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

[shipmodel]

Hi Marc - 

 

Back in the city where I can get on MSW.  Went back over all your progress in the last months and am really blown away to see how well she is coming out.  

I think your color choices are excellent, and your workmanship, as always, top notch.

I'm looking forward to seeing her in New London, unless we can get a club meeting together before that.

 

Ad astra per aspera, my friend.

 

Dan

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you very much, Dan!  Yes, I’m really looking forward to New London.

 

While I have you on the line, so to speak, what company produced the PE gun tackles you gave me a while back?

 

And yes - to the stars and beyond, hopefully!

[shipmodel]

Hi Marc - 

 

Not sure I remember which pieces of tackle you mean.

If you mean the hooks, they were probably from Syren.

Wooden blocks from Warner Woods, but Lloyd is out of business.

Small metal blocks in your scale are available from Bluejacket.

If you can send me a photo I can check again.

 

Dan 

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Hey Dan,  These were photo-etch pieces.  I’ll show you what I mean at our ZOOM meeting on Tuesday.

 

Leading into Labor Day Weekend, I realized that I would need to cram-in a ton of hours, if I had any hope of getting where I wanted before the Joint Clubs meeting.  And so, my wife and kids went off to CT to stay poolside, with family, and I got to work.

 

The primary objective of the weekend was to erect the forward bulwarks.  I gave the lapping joint of each bulwark piece a third going-over to ensure absolutely the best fit possible.  Unfortunately, it cannot be avoided that the part will always be under tension, as it must bend significantly to conform to the run of the hull.

 

Anticipating this, I had affixed a styrene tab at the point where tension is greatest.  My glue plan was to cement a welded bond along the rabbet with liquid styrene cement, but also to apply CA to the additional tab for a contact bond that would assist the tweezer spring-clamps that I bought for this purpose.

 

Where the bulwark joins the beakhead bulkhead, I similarly used styrene cement below the forecastle deck ledge, and a spot of CA above the ledge.  There was simply no good way to clamp this corner, owing to its extreme tumblehome, so I used a tape clamp to assist during drying.

 

First, I put some blue tape down to protect the deck from any errant glue drops:

 

 

I also applied two layers of blue tape to the clamp jaws, as these particular spring clamps apply a really strong bite onto the material; I was hoping not to mar my paint.

 

 

For better leverage with the smaller clamps, I made up small styrene clamping cauls that hooked beneath the wales to which they were taped in-place.  As with any significant glue-up, a dry-run really helps steer you away from potential pit-falls; before making the cauls, I found that the small clamps only had a tenuous grip on what is really a very shallow lap-joint.

 

With only a few small gaps that touch-up paint will fill, I ended up with really tight-fitting joints and enough small squeeze-out to convince me that there is a strong welded bond along the part’s entire length:

 

 

The relative mass of the model is becoming apparent now:

 

 

I will say that while the skid segments lined up near perfectly, I will still have to fill a few gaps, here and there, with sanded shims of styrene strip.  This is not a big deal, and I prefer to use plastic, rather than putty, wherever possible.  Also, the squeeze-out is not a major chore to clean away.  I have a purpose-ground #11 blade that works like a semi-sharp glue chisel to scrape away the excess.

 

Now that the bulwarks were up, I could install the gusset pieces that serve a dual purpose: they re-enforce the lap-joint by increasing glue surface area between the deck and the bulwarks.  Also, they will eventually serve as mounting points for my deck beams.  After scribing-in and glueing, the bulwarks became notably stiffer:

 

 

Unlike the lower decks, this time I thought to black-out these gusset pieces, as more light will penetrate below these upper decks.

 

Next, I wanted to final fit the open sheaves I made for the top corners of the beakhead bulkhead rail.  I also wanted to make knees for these corners.  While the sheaves are a contrivance, on my part, to cover for the height discrepancy between the bulwark top rails, these knees were an actual feature of real practice.  Just as they do on a real ship, the knees I made increase surface area and do quite a lot to strengthen the area.  Frankly, I just don’t trust CA to do the hevy lifting of holding these corners together, over time:

 

 

Although it is not readily apparent in the picture above, I simulated the bolt heads that hold these knees in place.  Also, above, I am holding in-place the forward beam ledge for the forecastle deck.

