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

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Jonathan!

 

After sealing with plain old brush-able Crazy Glue, I sanded smooth with 320, and then transferred the patterns for the inset panels.

 

When Dan gave me this wood, he told me he thought it might be apple, but that it had been sitting around so long, he had lost track of what it was, or why he had bought it.  I was impressed with the stuff because the grain was absolutely clear and even, and the stock had remained perfectly flat and straight for over a decade without any special handling.

 

Although I had never worked apple before this, I have to say that I think this wood might be some other species.  I was expecting “apple” to work with roughly the same density and hardness of cherry, for example.

 

This material is nothing like that.  It shapes beautifully, and easily, but it is fairly soft and a little thready; strands of grain can pull away from the surface, fairly easily, if you are not careful, and if your tools aren’t razor sharp.  While I thought my knives were sharp, they were crushing/compressing the grain, as I tried to carve the beveled border.  So, I sharpened my knives.

 

Here is a montage of the lower finishing as it has come into focus:

Now, I made a mistake, here, in the placement of the bellflower ornament.  I placed it according to how I thought it was framed best by the central stile.

 

However, that’s not what was drawn.  Notice how the scrolls meet in the middle, above the bellflower:

I should have placed the bellflower a little lower, in order to accommodate this detail.  A little finagling later, though, and I found that I like this alternative layout just as well.  Grinding away and remaking the bellflower, on such a fragile substrate, did not seem worth the risk of ruining all of the work done so far.

 

Here are a few more detail images that show just what a difference a little modeling makes, once the outline of the carvings is clearly defined:

Obviously, there is still some work to do on these.  I’ve been much busier than usual, so progress has been slower.

 

I have continued to assemble the starboard side amortisement.  Everything from the canopy and above went down smoothly enough.  I’ll have to do a few minor putty fills.

 

What I found really fascinating was the space available below the canopy, where the two false windows go; the space between the upper main wale and the canopy is a full 1/8” bigger on the starboard side than on the port side!

Now, for the port side, I did fill above the windows with a 1/32” square shim, and I didn’t even bother to fill above the dolphin ornaments because I got lazy and figured that the viewing perspective wouldn’t ever reveal that gap, anyway.  On the starboard side, though, this is an additional 1/8” gap.

 

Up until now, I have encountered a number of these  dimensional anomalies of the kit.  In certain instances, while unaware, my modifications have probably exacerbated these differences.  In this instance, though, it is a difference that exists and must be dealt with.

 

I think it is likely the case that when this kit was prototyped in the 1970’s, by hand, there likely was not the high degree of symmetry that computer modeling offers us, today.  As a result, the model was made to fit together and had visual symmetry, if not actual symmetry.  This is just something to keep in mind, for anyone contemplating a similar modification project.

There is no way that I was about to re-draw and re-make the windows and dolphins.  I am a field carpenter, after all, and being such requires one to just make things work, visually.

 

A few things are certain: the windows must meet the upper main wale, so that necessitated filling that space, above, with a tapered wedge of styrene.  I also wanted the added framing pieces, beneath the dolphins to match what I had done on the port side.

 

Toward that end, I started with the forward dolphins.  I coped them into the mermaid’s tail.  I had to trim a solid 1/32” off the aft straight edge of both dolphin carvings, so that they’d fit between the mermaid’s tails. I then filled above the forward dolphin so that the space beneath these dolphins would match that of the port side.  Here it all is in pictures:

I still need to fill in those lower framing pieces, but I think that, overall, I managed to mask those differences well enough.  One can only look at one side of the ship at a time, in any case😉

 

Well, steady as she goes.  I’ve cleared the space on the hull where the active seats of ease are located.  Soon, I’ll scribe in the wales, so that I can fit those pieces and then I can clad them with all of the styrene rails, stiles and ornaments.

 

After struggling mightily to paint the bowsprit, on the model, I will certainly paint these QG sections off the model and install, afterwards.

 

As ever, thanks for the likes and for looking in!

Edited November 11, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

One: in the finished model, no-one can see both sides at the same time (unless you give the case a mirrored back!).

 

Two: I bet on the real ship things were tweaked to fit as well!

 

Looking really nice indeed. Thought: is that 'apple' actually limewood?

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks, Druxey!  You may be right about the wood.  I have no prior experience with lime, either, so I can’t really say.

 

As I have plenty of it, I thought I was going to use it to carve the new figures of Africa and The Americas.  While it seems perfectly suited for the QG substrate, I don’t think it is hard enough to hold fine detail.  I’ll have to get my hands on some boxwood for the figures.

[druxey]

If that soft, then possibly basswood. Lime (a similar specie) is a bit harder and takes crisp detail. It was used extensively by Grinling Gibbons.

See:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/9036493/Horace-Walpoles-wondrous-wooden-necktie.html

 

https://www.geraldblandinc.com/tables/grinling-gibbons-console

[Hubac's Historian]

A while ago, I was researching greenmen for a furniture project I was designing when I discovered Mr. