Ulises Victoria

Oh my God! Look at the size of this skeleton. It fills my table! And without bowsprit!!

Where am I going to do the actual work??? 

Hi again,

 

I am so happy to be here from the very beginning to watch you build another magnificent ship! If the box for your Royal Louis was any bigger then you would need a larger desk just to hold it haha.

 

But on the bright side, at least you don't have too much room to lose things

He he thanks. Problem is a larger desk won't fit there. 

Bienvenido Pepe.

José and I are very close friends. Please make him feel at home, just as you all did with me.

José, you are in the best place to show your work and get help!

You will never ever see my workspace this neat and clean again. (I must confess it wasn't me, but my cleaning lady.) 

Now I feel more motivated to start building.

And yes, this is all the room I have to build my ships. 

Wow, it is actually possible to COMPLETE THE VASA???!

Congratulations!

I've always said: "If you work on it every day, no matter how little, eventually you will finish it"

When I used to build plastic, I used both methods: glue the halves together, clamp, wait to dry and then ran a line of glue on the inside seam.

Hello all.

Couldn't wait and I'm posting these photos with the sole purpose of starting my Royal Louis build log.

I'm under the impression this will be a real challenge.

Box and contents shown. I know before hand I won't be using some of the stuff in this kit. Like those metal boats: Plan to purchase wooden kits for those parts. Blocks: I'm planning to purchase blocks from an external source. Rigging thread: I will make my own. Too many metal parts. Still don't know which I will use or won't. Will decide in due time.

Actual build photos will come later.

All you see in the photos is all the room I have to build. That is a blanket closet. 

I dream of a really big and spacious shop. 

Great job Ulises. Congrats on your completion of a great ship. What's next?

 

Vince

Thank you all for your nice comments.

Vince... Mamoli 1/90 Royal Louis. 120 cannons. Yummy!!! Got it at a super special discount at Model Expo in May 2010. Soon I will have to scratch that off my "In the stash" list and move it to my "Current Project" link. If there is something I like more than finishing a ship, is to start a new one. 

 

When is the birth ????????

 

Well, I'm taking a break. I think 24 hours will be enough. 

I have to clean up my shop table first. Get rid of old stuff. Prepare whatever tools I might need for the first stages of building... so most likely early next week. 

I'm going to throw out a word from my childhood - Stupendous - I can only imagine how you feel right now... maybe a bit sad?

Hehe...mixed feelings. I think it's like seeing your daughter getting married...  

Thanks for "that" word. 

Next project: Royal Louis by Mamoli in 1/90. And this is like seeing your newly born for the first time

Thank you all. Your comments are greatly appreciated.     

Crackers: I know about the Vasa colors. Corel kit is 30 years old, and at that time it was "supposed" that she was painted in blue with gold ornaments. I decided to follow this scheme even though I was fully aware of the recent investigations. To be honest, I wouldn't have painted it as per the original. I just don't like that paint scheme. And as I have said before, my ships are built as ornamental items; I am not a purist.

Maybe some time in the future I will go the "exact replica" route. 

MY VASA IS FINISHED!!! 

I myself can't believe it but it's TRUE! It's finally done!!! 

The feeling of proud and accomplishment one gets when finishing a 1200+ hour project is exhilarating.

Photo heavy thread. Sorry!

Get needles of different sizes. They go from tiny to very large. Cut or grind the eye in half to get a U shaped tool. You will not find one tool to cover all your needs, I'm afraid.

I have ordered several "used" books from Amazon. Books either too expensive or not in existence anymore.

Can't be any happier. I've got $80 dollars books for $4. You wouldn't believe the books I've got for around 4-5 dlls, and they are like new. Sometimes the shipping is even higher than the cost of the book itself, but who cares? Still great deals.

Welcome Werner.

Which Vasa are you building?. I mean, which kit? Corel, Billings, Sergal...? Is it wood or plastic?

There are several Vasa build logs here. (Be sure to search for both Vasa and Wasa) Make sure to start your own.

Questions are answered quicker if we can see some photos.

Matti.Your weathering techniques on the woodwork is beyond reproach. Have you given any thought on what it would take to duplicate the same effect on the painted surfaces, figures etc ? Your work of course is way above mine but seeing how I am talking to a master your comments do go into my handwritten log.

 

Chris

Just a reminder... Vasa had no time to "weather" or to wear out. So don't go overboard there.

Or you can try that material they use for the bride's veil. 

I think that's what Jay (modeler12) refers to.

Not sure of it's name in English, but in Spanish is "Tul"

Thank you for the credit

As a last resort, you may try steel electric guitar strings. They start at .008 if I'm not mistaken. This may be a more expensive solution, though, but the material is top notch. I think you can buy them in bulk in certain places.

http://www.juststrings.com/plainsteelguitarbulkstrings.html

Hello Barbossa. Nice to see you, and your Diana is an awesome project. It's coming out real clean and nice, although some of the latest photos are missing.

I saw a photo at the beginning of your Vasa. If you check my build log, you will see something very familiar.

How did you made the flags "wavy"? Mine look very stiff.   I have not been able to fully finish my ship because of the flags. That's the only thing left.!

Well...flags and the base.

Hello latestarter. When possible, I prefer to plank off the ship. To me it actually is easier.

In my personal opinion it depends on the kit you are building. In some you can plank off the ship, in some is not practical.That's why I said "when possible".

As with everything, try all methods and choose what works for you. 

Also, you might want to take a look at some articles here.

http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php

Best regards.

Hey Viv.

Haven't visited your log for sometime and I am speechless about what you are accomplishing. Your interiors look fantastic. Well done, linda!

Keep on it,  and I promise to visit more often.

This is in the label: denatured alcohol, selenous acid and dilute copper chloride/copper carbonate. I have no idea what those things are, but they sound dangerous. 

Not for aluminum or stainless.

Hope this helps.

Hello Karl and thank you Matti.

Karl I use blacken-it for all my blackening purposes. I honestly don't remember what color my cannons came in the kit, but if I remember correctly, they were already black. Again... I'm not 100% sure about this but in any case, if they were brass, I used this product to blacken them.

http://www.micromark.com/SearchResult.aspx?deptIdFilter=0&searchPhrase=blacken-it%2c+4+fl.+oz.

And yes, the chain was included but was also blackened with this product. 

Hope this helps.

Thank you Michael. If your rigging will be on par with what you are doing with your ship, I have no doubts it will be perfect. I just can't stop admiring how clean and detailed your ship looks.

I'm glad you liked my hometown. I was born and raised here!

Thank you Nenad. Just a few minutes ago I placed the very last line of rigging on my ship. There are some small adjustments to do and then finally the last step: the flags and it's done!

Don't be afraid of the rigging. A few words of advise: Take it slowly one line at a time.

Pull your ropes very very slow and watch how they are moving. There are few things worse than pulling a line, feeling a "snap" that you know you shouldn't and find out that your line was caught in a cannon that was pulled of its place and fell inside your already planked hull (shudders!)

ALWAYS approach your lines with tweezers and scissors closed and open them just at the point where you need them to be. The second worst thing is snipping a line and watching another falling down, that was caught in your open scissors. You may laugh now, but you won't when it happens

I use white glue to fix my knots. It dries invisible.

Hope this helps