 

So, finally, I’m approaching the finish-line for painting of the aft port bulwark piece.  There is still some gold work to do on the siren figures, as well as the quarter piece, but now the full color scheme comes into clear focus:

 

 

My objective with the paintwork, because I have chosen such a vivid scheme, is to identify areas where I can replicate the same colors and techniques, in order to create a sense of continuity.  All throughout the ship, anything with a fishtail gets painted first with a grey enamel under-wash, and then top-coated with the ver-de-gris wash.

 

 

I also really liked the use of silver metallic beneath a more natural green wash, that I used for the female Four Seasons figures, on the stern.  The siren on the aft end of the amortisement received this particular treatment for her dress, and the wash-coat really highlights the sculpted folds of the dress very nicely.

 

For the face and neck of the quarter piece, I decided to use the same enamel grey wash and wipe-away technique that I applied to the horse-head of the figurehead.  It’s subtle, but it really brings out the small facial features of these sculptures. The four Continental figures will also receive this treatment.  I think it lends these statues a sense of aged neo-classicism.

 

So, soon I will make and fit the gusset pieces for the aft bulwark piece, and hopefully get the whole assembly glued-up and touched-up in time for the show.  Thank you all for the likes, comments and for looking in! 

Edited September 12, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

Beautifully and carefully sequenced work, HH!

[t_corret]

Breathtaking!

[mtaylor]

Amazing work in detail and the use of color.   Just wow......

[robdurant]

If the original ship ever looked anything near as splendid as your model, what a vessel she must have been!

 

Wonderful work!

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you all for the likes and kind comments!  Rob - honestly, I think I’m only scratching the surface of what the reality of the ship may have been.  I am sure she was a spectacle in every way.  In fact, I suspect there was a significantly broader color palate, in use, but I feel that I would really only be guessing, beyond what I’ve laid out so far.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[EJ_L]

Still picking my jaw up off the floor. Amazing. All these long months of modifications, design and creation are coming together. Can't wait to see the rest of the bulkheads up clear to the stern.

[Ian_Grant]

Just for laughs I pulled my SR out of the stash to compare the as-is stern bulwark to yours.  WOW!!! What an incredible improvement!!!  I will feel let down if/when I ever get to it......

[Bill Morrison]

49 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Just for laughs I pulled my SR out of the stash to compare the as-is stern bulwark to yours.  WOW!!! What an incredible improvement!!!  I will feel let down if/when I ever get to it......

She is stunning!  I am curious about the use of red in the external bulwarks since most references I have seen show these in Royal Blue.  It is an interesting and attractive choice.

 

Bill

[Kevin-the-lubber]

The sirens are especially incredible. I would so like to see the finished article in the flesh when it's completed.

[Hubac's Historian]

Kevin, if you ever plan to Visit New York - let me know, and we will mKe it happen.  I am very accessible by train.

[Hubac's Historian]

On 1/22/2021 at 5:43 PM, Hubac's Historian said:

Hello Kirill!

 

Yes, I suppose this presentation of Soleil Royal is maybe a little jarring, as we are all so accustomed to thinking about French capitol ships as being almost entirely "royal" blue and gold leaf.

 

I've been ruminating over color choices for the entirety of the build.  Lemineur's research and work on the St. Philippe has had much to do with my choices, here.  It seems pretty clear that true ultra-marine was cost-prohibitive for use beyond the national coat of arms, the King's coat of arms, and a few other select areas, like the tafferal.  Other blues were likely significantly lighter and the product of copper oxides.  By the dawn of the early second marine, concurrent with Soleil Royal's rebuild in 1688/89, the liberal use of gold leaf would have been greatly reduced.  This was particularly so, as the re-build survey of the ship had so drastically underestimated the extent of rot.  While the ship would certainly have been lavishly ornamented, it is much more likely that much of the rails and moldings would have been painted in yellow ocher, in order to keep costs down.  In fact, SR went off to Beveziers without even having completed the new ornamental program;  her stern carvings were merely primed in pearlescent grey paint, according to Winfield and Roberts.

