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

[druxey]

Moi aussi, Monsieur!

[Hubac's Historian]

Merci, mes amis!

[Hubac's Historian]

To say that my self-imposed deadline has lit a fire under me would be an understatement!  It has been a week, now, and I’ve been painting in the day AND in the evenings.

 

At this stage, all of the primary colors are down and I am ready to spray the ink wash before the gilding of the ornaments.  It is all extremely vivid, right now, but these pics will give a sense of how the frieze will come to life on the aft bulwark pieces:

 

 

Yellow ocher, I think, is a good unifier of these three colors as they all seem to play nicely with the yellow.

 

Figuring out exactly how I wanted to highlight the timberheads took a minute, and execution of the painting took many more minutes!

 

 

I wanted to draw attention to the fore and sprit sheet block entry, so I painted it black.  It seemed unlikely that the sheaves, at this time, would be cast bronze, so I painted them a dark wood brown.

 

Merely by padding the thickness of the sheer railing by 1/32”, I have created a much more realistic sense of scale for this detail:

 

 

 

So, I will finish up the wash and ornamental paint for this piece at home.  Incidentally, the dolphin hances will get the same aqua treatment as the figurehead, and this will be a consistent theme that runs through the ship, all the way to the dolphin on the rudderhead.

 

Tonight, I’ll airbrush the red base-coat for the port side bulwark piece, and the whole process will begin again!  Despite my urgency, this is the standard that I will doggedly maintain.

 

Thank you for the likes, comments and for looking in.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[72Nova]

Looks wonderful and very precise Marc, I must say this version has a very busy paint scheme, I love it!

 

Michael D.

[John Clements]

The colours do really bring the plastic to life. I'm envious of your very steady hand as evidenced in those close-ups!

[EJ_L]

Beautiful!

 

Are you thinking to paint the inside of the bulkheads a red? I know the paint scheme on the insides has been contested over what color or even if all ships were painted on the insides. I have seen whites, greens, reds and natural wood colors used on models with seemingly no consistency so I am curious on which direction you plan to go or if you have learned something that gives a more solid explanation. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Michael!  Yes, there is certainly a lot going on, there.  It will eventually become clear, but these colors and patterns were chosen to emphasize certain aspects of the frieze and to unify the whole ornamental program into a coherent tableaux.  It looks a little crazy, right now, but it will all come together.

 

Thank you John, but the truth is that my hand is not nearly steady enough to hold these lines, unsupported.  I like to think of my painting hand as though it were a rock climber; I use the pinky and ring fingers to nestle into crooks of the piece I’m painting, or to anchor into the fingers of my part-holding hand.  In doing so, I create an absolutely steady frame that frees the three brush-holding fingers to move without tremor or strain.

 

Usually, when I mess up, it’s because I miscalculated the amount/flow of the paint on my brush tip.  I always roll excess paint from my brush before applying to the model.  This removes excess and refines the shape of the brush tip.  I’ve learned to do this paint rolling on a ceramic plate, instead of paper towels because the paint invariably picks up lint from the paper towel and transfers it to the model.  I’ve also learned not to swipe excess paint from the paint pot lip, as the excess quickly crusts, and then your brush eventually picks up crust flakes and deposits them in your finish.  My approach wastes paint, but produces cleaner results.

 

If I mess up, I always keep a wet brush nearby to mop away the mess, and that minimizes touch-ups.  That is the real beauty of acrylic paints.  In the end, it is mostly a test of time and endurance that leads to these results.  I think it is fair to say that I averaged five hours a day, over five days for this bulwark piece, so far.

 

Thank you, EJ!  I think I will remain consistent with my beakhead bulkhead, and paint the quarter and poop deck bulkheads the same red color.  This is what was done on the Louis Quinze model, and I think it makes sense to do so.

 

[Hubac's Historian]

It has been about two and a half weeks of very focused and intensive paint work.  The starboard, forward bulwark is fully painted, and I have the base colors down for the port side.  Here is an illustration of the effect that the walnut ink has in muting the intensity of the base colors:

 

These pictures give a sense of the difference, but the effect is more clearly apparent, in person.  The brown of the walnut ink lends just enough of a green cast to the lighter, cerulean blue to better approximate a period French blue.  It also has the effect of transforming the darker cobalt to more of an ultra-marine shade.

