Bill97 Posted June 3 #2461 Posted June 3 My friend it is such a pleasure and inspiration to ch close in on your build! Any time I feel just a little bit unduly proud of my ship building accomplishments I take a quick glance at your SR build. The unbelievable amount of research and patience you have employed in your build quickly reminds me I am but an amateur in comparison to the likes of you and Henry. Well done my friend. Hubac's Historian, mtaylor and HAIIAPHNK 2 1 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted June 4 Author #2462 Posted June 4 You are very kind, Bill! Thank you and thank everyone for their likes, thoughts and comments. Baker and mtaylor 2 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Nek0 Posted June 14 #2463 Posted June 14 Hello Marc ! It's incredible how many details you put in this build ! Really a source of inspiration ! Love it !! FriedClams, Hubac's Historian, mtaylor and 1 other 3 1 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted June 15 Author #2464 Posted June 15 (edited) Thank you, Marc. It is a reciprocal affair, as I never miss an opportunity to sing your praises. Your kindness, advice, and generosity of spirit have had so very much to do with this project pushing forward in the way that it has. Happy Fathers' Day to all! Edited June 15 by Hubac's Historian Ian_Grant, Nek0, HAIIAPHNK and 2 others 4 1 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Nek0 Posted June 19 #2465 Posted June 19 It's my pleasure to share what I know and it' very rewarding to see builds like yours ! You've made yourself a huge work and you are producing one of the very best models of the Soleil Royal ! Hubac's Historian, mtaylor, FriedClams and 1 other 3 1 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted June 30 Author #2466 Posted June 30 I have been absent for a good long time, but work does continue - albeit, at a snail’s pace. I have 99%, with the exception of the mizzen backstay stool that I have yet to make, completed the port side chains: With all the black touched up, and the thread links painted over with black acrylic, I am quite satisfied with the result: If you know to look for them, the knots on these long links can be found behind the deadeye strops, however, the theater convention of painting anything you don’t wish to draw attention to, flat-black, serves me well here. I could, perhaps, have extended the aft most backstay chain on the fore and main channels to the mid-way point of the adjacent gun port, but I am not going to change that now. The open port lid obscures these chains, anyway. A big thanks goes out to Eric Wiberg, who first sourced these plastic model-railroading round-headed bolts. They really worked perfectly in this application! Mizzen chains: I’ve begun the process of equipping the visible main deck carriages with their breaching ropes. I am using .6MM polyester line for these breaching ropes and .007 linen line for the seizings. I am aware that CA discolors polyester line, so I have secured the seizings with dilute Elmer’s white glue. I am taking a calculated risk that I can work around an earlier mistake without wasting all of the line and effort of making these seizings. Unfortunately, when I was detailing the inner bulwarks, I did not realize it was a mistake to glue-in the lower breaching rope eye-bolt. It is far easier to connect this eye bolt to your breaching rope split ring, off of the model, and then to glue the bolt to its bulwark location after the gun has been secured: So, the risk is that I can close these rings around the eye-bolts, often in tight spaces, without breaking anything or crushing the rings into an oval shape. This seemed to me a preferable approach to trying to break out the eye-bolts, which I recall being a snug fit: I will have to make a bunch of hooks and single/double block seizings for the haul-in tackles. I won’t, however, rig the haul-out tackles as I think they tend to make the decks look cluttered, and for the purposes of this diorama - SR making sail from Brest for Barfleur - I doubt these tackles would be rigged until just before engagement, as they present an encumbrance to sailors as they work the decks. I will soon paint the cannon barrels. Here, I’ve blacked-out the bores: I learned from the lower main deck guns not to paint the bronze and ver-de-gris wash until you are ready to mount in the carriages. The wash has an awful tendency to stick to itself. As always, thank you for your likes, comments and continued interest in this project. Little by little, we are getting there! Ab Hoving, Chapman, FriedClams and 20 others 17 6 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Chapman Posted July 1 #2467 Posted July 1 Marc, this is really great craftsmanship. Hard to believe it's plastic. 5 stars! druxey, FriedClams, Hubac's Historian and 1 other 3 1 Quote
Bill97 Posted July 1 #2468 Posted July 1 Marc I echo exactly what Chapman said. I looked back to see when you started this masterpiece. This has been a large part of your current life. Incredible job. Hubac's Historian, FriedClams and mtaylor 2 1 Quote