 

What will eventually become apparent, when I get to painting the upper bulwarks, is that this lighter blue will predominate, above the main deck guns.  By treating it with the walnut ink, it loses it's cerulean brightness, and instead, takes on a slight brown/green cast that is more period-appropriate.  I have chosen to use red vermillion as a prominent unifying color, throughout the ship, for several reasons.

 

Firstly, and not least important, I am bored with seeing essentially the same representation of the ship, over and over again.  Also, as I discuss somewhere earlier, the recent discovery of Vasa's true colors only seems surprising to us because we had  become conditioned to think of her as only being painted in blue and gold.  In the high baroque period, it seems perfectly fitting to me that vivid colors would be used to further embellish the carved works of the ship.  Hyatt's description of the Royal Louis certainly seems to support this possibility, and the French palace interiors re-enforce this idea.

 

I have read a very brief description of Soleil Royal's colors from the Intendant at Brest, D'Infreville (if I remember correctly), who lists her primary colors: white, black, ventre-de-biche and blue, with gold throughout.  Presumably, this is a banded description from the waterline, up, but there is nothing of any great specificity, there.  On that basis, alone, the popular scheme for Soleil Royal could never be said to be "wrong."  As I say, though, I no longer find it interesting to look at.

 

On the other hand, Berain's drawing of the stern has a red wash applied to the "ground" areas for the starboard side of the drawing.  There does appear to be historic precedent for painting both the stern and beakhead bulkhead in a red vermillion.  My idea is to unify these areas, along the band of main deck guns with this red vermillion color.  It is a superb backdrop for the yellow ocher, and the monogram cartouches between the guns will show more impressively in a combination of yellow ocher, ultra-marine and gold.

 

After spending so much time to create the ornamental program from scratch, I do not want the details to disappear in a sea of gold.  The choices I am making are stylized, yet they exist within the realm of plausible deniability.'

 

Lastly, I recently found again these pictures of a model of the Royal Louis.  I will post a link to them, as I can't re-publish them here.  If you scroll down the page, you will find an image of what appears to be a contemporary model of her from the starboard quarter.  It is most definitely a first-marine representation.  I don't know who made the model, or when exactly.  It is somewhat primitive, but the use of red vermillion, throughout is instructive.

 

https://www.kalpana.it/photographs/italy_bologna/city13.htm

 

and here:

 

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=EGzg2iT%2f&id=EB6C4118F4B9B88A5DB3BBB12B831619C0B2AE68&thid=OIP.EGzg2iT_XdYpYmYp0b9tPgHaG_&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2flookaside.fbsbx.com%2flookaside%2fcrawler%2fmedia%2f%3fmedia_id%3d1223148461361194&exph=1933&expw=2048&q=University+of+Bologna%2c+warship%2c+model%2c+Royal+Louis&simid=607989867282497839&ck=0639D0FC2A385D7D2BBEC87603F09E63&selectedIndex=1&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0

 

 

Hi Bill - thank you!  See above, from an earlier post, where I discuss the rationale behind the paint scheme.

[Bill Morrison]

I have seen quite a few different paint schemes for the SR.  Yours is the most interesting by far!  Kudos!

 

Usually, I see that standard, Royal Blue above the upper wales, wood coloration to the waterline (perhaps a yellow ochre), and white below the waterline.  I rarely see a model painted ala Berain, all blue above  the waterline with gold carvings all around.  I started a variation of this with royal blue along the upper hull and bulwarks, medium blue below that to the off white lower hull, and gold trim and wales.  Although striking, I have believed that that color scheme is missing something.  Your use of red might be the answer.

 

One criticism of the kit is that it is missing deck furniture, so I have been scratch building a few items.  Your build might introduce me to some items I have overlooked.

 

I also appreciate your reference to the Wasa.  It seems that research before she was raised was all wrong and that the Swedish builders used more red than blue.  I would love to see her!

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Bill

Edited September 15, 2021 by Bill Morrison

[Chapman]

Hi there ,

nice to look at as always.
This link should be of interest to you. It leads to high-resolution files of the rear and rear side view of the Dauphin Royal by Le Brun.

 

Have Fun!

[Chapman]

I forgot,

 

one more point that might be interesting. According to Patrick Villiers, this figure is part of the
Atlas de Colbert from about 1670.

[Hubac's Historian]

As for deck furniture, Bill, I’ll make a forward capstan for the forecastle deck, deck railings at each upper deck break, numerous cleats for tying off, ladder access to the poop and poop royal decks, and spare topmasts and main yards for the waist.  I am glad that the color scheme is pleasing to you.

 

Thank you for the links, Chapman; those are the clearest images I have seen of these DR drawings.  The quarter view is particularly instructive for the stern architecture of an early First Marine vessel.  ‘Much appreciated!

[mtaylor]

Bill,

The use of "blue" for much of the Vasa was an "oops" on the part of the archeology team.   They were sampling some wood for colors and someone said it was all over the upper works.  Turns out, it was a combination of not doing enough samples and from the wrong place.   I remember from the old USENET discussion with the gentleman running the preservation (Hocker if I remember right) when they realized what had changed.   He was apologetic to all the builders of the model... some could change the colors including the figures.

 

Same for the figures.   There was some gold detected early on and it was assumed that they were all gold.  Well.. they weren't.

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

The particular challenge of erecting the aft bulwark pieces is that I don’t have the stock stern plate, in place, to guide their placement.  It is helpful that the forward bulwarks are in place, as they provide an anchor point, but they do nothing to help establish the slope of tumblehome that should be present.

 

The first step was to spend as much time as necessary fettling the lap joint to ensure that the part seated snuggly, along the upper main wale.  With that much established, I could secure additional glue tabs to the inside face of the bulwark, just as I had done with the forward bulwarks.  It was also necessary to fir-out, behind the upper main wale, so that these glue tabs had a firm landing spot.

 

Whereas with the forward bulwarks, I glued the bulwarks in-place, and then secured the gusset pieces, afterwards - the process reverses for the aft bulwarks because it is the gussets that establish the slope of tumblehome by providing a positive stop to clamp against.

 

At the very beginning of this project, I drew the transom by simply tracing the outer profile of the bulwark ends to the increased breadth of the transom; the additional 1/2” would enable me to add the missing 6th window at all three levels.  This was my initial drawing:

 

 

As a side note, it is funny to look back at my first attempt to draw the quarter galleries; the results were poorly scaled and relatively crude, as I was attempting to include all five false windows along the lower tier if the QG.

 

Anyway, at the time that I made this drawing, it was pointed out to me that the top of the bulwarks appear to flare outboard, again, at the very top.  Back then, I was not too concerned about this.

 

At this stage, though, I can see that the finished bulwark piece does not look right at all, if I allow it to flare out at the top; the whole upper structure of the ship changes in a way that is neither pleasing, nor reflective of actual practice.  The only thing to do, here, was to shape my gussets in a way that would pull these bulwarks in more, thus providing a nicely sloping tumblehome.

 

Frankly, this is more art than science.  I simply manipulated the bulwark, inboard towards the centerline, until I had a pleasing profile.  I then took a measurement from the bulwark rabbet to the centerline, along the bottom edge of this window tier: 1 1/2” to center, and 3” overall.  This seemed like it would be adequate.

 

So, I clamped and taped the bulwark in this attitude, so that I could make card gusset templates.  I then made the gussets with all necessary beveling, and added a prop leg to make them a little stiffer for the eventual glue-up of the bulwark piece:

 

 

I went to bed feeing really good about this.  The part would have some minor tension, but I had increased glue surface area significantly enough to cancel out those forces.  In fact, there will be a third, aft-most gusset fitted after the glue-up.

 

Then, I woke up the next day and remembered my original layout drawing.  I took some measurements and found that I had effectively reduced the available space for this top tier of six windows by 1/4”.  In fact, my new stern, at this top-most level, won’t be much broader than the stock kit stern-plate, which only has five windows.  I began to feel a bit of panic creeping in.