 

The following closeup gives a good sense for the interplay between the darker old gold and the brighter gold used to highlight all of the larger ornaments:

 

It is also more apparent in that picture, the way the ink gets into the moulded depressions of the yellow ocher trim; they dinge-down just enough to have credible depth.

 

While it may or may not have been a feature of actual practice, in the 1680s, I have made an artistic decision to incorporate silver leaf into areas of the ornamental program where it adds emphasis and clarity to the carved works.  Here, I’ve decided to highlight the under reliefs of the acanthus branches:

 

I am pleased with the dolphins, and even used silver to pick-out the eye relief.  One thing to note, this is the one dolphin hancing piece where the hancing moulding is located properly beneath it; on the aft bulwarks, owing to the layout of the sheer steps and the timberhead railings, that is not the case.  I included the mouldings there, anyway, because they added more than they detracted from the overall design.

 

Well, after very much retouching, this is the highest quality brushwork I can produce.  I will methodically continue along this path, right up to the show in October.  At the least, I am hoping to have one full broadside installed.  We’ll see.  It is a very busy summer, and the days and weeks are just ripping by!

 

Today, I am giving myself a little break from painting, and am making the hanging knees that are just visible beneath the break of the quarter deck.

 

Thank you all for looking in!

[yancovitch]

ach....if only i could be a fly on the wall to watch you work........even for one week...........but i don't know if a fly would live for one week.....but even for a few days would be an experience to glean from.....vc

[wefalck]

Indeed, such washings tend to pull and blend things together, creating a visual unity and depth of relief.

 

I would rather doubt, that silver was used on a real ship (it would work for a model), as in the presence of sulfate-sulfur in the seawater it would probably tarnish rather quickly and become black. If a silvery effect was desired, they could have used ground and burnished on mica (muscovite, the stuff that was also used as heat-proof glass-panes in lamps or for windows).

[popeye2sea]

Beautiful work as always. The color scheme is really coming together.

 

Regards,

[t_corret]

You have made my day. Thank you!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Just exquisite. I'm sure that like all artists you only see flaws but what I see is as near to perfection as it gets. One acid test for me is whether the 'picture' draws me in, do I find myself constantly looking deeper and deeper and seeing new, delightful detail. Or do I just think 'that's nice' and move on. This is very much the former.

 

I'm really interested in the ink wash. I barely know how to paint models yet, compared to the rest of you, but do know I want my Vic colours to have this same, slightly subdued look and to enhance the depth of detail. If you've described this elsewhere in the log please just say so (I'm such a lazy reader sometimes) but otherwise, how did you settle on walnut, do you dilute it or is it straight out of the bottle, do you apply very selectively or just do a wash over the whole section...

 

Edited July 21, 2021 by Kevin-the-lubber

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, gentlemen, very much! Wefalck, you make an excellent point about oxidation - something I had not considered.  I will continue with the silver in limited use, though, because it really makes certain details pop.

 

Victor, I’m afraid that if you were to watch me for a week, you would certainly fall asleep, since the process of watching me paint (or do anything, really) is glacial in its pace.  That really is the only mystery to it - heaps and heaps of time.

 

Sometimes, I’ll watch Andre Kudin’s YouTube videos and he works with marvelous efficiency, while creating extremely clean work.  Learning to speed up my process without sacrificing quality is a goal of mine.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you very much, Kevin, for the kind compliments.

 

I was in the midst of composing a very lengthy and detailed response to your question about the walnut ink, when my thumb pressed something, and I was shifted out of my composition editor.  When I tried to backtrack, I had lost the whole post.

 

That’s a little frustrating, so I’m going to step away from the phone for a bit, lest I throw it against something hard.  I promise to return, in a bit, with an answer.

[Hubac's Historian]

TAKE TWO:

 

The walnut ink was something suggested to me at an art supply store.  It has numerous advantages over ready-mixed acrylic washes - chief among them is that the product is fully reversible right up until the sealer coat goes on.