Bill Morrison Posted July 1 #2469 Posted July 1 On 10/15/2023 at 9:30 PM, Hubac's Historian said: These days, this is what progress looks like for me: I added the filling pieces for the middle band of wales, so that I can properly mount the chain preventer plates. My J-O-B has transitioned to full-employment, lately, and I have completely lost the pockets of daytime to get small-work done. The evenings are mostly consumed with coaching sports teams, and emailing families about said sports teams, and generally being a husband and dad. All good, just BUSY. I don’t have a lot of modeling mojo left in me, to do good work, so I have mostly been reading. About rigging and other things ship-related. R.C. Anderson really is the foundational read for this epoch. As I go through it, I have been re-reading the rigging sequence of several of my favorite builds. The first is Paul Kattner’s intense kit-bash of the DeAgostini Vasa; as a first-time builder, his approach and technical mastery are just incredible. His log is extremely well-photographed throughout. Along the same lines is Michael’s (‘72 Nova) Airfix Vasa, which is just exquisitely well-done in an impossibly small scale. The third is Marsalv’s Le Gros Ventre, which is just a model that I love, through-and-through, and the rigging is truly excellent. Very honorable mention goes to Daniel’s Victory, which like Michael’s build is excellent for the technical tricks of making rigging look truly professional. These are peripheral time periods to my own, with their very specific contributions to the history of rigging, but the sequence of work in these builds is enormously helpful for understanding what is a very complicated process. I am, of course, well acquainted with Archjofo, and all I can say there is - dare to dream. A true Master Class. Now that I have some rigging vocabulary and understanding of what most of the lines do, it has become much easier to conceive of where my belay points should be. Just as with anything else, you can’t really build a rig until you can understand it and visualize it. We are getting there, though. As is my custom, I make frequent visits to The Strand, hunting for obscure, and out-of-print ship books. Most of the time, I come up empty. Occasionally, though, I find a gem! On my most recent trip, there was a veritable treasure trove! Winfield’s First Rate (have it) Lee’s Masting and Rigging (have it) An updated and comprehensively illustrated Pepy’s Navy (don’t have it, yet) And, then, these two: I will likely go back and poach the Pepy’s title on my next paycheck. The two I did pick up are invaluable for both my current and future projects. The Art of Ship Modeling has a very detailed accounting of the construction of Frolich’s L’Ambiteaux, and all of his subjects are beautifully photographed in hi-res. Lavery’s edition of Dean’s Doctrine is also beautifully illustrated and the math of Dean’s approach is very clearly explained. It isn’t a guidebook to reconstructing a French First-Rate of 1670, but it is useful for understanding the methods in vogue for that specific time period. Again, you can’t build it until you understand it. Lastly, John Ott clue’d me-in to the fact that an English only edition of Le Chevalier de Tourville was back in-print by Ancre for a very reasonable sum. I bought that too! From what I have gathered, here and there, the rigging and belay plans of this monograph are relatively easy to follow. Thank you, John! So, I just wanted to say “hello,” and thank you all for visiting. More to follow! Best, Marc Marc, I recently picked up two books That may be of interest. They are 1. Lees, James, The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War, 1625-1860 2. Marquardt, Karl Heinz, Eighteenth-Century Rigs & Rigging. Granted, they don't fit your interesting in seventeenth century French warships, but they are of a general interest. Bill Hubac's Historian, mtaylor and FriedClams 2 1 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted July 1 Author #2470 Posted July 1 2 hours ago, Bill97 said: Marc I echo exactly what Chapman said. I looked back to see when you started this masterpiece. This has been a large part of your current life. Incredible job. HAHA - so true Bill! mtaylor and Bill Morrison 2 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Hubac's Historian Posted July 1 Author #2471 Posted July 1 (edited) I do have both of those books in my library, Bill, although Marquardt is on-loan from a friend. Excellent references, both. Edited July 1 by Hubac's Historian Bill Morrison and mtaylor 2 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Bill Morrison Posted July 2 #2472 Posted July 2 21 hours ago, Hubac's Historian said: I do have both of those books in my library, Bill, although Marquardt is on-loan from a friend. Excellent references, both. I agree. I can't count the references on my bookshelves. Rigging makes up a large part of the collection. Bill Hubac's Historian and mtaylor 2 Quote
kirill4 Posted July 5 #2473 Posted July 5 Good day Marc, She looks fantastic good!!! :))) Regarding haul-in tackles/ haul-out tackles ...I read somewhere, that the same set of tackles was used for both purposes , haul in and out...depends on situation, they were fast detachable... means no need to show both of haul-in tackles/ haul-out tackles in the same time... All the best! Kirill mtaylor, FriedClams, 72Nova and 1 other 3 1 Quote Current Build: Spanish Galleon, Lee, 1:100 https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/6262-spanish-galleon-1607-by-kirill4-lee-plastic-1100/& https://karopka.ru/forum/forum190/topic10341/ Dutch 16-17 Arts Sailing Vessels in details https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio/1845326--kirill-shabanov/collections/arts
