Soleil Royal by Hubac's Historian - Heller - An Extensive Modification and Partial Scratch-Build

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I thought I'd give 1.5mm a go again, as I'll probably want to try using these myself shortly. It's worth saying that a 1.5mm block is close to half the size of a 2mm, in terms of surface area, i.e. it's not just a tad smaller, it is a LOT smaller! As expected I had to ream out the through hole and still couldn't get 0.1mm thread through, so I used some 34g beading wire (0.2mm) as a proof-of-concept proxy. I fear thread of the same diameter might look a bit too large for the block and the thinnest possible might be the way to go. My takeaway conclusion is that 1.5 is bordering on insanely small, but still doable so long as you have a bottomless well of determination 🙂and I know, by putting it next to a victory 12lb-er, that it just looks more 'right' than the 2mm. Maybe the solution (for me at least) is a compromise, 1.7mm or 1.8mm. 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Gentlemen, thank you all for the likes and kind words.  It is all very much appreciated, coming from such an esteemed group as you all are.

 

Kevin, I don’t think there’d be any significant difference in time period for single and double blocks.  The larger, purpose-specific blocks of the yards are a different story.  I’m a ways away from those.

 

Wow! - you are absolutely right, what a scale difference it is to go down to 1.5mm.  I suspect that I could rig them with the same 100wt silk thread that Michael is using on his Sovereign.

[t_corret]

Bravo!

[Ian_Grant]

Marc, where did you find such tiny blocks? During my Victory build the smallest I saw was 2mm.

[Hubac's Historian]

Hi Ian - Those are actually blocks that Kevin is printing with his own equipment.  The smallest I found were also 2MM.

[72Nova]

Just a friendly remainder fellas that Dry Dock Models also sells those 1.5mm blocks in boxwood, those are what I use currently, but I would be willing try out Kevin's if he decides produce them?

 

Michael D.

[wefalck]

Not sure, why people continue using diluted white glue to stiffen ropes, perhaps because it is handy on most workdesks ... If you use a fast-drying organic-solvent based lacquer (zapon lacquer or old-fashioned nail-varnish, not the modern acrylic ones), you can soften the lacquer easily with a drop of acetone. That also takes care of any flash produced during the original stiffening.

 

And, why did you make the coils elongated, any particular reason? Naturally, as the rope has the same stiffness all along its length, it would coil up in more or less round coils. Of course, one can pull the coils long afterwards, but this would be extra work.

 

Otherwise, I would echo the comments of the others, that it continues to be an impressively well-done project 👍🏻

[Javelin]

3 hours ago, wefalck said:

 

And, why did you make the coils elongated, any particular reason? Naturally, as the rope has the same stiffness all along its length, it would coil up in more or less round coils. Of course, one can pull the coils long afterwards, but this would be extra work.

That's not a very true assumption, rope rarely, depending on the lay of it, has a tendency to coil up round. It generally depends on the lay, direction of coiling and simply the motion that is made during coiling that would define the shape of it. 

I must admit this is looking more like a coil that was made vertically, hanging and then laid down afterwards rather than a coil that was made straight on deck. But honestly... if that's the only question we can pose, he's doing a great job. And that's what this is! 

 

Great work all around, astonishing work and VERY Tiny blocks indeed!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

For what it’s worth, as a ex-mountaineer and caver I would often coil rope around an arm and lay it down on the ground, where it would look just like Marc’s coils. I agree that some very stiff rope, especially when new, can want to do it’s own thing but even hemp or bark/grass rope softens fairly quickly. (On the climbing and caving side, most of us would have paid more for a rope that did behave rather than continually kinking. We used to have to regularly drag 50 metres of rope along the ground to get the kinks out and stop it twisting during coiling).

[Hubac's Historian]

I would add, also, that I’ve coiled and flaked rope as a volunteer on South Street Seaport’s historic schooner Pioneer.  Coils have to run freely, so longer loops and fewer are better than smaller, stacked coils.  Mostly though, at scale, I just don’t like the appearance of perfectly round coils that instantly bring to mind the knitting needle they were formed on.

 

The varnish tip is a good one, but I would be reticent to apply acetone to an acrylic painted, plastic model.  This approach, it seems to me, is perfect for wooden modeling.  ‘Something I will definitely tuck away for the future.

 

I can tell you from my several mis-adventures of blemishing my ventre-de-biche hull that color-matching that distressed appearance is a real biche 😜

[wefalck]

My comments about coiling were actually not 'assumptions', but that is what happens to me, when I coil rope. Of course, it is also a question of the thickness of the rope relative to your arm movements when coiling.

 

I regularly use this lacquer/varnish and acetone method on models spray-painted with acrylics and did not experience any problems. Of course, when you create puddles of acetone and let it standing there, that may soften the paint. The point is to just brush enough onto the rope to soften it. It will evaporate in a few moments afterwards.