 

In the early days, I applied this stuff straight out of the bottle and wiped away the excess using a Q-tip wrapped in old cotton t-shirt scraps.  This worked well, but you couldn’t do much surface area, at a time, because the ink dried so quickly.  This wasn’t a big  deal because the ink is re-activated with only a little water on a damp brush.  Anyway, my early applications to the gunport linings were probably a bit on the heavy side.

 

I discovered that not all acrylic paints are as sturdy, when it comes to wiping away the excess.  The artists’ acrylic yellow ocher that I use - from Vallejo - is pretty soft and fragile for a good while after application.  In the interest of time and a desire to not have to retouch the yellow paint all of the time, I developed another, much simpler approach.

 

Over time, I arrived at a protocol that allowed for a greater working area and much more easily modulated results.  Here is what I do.

 

First:  Shake the ink bottle thoroughly; there is a fine sediment that settles to the bottom, and I am certain that this lends some beneficial result to the final effect.

 

Step 2:  Mix a 1:1 ratio of ink to tap water in a shot glass.  Shot glasses are great for mixing small paint batches because they don’t allow the mix to spread out too thin and dry out prematurely.  What you are aiming for is a mixture that resembles Soy Sauce.

 

Step 3:  Use a wide, flat brush to work the mixture into every crack and crevice.  Don’t worry at all about doing this carefully.  Just cover everything in a 2-3 square inch area.  The result will be too dark, blotchy and it will begin to dry on you before you can even get to the next step.  Don’t worry - this is all okay!

 

Step 4:  Dampen  a smaller flat brush in clean water, and float a layer of water over the entire area you just covered.  This will instantly dilute and begin to homogenize the ink.  Blot your small brush onto a smooth-finish table napkin (unlike paper towels, they don’t release loose lint), and then very lightly draw up any loose liquid still floating on the surface, blotting the excess as it becomes apparent that the brush isn’t taking up any more excess.

 

Don’t over-worry the cracks and crevices, these are the places you want the ink mix to wick-in and dry.

 

The long mouldings take a little patience to find that right balance of fluid so that just a little color is left in the hollows.

 

If, ever, you feel you messed up, just re-saturate the area and start over.  Interestingly, the next section seems to blend seamlessly into the previous section.  There’s a little art to it, but it is really a pretty simple process to master with absolutely zero permanent risk to the model.

 

One thing to try and avoid is allowing air bubbles to collect on the surface and dissipate on their own, because they will leave ink freckles after they dry.  Not a big deal, if they do, but smoothing them away with the damp blotter brush eliminates this problem.

 

All of this being said, I haven’t even tried model purposed washes, and they also seem very easy to use and modulate - at least on the various YouTuber channels I watch.  Walnut ink just happens to be what I started with and it is working so nicely for me.

 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

As you'll have gathered, I'm in no hurry, so whenever you have a spare moment or need a break from the eye strain.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

We crossed in the post! Thanks, I'll certainly try this. Your comments about the vallejo yellow ochre are interesting. I'm using the same for the victory though the airbrush version (model air), which I imagine is still basically the same. To be honest I use it because I needed some practice paints to learn airbrushing and bought one of their sets, but as it happens I like the tone a lot so if possible will stick with it. However, it clogs the airbrush in no time at all, quicker than it takes for me to spray half a dozen pieces like my window frames and balustrades. I wonder if that's the sediment. When I do my next batch of test prints I'll be trying retarder, as it dries so quick - another possible reason - and thinning.  

[Hubac's Historian]

I think the primary difference among Vallejo formulations is their viscosity.  I find that I have to shake my mix in the shot glass, frequently, because the pigment falls out of solution.  Overall, though, the Vallejo paints are excellent.  I needed an alternative to Tamiya, which I found almost impossible to brush.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

The odd thing is that yellow ochre is the only one, so far, that gives me trouble and does so with every bottle - I have wasted a lot of paint through trying to clear blockages and now have a lifetimes supply as I figured I might go through tons of the stuff by the time I've got everything done. The others that I've tried go on beautifully.

[Hubac's Historian]

Agreed!  I have found tremendous differences in the working properties of acrylics within the same brand, even, but different colors.  For example, as a wood base-coat, ModelMaster Random Tan goes down effortlessly over broad surfaces without diluting.  Don’t assume ModelMaster flat black will do the same, though;  thinning is an absolute must.  Same again, for their Insignia Red.  Those colors, though, exactly meet my needs.  Interestingly (to me at least), I made heavy use of those same colors on my first SR, but with no washes or distressing.  Totally different result!

