Gregor

Only a small update: the galion, inspired by Boudriot and much simplified. I hope to find some time to do the deadeyes on starboard and the rudder. Cheers, Gregor

Well, I'm happy to report that I can take off my prescription glasses when I work on small details - one of the benefits of aging 🙂 @JacquesCousteau: Each regular frame consists of two parts, each 2.5 mm thick (frame M has three parts).

I finally found the time to add a few details, a cat head and spill, bitts, belaying cleats and a pump. Cheers, Gregor

And this is the current state of the work from January to July 2024: 86 grams (I apologize for the picture quality - a summer evening on the roof).. An update will follow, sometime... Cheers, Gregor

November 2022: A reserve anchor had to be provided before the deck beams could be installed. At the same time, I built up my stock for the coming winter and had more parts milled. I failed miserably at sawing through a copper sheet, so the anchors were also milled ... ... and painted.

Summer 2022: La Belle now weighs 71 grams. I worked on the stern decoration (with simplifications) and the starboard side. Not everything is exactly according to Boudriot - I was also inspired by alternative reconstructions (Grieco, Delacroix) and the contemporary La Volage. Here are a few impressions:

Two months later, I can record an additional two grams: La Belle now weighs 66 of them (the kitchen scales are obviously not a precision instrument).

When the sun shines, I'll get back to work on the trim strips - not everything works in the home office. The scraper blades from Amati don't take anything smaller than 2x2 mm - then the rest is milled away. It only takes a few minutes (it's December in Switzerland).

December 2021: The beauty now weighs a proud 64 grams on the kitchen scales!

September 2021

Templates are helping to avoid manual destruction (I guess this sounds strange, but I think you know what I mean):

At this stage the little one weighs just 51 grams. Making the bow timbers was tricky. This is the first time I have seen the hull complete:

Relief in the home office (but it was cool and windy on the roof)...

Stern constuction...

What I perhaps should have done after all: Frame extensions to get a "stable" hull in the first construction phase. But at this stage the frames can be glued well to the keel. The slipway and a small auxiliary construction help with this.

How do I assemble the parts? It's no surprise that they basically fit together. It is, however, to my enormous relief, sawing out is no longer necessary and the risk of breakage is very much reduced (the frames are just under 2.5 mm thick at this scale). I did not build them from individual parts. Based on initial experience, however, this would not be a problem. The whole project is based on the motto "Yes, does it work at all?", an exploration of the possibilities offered by such (for me) new techniques. Of course, this is not a Lego set, there is still a lot of sanding to do (outside if possible), mostly by hand. The milling machine prepares well: One starboard and one port half of such parts can be produced and glued together. Reworking is nevertheless necessary. But it is precisely the "rabbet challenge" that offers opportunities - either by milling out (stern) or by assembling in individual parts (bow). Not everything went smoothly, I always had to check whether I had understood the plan correctly. Paper templates helped with this.

How do I get to the parts? The publication from the Ancre publishing house shows its age. The plans were neatly drawn by hand, with minor errors. The paper print, although clean, is not completely free of distortions. I had all the necessary plans (1:36) scanned and put them together on a virtual table in a file. I used auxiliary lines, rotation and scaling to bring the views into (visual) conformity. The last point is important: Illustrator is a graphics software and not intended for construction. Nevertheless, the drawn parts can be checked in different contexts. Basically, the idea is to apply certain basic dimensions consistently, even if a detailed drawing deviates slightly. Each plan and the drawn parts are located on their own levels, some are shown here. I drew the slipway very early on, because it defines the shape of the frame on its waterline. This means that a shape drawn on the plan is "fitted in". Perhaps you can see this in the following picture: blurring results from the thickness of the lines, but also from distortion and the fact that the drawing has to be mirrored - where is the exact center line? The superimposed auxiliary lines are used, for example, to align the frame with the keel and the slipway. When milled, it looks something like this: My own kit!