Bill97 Posted July 5 #2474 Posted July 5 Some may think me crazy but rigging is probably my favorite part of building these ships. Initially, years ago, I was more interested in building the actual ship and found the rigging tedious. While building the HMS Victory I received so much guidance and help from all you guys reference the rigging, plus read numerous recommended books on the subject. I began to understand the fascinating engineering that went into each rigging line. Prior to that I just put the different threads where the instructions directed. Looking back at some of my older models I see numerous rigging mistakes. Although sometimes very tedious, like tying ratlines, I really enjoy how rigging the model brings it to life. , FriedClams, popeye2sea, kirill4 and 3 others 6 Quote
mtaylor Posted July 7 #2475 Posted July 7 Your work is beyond incredible, Marc. FriedClams and Hubac's Historian 1 1 Quote Mark "The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me Current Build: Past Builds: La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD Triton Cross-Section NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Non-Ship Model: On hold, maybe forever: CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)
Hubac's Historian Posted July 7 Author #2476 Posted July 7 That is very kind of you to say, Mark - much appreciated! mtaylor and FriedClams 2 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
druxey Posted July 8 #2477 Posted July 8 That broadside view is now particularly impressive, Marc! That is a lot of breeching rings to close up. I hope you have a pair of very small-nosed parallel pliers for the job.... Hubac's Historian, FriedClams and mtaylor 2 1 Quote Be sure to sign up for an epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series http://trafalgar.tv
Hubac's Historian Posted July 8 Author #2478 Posted July 8 I’ve invested my hopes and dreams in my best pair of tweezers. I’ll keep you posted! mtaylor, FriedClams and druxey 3 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
druxey Posted July 8 #2479 Posted July 8 If using tweezers, perhaps a narrow groove filed into each side of the business end will prevent the ring from popping out as you close it? mtaylor, FriedClams and Hubac's Historian 2 1 Quote Be sure to sign up for an epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series http://trafalgar.tv
Hubac's Historian Posted July 9 Author #2480 Posted July 9 That is an excellent tip, David - thank you! mtaylor 1 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Bill97 Posted July 9 #2481 Posted July 9 Marc some day in the future when you have completed this beautiful hull of the ship and are ready to move up to the masts, yards, etc, do you think you may have a bitter sweet sadness that this part is finished? As I mentioned before this build has been a big part of your life. Or, are you looking forward to that part of the build just as much? I have no doubt you already have tons of research material that will make that part of the ship just as breathtaking. mtaylor, FriedClams and Hubac's Historian 3 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted July 9 Author #2482 Posted July 9 (edited) Well, Bill, I was thinking today about how much I enjoyed scratch-building the structural and ornamental aspects of the build. At this stage, though, the rigging looks like a steep, uphill climb. The trouble is that I’ve established a standard for the model, and I can’t just do what I’ve done on earlier builds for the rigging. I won’t be happy with that. In this scale, it is not really possible to construct ALL aspects of the rig to full scale practice, but I want it to look like that. Right now, I’m figuring out how best to strap single and double blocks with hooks for my carriage tackles. As you know, the available space to do so is impossibly small. I’m reading through Dafi’s Victory log because he has so many ingenious jigs and work-arounds for creating scale rigging effects. Because I’m so relatively un-skilled at this aspect of model-making, the going is very slow, and I really have to try not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. I know, as with anything else, that I will acquire skill and confidence, and the process will pick up momentum. I find it somewhat helpful to think of each rigging element as a structure, in itself: what is its geometry? what are its component parts? what was it designed to do? On the other hand, if I spend too much time thinking about the finish line, I get an awfully strong desire to box the whole thing up and start a new project. I have too much time invested to not see it through, though. I keep the fire alive thinking about these fantastically billowing topsails that I will eventually try to re-create: This Puget portrait of the Royal Louis is the original inspiration for this diorama, and this version of the RL, circa 1692, is strongly analogous to what SR 1689 would have looked like. One foot in front of the other. Just keep on going, as I am telling my kids all of the time. As ever, I am grateful for the help and support of the community. Edited July 9 by Hubac's Historian Baker, mtaylor, BLACK VIKING and 7 others 10 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Kevin-the-lubber Posted July 9 #2483 Posted July 9 2 hours ago, Hubac's Historian said: I keep the fire alive thinking about these fantastically billowing topsails that I will eventually try to re-create: Marc, I can't remember if I've seen you commenting on Bruma's Cutty Sark, but if not, his sails are magnificent and more than worthy of your build. I know what you mean about wanting to maintain the standard all the way through and being unable to settle for less. I have found the facility to make 'better' parts to be a bit of a curse on both the CS and Victory, but especially regarding the masts, spars and rigging, in part because I am someone who has to understand what something does before I can make progress. Hence parking it for now. Quite frustrating as I'm usually a good completer/finisher, but all part of the journey. By the way.... I bought the SR kit on ebay a week or so back. They usually fetch quite a high price this side of the pond but as this one was at a reasonable buy-it-now price I took my chance. IIRC it's quite an old pressing, I hope so anyway. So I now have all the large plastic kits that I would ever want (Victory, Cutty Sark, Kearsarge, Constitution, Soliel Royale) and probably more than I will ever build unless I change tack. FriedClams, Ian_Grant, Hubac's Historian and 1 other 3 1 Quote Kevin https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/ktl_model_shop Current projects: HMS Victory 1:100 (Heller / Scratch, kind of active, depending on the alignment of the planets) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/23247-hms-victory-by-kevin-the-lubber-heller-1100-plastic-with-3d-printed-additions/ Cutty Sark 1:96 (More scratch than Revell, parked for now) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30964-cutty-sark-by-kevin-the-lubber-revell-196 Soleil Royal 1:100 (Heller..... and probably some bashing. The one I'm not supposed to be working on yet) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36944-le-soleil-royal-by-kevin-the-lubber-heller-1100-plastic/
Hubac's Historian Posted July 9 Author #2484 Posted July 9 (edited) Hi Kevin - Yes, I was following Bruma’s Cutty Sark, and I have commented on the excellence of his sails. They truly are great. My first inclination, though, is to try a technique with silk span that I first saw on a build by Blue Ensign - his Heller kitbash of La Superb. Silkspan seems to give the right scale impression for 1:96. If I’m being a little over-critical, I find that the material Bruma used felt a little heavy. His approach may ultimately be necessary, though, to achieve such a deep billowing effect. SR kit prices have been all over the place. If you have an early pressing, you are in luck, as the plastic remains excellent, so long as the kit has not been stored through temperature extremes. As you know, I have a deep respect for your computer modeling skills, and your hand-skills in bringing it all together. Your results are worth whatever wait is necessary. Although I have the Airfix Vasa and Prince in my stash, I am growing doubtful that I will ever get to building them, as I want to begin transitioning to wood on my next project. Why can’t this be my job? Edited July 9 by Hubac's Historian FriedClams and mtaylor 2 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Bill97 Posted July 10 #2485 Posted July 10 Marc I built the Airfix Wasa (find it here on MSW). I decided after that I wanted to work at the larger scale. My eyes and fingers just can’t work as well at that small scale. I have the Airfix Golden Hinde in my stash but may help a grandson build that. When the day comes that you transition to wood I think you will really enjoy it. I know I have building my OcCre Endeavour. For now let us all enjoy watching you build this beauty at your fingertips. Hubac's Historian, mtaylor and FriedClams 2 1 Quote
Kevin-the-lubber Posted July 10 #2486 Posted July 10 Funny you should mention Blue Ensign (aka Maurice). I was very taken by his Pegasus back on the old Pete Coleman HMS Victory site and I’ve had his sail-making tutorial bookmarked for years. If only I had some finished yards to practice on! I too hope to move on to wood at some point, or being me, more likely mixed media. But I still have so many things to learn first. Retirement is only a few weeks away though, which will help. Hubac's Historian, Ian_Grant and mtaylor 1 2 Quote Kevin https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/ktl_model_shop Current projects: HMS Victory 1:100 (Heller / Scratch, kind of active, depending on the alignment of the planets) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/23247-hms-victory-by-kevin-the-lubber-heller-1100-plastic-with-3d-printed-additions/ Cutty Sark 1:96 (More scratch than Revell, parked for now) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30964-cutty-sark-by-kevin-the-lubber-revell-196 Soleil Royal 1:100 (Heller..... and probably some bashing. The one I'm not supposed to be working on yet) https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36944-le-soleil-royal-by-kevin-the-lubber-heller-1100-plastic/
Bill97 Posted July 10 #2487 Posted July 10 Kevin congratulates on your pending retirement. That’s great news. After my retirement (2010. Can’t believe it has been 14 years) is when I had the free time to get back into modeling. I admit I probably spend too much in my ship yard now. Have to force myself to get other things done first each day. Will be excited to see someday what you guys do with wood or mixed media. mtaylor and Hubac's Historian 2 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted July 10 Author #2488 Posted July 10 (edited) Kevin - congrats on your pending retirement! I am a little envious of you guys. Bill, after working your whole life and raising a family, there is no such thing as “too much time in the shipyard.” Maurice is a really talented guy. What he did with that Heller 74 is astounding, and his wooden builds have also been top-notch! His sails, for me, were just pure magic. I spent the better part of yesterday’s free time digging through Dafi’s Victory log for better insight into how to convincingly rig carriage tackles in 1:96. As usual, Daniel did not disappoint! I modified some of his approach to suit my objective. I had made up a bunch of hooks that are as small as I can muster at just about 2.5 MM, matching the single and double blocks that I’m using for these 16 visible main deck guns. I used the brass wire again, but this time I both stripped the coating and abraded the surface with a grey Scotch-Brite pad. I was hoping to not have to paint these hooks, and this time the JAX blackened the lot fairly immediately: Nevertheless, the oxidation does not seem very resilient to handling. It looks like I’ll be swiping these with a little black paint before installation, anyway. I wonder whether the Birchwood Casey brass black is just a better product for this application. I see a lot of guys using it with great and instantaneous results. Later in the evening, I set to work designing a process to strap the single blocks with a hook, while also attaching the lanyard to the block strap with an eyelet. I was aiming to minimize any unnecessary bulk from overhand knots. For the sake of experimentation, I used some common polyester line that pretty closely matches the .35 mm laid line that I will use for the block straps. I only bought a little of this line from Ropes of Scale, for the time being, to get me started. I’ll have to see what it looks like, but I think I will use the common thread for the lanyards and their flaked coils, and the laid line on the straps where that difference is more apparent. I made a simple pin jig that will elevate and hold both the single and double blocks for strapping. I wanted to get a sense for the circumference around the single blocks, so that I would know what size drill bit to use as a mandrel for pre-setting the strap opening. I marked the test line with a pen: It turns out that an 1/8” drill bit leaves enough slack that I can do a short seizing close to the base of the hook: After thinking this process through a little further, it dawned on me that the way to approach this is to simply create that short seizing around the hook, first, with my .007 linen line. Then, make an oversize throat seizing of a single-overhand knot X2, on the backside of the strap. Before placing the strap back over the mandrel, make a loose eyelet for the lanyard, around the back end of the strap. With the strap over the mandrel, you can now pull the strap ends taught around the mandrel. After slipping your strap/lanyard assembly off the mandrel, you can now tack the hook end onto the “out” end of the block with a dot of CA. Once that sets, you can now cinch the strap tight into the groove of the block. Following that you can push the simple seize of the lanyard into a tight eyelet around the “in” end of the block. I use Kirrill’s technique of alternating, single overhand knots to walk out a 4-wrap simple seizing. All of this will be fixed with dilute white glue before snipping off the loose ends. A photo montage of my process: Now, my argument for not using expensive laid line for the lanyard is that there will be so little visible space between the single and double blocks. I did a few visual checks to see how far in-board I could place the carriages before the outboard portion of the gun barrels looked too short, relative to the middle and lower batteries: This is about the limit of what’s reasonable: The depth of these two lower batteries is pretty well fixed as these barrels plug into pre-established dummy blocks on the lower decks. This looks reasonable to me. As I embark on this process of gun rigging, it is immediately apparent to me why builders shy away from these huge 100-gunners, and I’m only rigging a small fraction if those guns! Thank you for looking in. More to follow.. Best, Marc Edited July 10 by Hubac's Historian Archi, Ian_Grant, wefalck and 10 others 13 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
Bill97 Posted July 10 #2489 Posted July 10 Beautiful job as always Marc! I will add this tutorial to my list. You and Daniel do a lot of the experimentation hat the rest of us can just wait to replicate. BTW. Excellent cuticles 😀! My nails and cuticles look like I have been working in a coal mine and the wife is quick to remind me when attention is warranted 😊. Hubac's Historian and mtaylor 1 1 Quote
Hubac's Historian Posted July 10 Author #2490 Posted July 10 Haha - thanks, Bill! The manicure beauty pageant ends at the hands I guess. Years of soccer and basketball have turned my feet and toenails into a horror show 😀 Quote We are all works in progress, all of the time.
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