[John Clements]

Another Wow! for this latest episode, and for several reasons. To spend five hours a day on one project is beyond me. I struggle to concentrate for an hour, which is partly why I have several projects in completely different areas on the go at one time to give variety, as well as 'normal' life of course.

Painting the centre of those monograms blue is a great idea and completely changes their appearance - for the better. You've also reminded me that I need to do something myself to create that flow between levels in the bulwarks that you've made with the dolphins, and the picture of the other ship has me wondering about creating some more complex deck edge rails on the SR too, rather than the somewhat plain ones provided.

There's just so much to think about with this kit, which makes it quite different from any other that I've attempted.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, John!  Yes, 4-5 hours is a lot, and lately the exigencies of day-to-day life have made it impossible to maintain that pace.  Nevertheless, progress is being made and I remain highly motivated to push the project forward before the show.

 

Painting the monogram escutcheon centers blue does a lot to highlight their detail.  This is one of the things I always thought to do differently, if and when I ever built the kit again.

 

As the upper decks begin to go in, I will design railings for each deck level.  My basic idea, here, is that the railing “spindles” will mirror whatever the corresponding paneling or design is for the quarter gallery and stern balconies, at each deck level.  I’m not sure I’m expressing what I really mean, but all will become clearer as that time draws nearer.

Edited July 25, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[Hubac's Historian]

I’ve been enjoying a very restful and beachy vacation in Cape Cod.  I brought one of the aft upper bulwark plates with me, and have been busily cleaning up the frieze, securing eyebolts for the gun tackles, filling some holes and drilling others.  Not much to really show there.

 

I did, however, happen upon this other build of the Heller kit, and it is wonderfully vivid in it’s use of color and shading:

 

https://modellistinavali.forumattivo.com/t3669p75-soleil-royal-1-100-heller

 

I thought it may interest some of you to take a look.

[Hubac's Historian]

Part two of my vacation begins this Friday.  I will try to airbrush the red base before I leave, so that maybe I can lay down the blues and get a start on the yellow.

 

I really like how the whole thing - the stern extensions, the frieze and port enhancements - all homogenizes under a layer of white primer:

 

Painting this piece will be a marathon, but perhaps I will at least have the complete port side ready for the show.

 

 

All the best, and thank you for looking-in!

[druxey]

Primed, that section looks like an iced wedding cake!

[Hubac's Historian]

Ha - yes!  Le Royal Fondant!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I was going to say something much more flattering - that it looks like marble - but on reflection it does look good enough to eat. I think the detail and relief shows up even better just primed, either way it’s an amazing bit of work.

[Hubac's Historian]

I managed to get the red sprayed before leaving for the Cape.  We had a wonderful week in Hampton Bays with lot’s of family fun, good dinners, and plenty of medicinal scotch.  I also managed to have a productive week laying down all of the primary colors:

 

 

Unfortunately, in my haste, I forgot to mask off the monogramed escutcheons between the main deck guns.  The centers, which will be painted ultra-marine really require a white undercoat for the color to come out right.  This now necessitated hand-priming of these little ovals.

 

 

I deliberated, from the start of this whole project, whether the red should extend up into the amortisement.  Ultimately, I decided that it made more sense to follow a continuous, banded approach to each of the three primary colors, with the yellow ocher serving as a unifier.

 

The impression of the amortisement is a bit skewed, at the moment, because I have yet to pick out the supporting dolphins in gold and silver.  I took great care to hand-paint subtle edge borders, in yellow ocher, around the triangular panels of the upper section.

 

From here, it is the long, steady march of careful cutting-in, followed by rounds of re-touching:

 

 

Perhaps, above, it is more apparent how my idea to use ultra-marine along the lower band of fleurs, accentuates the scalloped design of the frieze.  This is probably more ultra-marine than would have actually been applied, owing to the expense, nonetheless it is an artistic choice that highlights the effort of making the whole thing.

 

 

Slowly and surely, we are getting there!  As ever, thank you for looking in.

Edited August 26, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[t_corret]

Lovely!