I’m writing this build log four years after beginning this project. “La Belle” is very popular with modellers. My version is being built in 1:64 scale; it’s hull is 30 cm long and 7 cm wide and still not finished. But it was a source of pleasure and sorrow – I learned a lot about ship construction and modelling. Actually, may main problem is that early mistakes tend to accumulate. It’s like poison in the food chain… But there are ways around that. Over time, she’s really grown into my own interpretation of a ship of which we have only parts of the hull as a base for a scientific reconstruction. The following is in fact a free translation of my build log on a german-language forum. I invite you to go there for a visit. You have to log in to see the images, it’s free, and easy with modern browsers and translation tools (as I do here, with all apologies for my mistakes). But how do I get components that can be produced at the touch of a button? 3D drawing doesn't work for me - wrong genes and wrong educational background. Building on previous experience with lasercutting, I decided to draw these parts in 2D. I used the graphics program Adobe Illustrator, which can export the files required for the cutter (dxf) (technically, the result is terrible data, but the cutter obviously doesn't care). Jean Boudriot's reconstruction is based on archaeological finds and contemporary archive sources. It is now outdated in parts; the port lids are a clearly visible example of this. The masting and rigging are also interpreted differently today, based on finds that were not yet available to Boudriot. And the decoration is fictitious and seems somewhat generous to me - but after all, a historically important wreck must also represent something... The really exciting thing about this ship is that, firstly, it contained reused components that were dated back to the 16th century. And secondly, it was originally intended to be transported to the New World "as a kit", as the markings on the frames show. This did not happen; it was assembled and fitted out in Rochefort. It all started with the opportunity to have parts milled by a friendly hobbyist. Which, of course, immediately got me dreaming: would I end up with a frame model that could be built in a city apartment? In a room that was converted into a mandatory home office in March 2020? The "La Belle", a simply constructed ship with a moving story of a tragically failed expedition, seemed ideally suited for those purposes.

Dear Toni @tkay11 - in fond memory of our pleasurable collaboration in all things Sherbourne I will open a new build log about my La Belle (I hope the weather will be as bad as promised next saturday 🫣)

Hi Franz While the Irene is still exactly in the state shown above, I have some pictures of Langton's cutter 1:300 with its smaller sister in 1:1200. My schooners are also still in the dock, because im march 2020 I started another project (remember the "stay at home" policy?), La Belle in 1:64... Cheers, Gregor As I guess the German language is not totally foreign to you, there are more pictures of my cutters and La Belle here: https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t8340f1466-La-Belle-Rumpfmodell-in-1.html#msg206105 Here is the small one, for fun 🙂

I might even beat Glenn to the order-button, depending on our respective time zones 🙂 I literally began to stroke the spines of my books (I nowadays own a set of five bound books with all novels in it) - but I digress... There were figures of Aubry an Maturin mentioned in an earlier post by Chris. I began to visualize them, sitting at the stern, playing music together. This would be a wonderful touch, as it symbolizes the heart of their friendship. Now I bet all of you have this silent movie in your head, the long, endless voyages in the south sea - impossible to unthink 🙂 . Cheers, Gregor

How I would love to build Surprise, maybe with a little cut-out to show the orlop – not for the gore, but because it’s an important place in the books (think writing journals undisturbed by ship’s noises, Padeen’s discovery of opium that has an enormous impact of part of the whole story…). The only ship that’s higher on my wishlist would be HMS Beagle, with captain FitzRoy and a young Darwin discussing on deck... Gregor (I know Darwins voyages are post-napoleonic - but the ship was ordered in 1817 and basically from this period. The later additions (rig, deck, metal fittings) it would produce an interesting variant for a Vanguard kit.

Yesterday night I found your post about your method of drawing and laser cutting frames by mere chance. I was fascinated, because I have some experience in drawing with Adobe Illustrator, but not with working in 3D. Until now, I used Illustrator for tracing the lines of frames in plans that I bought, just to make bulkheads and keels. Now I traced all the frames of "La Belle 1684" in plans of Jean Boudriot (published by Ancre) - this time, instead of laser cutting, I had the opportunity to cut them out using a CNC milling machine for a small hull model in 1/64 (as you know, you can easily export a drawing from Illustrator in dxf format, but this file has then to be worked on before feeding it to the machine). Tracing by hand has its limits (even with the clever support using bezier curves), the problems begin with the plan itself (distortions, errors), followed of course by limits of my own. Creating a correct hull in 3D helps making sure that all the parts fit in. It seems that Shade3D and Illustrator are capable of working hand in hand. As always - the better the source, the better the outcome. By tweaking and sanding, my frames seem tho fit, but not with the precision one could wish for. That's why I will read your manual with utmost care (and try it out with my newly arrived copy of Ancre's "La Volage"). A admire your generosity, and thank you with all my heart. Yours, Gregor

In the last few months my home office has taken up more space. During this time, I pursued another small project: A gunboat from 1801, a Swedish-Russian design (A.F. Chapman), a kit from Master Korabel in 1/72nd scale. But finally, I will begin the rigging of La Topaze. Some details were still missing: The rings for the belaying pins around the masts (they measure 6 mm in dameter), and the railing supports. Now I’m out of excuses. My old serving machine was dusted and is ready… Cheers Gregor

Hi Jeff In 1:48 the hull's length should be 54 cm, in 1:36 then 72 cm (according to Ancre's website: https://ancre.fr/en/monograph/30-monographie-de-la-belle-barque-1680.html#/langue-anglais). I very much hope, Tom, there will be a kit in 1:48. It would be a unique opportunity to build a fully framed model of a small ship in a relatively small scale. I'm hoping and looking very much forward to this kit. Cheers, Gregor