and error for me, but that’s what learning is, I suppose. The resin sands briskly, which is great. My plan, however, to sand until the ground just falls away, was not so good. The unnevenness of a single finger concentrating pressure in the center of a smaller carving, reduces the center faster and thins the carving too much in an effort to free the ends: The ornament in the lower left corner is notably thinner than the others because of this. Its bottom port corrollary was too thin to even use, so I threw it away. I found it better to sand from the center until I just broke through between ornaments. Then, I’d apply a little sanding pressure on each end, for a few strokes, but not breaking through. Finally, I freed the carvings from their ground with an Exacto. What you see above looks pretty decent, but I still had to do a significant amount of cleanup and a little re-shaping with blade and gouge. The necessity for this varied with each port location: Here, to the left, you can see the thinner top ornament. Even though the weight of the ornament is noticeably lighter than the others, it works here because the available space for the ornament is smallest in this location. Fortunately, this is a location above the new location for the main channel, so losing the bottom ornament didn’t matter. Similarly, the aft most port cuts significantly into the wale, leaving only a small ledge for the lower port enhancement to sit on. This is why, to the right, this lower port enhancement has been noticeably reduced. For the aft-most three ports, I found it useful to hedge a little bit and to split any overhang of the ornament between the bottom edge of the wale and the lower edge of the port frame. I don’t think this is too noticeable. On the whole - despite small variations - I am pleased with the results. I may, yet, swap out a few ornaments for better balance, and I might extend a few ears that look a little short. It’s more work than I anticipated, but the results justify the effort for me.

Hi EJ - well, I called Davinci Westside, in advance, and they had the resin, but man am I happy I went to that place! We used to have a tremendous artist supply store called Pearl Paint, downtown on Canal, but remarkably that place closed down. Davinci isn’t quite as sprawling, but they have a remarkable inventory of supplies. So, I picked up the resin, and afterward, I went to look at their acrylic paints. I wasn’t seeing anything that approximated the two shades of blue that I was after, until I got to the Holbein line. They have a lighter Cerulean blue and a richer Cobalt Blue that look exactly like what I need. The Yellow Ocher looks period correct, as does the Red Ochre that I intend for the stern. And they had a very rich looking gold that might be just right. They even offer a semi opaque wash coat that might be interesting. I definitelty want a lightly patinated appearance to the hull sides and upper bukwarks; because it’s a diorama, I don’t want everything to look overly pristine. Does anyone have any familiarity with that Holbein brand? Are they good for painting over white or grey primer? So, to answer your question, I will mount as much detail and carvings to raw plastic as possible. Trying to be as careful as possible, when applying cement, I still always manage to have some squeeze out. If everything is already painted before mounting the carvings, then you will spoil the paint, in order to scrape off the squeeze out. Also, having everything in place before priming allows the primer to fill the most minute joints and to give the whole thing a more seamless appearance. I used to be really good with a brush. I’m not sure if I still have the hands for it, but as ever, I will just take my time and work it until I’m satisfied. Tonight I’ll make some castings and we’ll see how that turns out!

Great work, Henry! How you manage to achieve such detailed rigging ona relatively small scale - well, I hope to figure out how to do that some day.

Hey Mark - cool technique and interesting insight into the intricacies of keeping a closed joint around the bow. I’m still plastic-based, for now, so all of this is school-time for me. I’m loving this build, so far!

A remarkable build, and a well deserved victory lap! Congrats, Michael!

Last week, I had a very informative correspondence with Carol Wedlake of Alumilite customer service. When I explained to her what I had in mind - to make multiple impressions of my master in earthen clay, and then cast with Alumilite resin - she explained that the moisture in clay may react poorly with the exothermic reaction of the resin, and that I may end up with a bubbly mess that bears no resemblance to my intended carving. If I wanted to go that route, she explained, I would need to use a compatable silicone release agent, in the form of a spray, but even then, my best result would adopt the surface texture of the clay. In short, she convinced me that - while it would be nice to make as many impressions as I wanted and cast the bulk of my requirement all at once - the best results would be obtained by using Alumilite’s 2-part mould putty. I looked at a few vids on YouTube, and sure enough nothing could be simpler! I was so very close to making my first castings. I had everything ready to go. I mounted my masters to a small plywood block with cyano, so it was permanent; I was committed to making these carvings work. Then I went to Michael’s craft store - a huge one on the Upper West Side. They had everything, the mould putty and the Alumilite white resin. I was completely psyched. Until I got to the register. They wouldn’t sell me the resin because, apparently, that lot of resin was recalled for whatever reason. I went back to the shelves and pulled every box they had left; all recalls. I was disappointed, but I figured I’d buy the mould putty and source the resin elsewhere. Well, that was a bust as well. Davinci’s Art Supply on the Lower East Side did not have it, although they had a similar white resin. For $26, though, I wasn’t taking any chances. Nothing at Jan’s hobby either. Tomorrow, if I have time, I may go to Davinci’s Chelsea location where I know they will have it. So, just as a refresher, the ornaments I am adapting here can be found surrounding the arched main deck ports in the following closeup of Berain’s drawing: While waiting for my next opportunity to go shopping, I got busy making a series of moulds. Including the bow chasers, there are 30 port openings on the main deck level. I figured that, if I make five moulds, then I can cast my whole lot in six pours. I won’t need all of the lower port enhancements because the position of the channels sometimes interferes. I plan to bisect these smaller, extra scrolls and place one to each side of the stern chase ports. Mixing the mould putty was as simple as the instructions say, however, you really only have about three minutes to form your mould before the putty begins to stiffen and cure. It was interesting to me that, despite what I thought was a thorough effort to press the master into the putty, I was still left with small air pockets toward the ends of the lower port enhancement. Evidence of this can be found in the lower left scroll of the lower port enhancement, which diminishes with each successive mould pressing, as I perfect my technique (moulds 1,2,3 L-R): I suppose that over-manipulation of the putty, around the carvings, before pressing down on a flat surface may introduce small air pockets. With such a shallow ornament, it seemed better to simply press the master down into the mould putty. I will still use the other moulds; it will just necessitate a little extra cleanup with a sharp gouge. The final two moulds continue to show a diminishing of this air pocket, until by the fifth mould, I have a perfect pressing (moulds 3,4,5): The other things I have been occupying myself with, when there’s nothing else I am equiped to deal with, is to begin the hateful and laborious scraping away of the kit’s original upper bulwark frieze, along with most of the thin sheer strakes: I begin with a Dremel drum sanding attachment to remove most of the waste. Then it’s onto a medium spherical burr, which is followed with a bottom cutting cylindrical burr to level the work as closely as I dare. Following that, I double stick 150 grit paper to the bevel of an 1/8” chisel and I sand away the raised detail until there is no shadow evidence of it left. There’s still more to remove; I must clean up around the round port openings, and cut neat end stops for where the sheer strakes will remain - sourrounding sheer railings. I will scribe back in the plank lines where they were covered by ornament before, and I will center new plank lines on the location of where the sheer strakes had previously been. I’m not too concerned about the sanded texture of the plastic not matching the moulded wood grain because the new ornamental frieze will be fairly dense and this background will be painted blue. For good measure, though, I will probably hit all exposed areas with a fairly coarse paper, like 80 grit. In preparation for the newly casted port accents, I also busied myself with cutting out and attaching these small ear drops, at the top of each domed port side. I have installed them overlong, and will scribe the top port accent to fit: Now I’m off to Davinci’s in Chelsea to buy me some casting resin. Sometime later this week, I’ll have an update with at least a few ports complete! Thank you to all who stop by - your comments and your likes are always welcome here.

I just linked to that Veritas page. Those chisels are made by Beebe, and I own a pair of chip carving knives from them. The one I use the most is a curved, double beveled blade that enables me to do a wide variety of carving with very few conventional sweeps. The quality of these tools is second to none.

I still have my Marple Blue Chips, and I still love them. They keep an edge for a reasonable time, and with compound/strop re-touching they can stay razor sharp for quite a while. The steel is of a decent hardness, but not so hard that total re-sharpening is a hateful chore. I think that the line is now under the Irwin name. I have an 1/8" Irwin that I find to have the same properties as the Marples chisels. I always meant to buy a really special set of chisels, but then I stopped professional woodworking and find that the blue chips more than satisfy my needs. I would, however, like a set of quality micro chisels, so I will have to look into that Veritas set.