 

Before glueing-in the bulwark piece, I thought it might be prudent to take some really good measurements, and do a little drafting to see what a revised window layout might look like.  One quarter inch doesn’t sound like much, but it is quite significant across this short span.  If I found that the reduced breadth resulted in a cramped window layout, I would be forced to buy back at least an 1/8”, in breadth, thus compromising my ideal tumblehome.  This would require very fiddly firring of the gusset pieces I had just glued-in, so my fingers were crossed tight.

 

Here is the new layout that I arrived at this morning:

 

 

And here, I’ve detailed one pane to get a better sense of the proportions.:

 

The original by Berain:

 

Mine isn’t the best drawing, but it’s good enough to get a sense of proportion.  I’ll do a much better vellum drawing, when the time comes for it.  I found that I only had to reduce each window pane by 1/32”, and each pilaster by a heavy 1/64” to get back the heavy 1/4” I had lost.

 

And so, I will go ahead and glue-in the upper bulwark, in the next few days.  I’ve been busily filling the skid joins, touching up the bulwarks, and establishing the location of the mizzen chanels.  A whole lot still has to happen in the next two weeks, but I am confident that I will be on-track for the show.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Edited September 20, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Interesting - this is where our quite different media (for modelling stern galleries) coincide. For Victory I too chose a blend of art and science, using the kit part as a start point but developing a contour that pleased my eye and made technical sense; and by coincidence I'm at this very moment fiddling the spacings and sizes of windows. It's quite surprising, isn't it, how a difference of 0.15mm (1/64th) can have such a profound effect on the look. 

[Hubac's Historian]

It certainly is amazing, Kevin!  The side taper of these outer two windows is only 1/32” over a 1/2” span, but the spread seems more expansive.

[Hubac's Historian]

The aft bulwark is in!  I’ll do a multi-perspective photoshoot after everything is prettied up, just before the show, but here’s a sneak-peak preview that illustrates the improved tumblehome:

 

 

The three gusset supports make for a very sturdy construction!

 

I’ve also begun patterning the new channels.  The Lemineur monograph for the SP is a great help with these small details:

 

It is hard to photograph, but the new channels are tapered for watershed:

 

I’ll have to layout the shroud and stay locations, in relation to the guns.  There’s a possibility I may have the main channel in place for the show.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[t_corret]

Staggeringly beautiful.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

You may want to put a ring of people barriers around it, come the show. It draws you in, makes you want to look ever closer at all the exquisite detail and, if it was mine, I’d be terrified that someone was going to get TOO close!  

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks, TC!

 

Well, Kevin, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about that.  When I brought the model to the last Joint Clubs in 2019, I did a presentation on the oil-wash technique that I learned from Herbert Thomesan.  The model was just a series of un-assembled parts, back then.  Afterwards, a number of people were coming over and picking up a hull-half for closer inspection.  Everyone means well, of course, and I appreciate any interest in the project, but a painted surface is a painted surface, and hand-oil washes are NOT part of the Thomesan formula.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

Thanks for the latest photos for those of us (north of the border) who won't be able to make it to the show on October 2. It would have been a treat to see your progress up close and in actuality. I'm sure those who will be there will be very impressed.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Druxey!  Before the show, I’ll photograph the model with the lower masts, sprit-mast, main top, and rudder, in place.  This is how I will display her at the show.

 

At the moment I’m doing all the fill work that is necessary on the inside face if the bulwarks, touch-ups elsewhere, and so forth.

 

The past two and a half months have been intense and the show has given me the motivation to really propel the project forward, far beyond where it would be otherwise.  It is immensely gratifying for this thing inside my head to now become sensible to everyone else.

[John Clements]

A lot of wonderful progress since I last dropped by. I was especially interested to read about how you fitted the upper bulwark pieces as I found they did not fit that well and needed a lot of fettling to get a proper fit and to be really secure. Your patience and thoroughness are an example to so many modellers (I include myself) who are so keen to get on with projects that they don't always take enough time to think things through properly and and end up taking even longer as they have to correct their mistakes.

I'm back on track with my own version after a break, so will be keeping tabs on your progress more often now, and pinching a few ideas, I expect. Looking forward to seeing the pictures pre-show.