Hi Chris, 1/4” can be difficult to gauge for perpendicular. It may seem and look right until you try and mate it to the adjoining piece, that was also squared by eye - only to find that one face of the joint is tight and the other face seems wide open. When it’s critical that I have two perfectly mating surfaces, I will sometimes do the following: Surface a piece of stock (1” thick) on two sides, so that the piece is perfectly flat (no bow, or cup), and be sure to make the piece large/long enough to clamp to your work surface, while still leaving enough hand room to work comfortably. Square at least one straight edge to both faces. If you don’t own a good try-square, it is always a sound investment; IMO, Starrett still makes the best rules and squares. Place a loose piece of 1/4” stock that exactly matches your part thickness, and is large enough to support your paring guide-board above, onto a flat surface with enough overhang that you can align your joint layout with the square, straight edge. Clamp down tight. If there is a thousandth, or so, difference in thickness between your part and the spacer board - and the part is still loose after clamping the guide board - then a strip of blue painters tape on the backside of your part will close that gap. If your rough cut is already within 1/32” of your line, it isn’t even necessary or desireable to make chopping cuts with a mallet; there is too much force involved with chopping, so that the likelihood of shifting your guide block or un-intentionally undercutting the joint is significantly greater. As long as your chisel is razor sharp, you can make shallow, paring cuts until the flat back of your chisel is right up against your guide block. Repeat for the mating surface, and you should end up with a perfectly mating joint and an assembly that stays closed on a flat surface.

They really are basic, aren’t they? Everything else is so magnificent that they are easy to overlook, but then there they are. Ha!

Sorry you are not feeling well, Doris. Take your time and feel better. I’ll be here when you get back.

I think that when you get to constructing the upper finishing of the quarter gallery - with its domed top and coved central recess for the statuary - that the complex shapes would make an excellent topic for an instructional video. That is, if you intend to build them up in the same way as the rest of the QG. Perhaps not, if you are going to carve the upper finishing from a solid block, instead. I also admire your courage in cutting down the sheer, although I agree that it is right to do so. All the best, Marc

The directive from the Crown, across Europe as the 18th C. developed was to trend towards a reduction of unnecessary ornament. However, that the great yards in England and France, in particular, where there were deeply entrenched familial traditions of ship ornamentation, which continued to ignore the directives of the crown for as long as they could get away with it, speaks more to a class of artists/artisens who were trying to hold onto their livelihood. This is my opinion. Pride of state is a hallmark of the 17th century, but by the 18th century - I agree with Siggi that it is the pride of the yards that keeps the tradition alive, until eventually, the yards just wouldn’t pay what the work was really worth.

I love your ingenuity, HJX. Your approach opens my mind to what is possible

You’re a star, Doris! Thank you for taking the time to illustrate your process, here. You have really de-mystified something that seems complicated; that is, in fact, quite difficult to achieve; and explained it in a way that makes it possible for someone else to achieve it. Thank you, again, Doris! Also, I like your alteration to the window heights. This makes more sense, and the change is a good example of where the modeler, sometimes, has to parse through the intent of the artist - even a really good marine artist like Vale.

I love the insight, Mr. Lad.

I would love to see a photo essay of that process, Doris, but your description gives me a pretty solid idea of it. it seems that steam is the key to getting the card to conform to compound curves. The difficulty must be, first cutting a bit oversized, but close to openning size. Then, once you have the shape you want, trimming edges to land, on-center, on the framing members; more art and intuition than science, I would imagine. By all means, though, post pics if you have the time. Your method, here, is of particular interest, as I consider how I will construct the convoluted surfaces of Soleil Royal’s QGs. I very much appreciate the explanations.

Ahhh, I see. Another question: how do you get the (card?) panels of the quarter galleries - within these framing members - to follow, so neatly, the compound curves that the underlying framework dictates? Because they are painted black, it is hard to read these surfaces for their shape, but they appear to follow these forms perfectly.

Well, you’re a quick study on the tools! Great beginning!

Hi Doris - Marvelous progress! What is the material you are using for the thin moulded strakes that frame the quarter gallery panels; wood, plastic or card?

My prefered carving school of technique - Praying Mantis/Tingling Fingers - has slowed my progress in recent weeks. I’ve been experimenting with an assortment of elbow and wrist braces, in the hopes of relieving the cubital and carpal tunnel symptoms I am experiencing lately. Wearing the wrist brace while carving, tonight, made the work more challenging, but less uncomfortable. So, that’s an occupational work in progress. But, at least now I have a castable pair of port accents, and I have satisfied my curiosity as to whether carving styrene would produce results I like. I think that if I were carving in boxwood or pear, the lines would be a little more crisp; I carve the styrene with shaving cuts, but much of the shaping is done by scraping micro bevels that the eye reads as a domed surface. However, you can also scrape a hard crease. The surface just isn’t as cleanly cut as it would be with wood. For my purposes here, though, it is more than adequate. With paint, it will show light and shadow, and that will give the carvings shape and dimension. So, next I just need to buy some casting clay and resin, and we’ll see if my next experiment works.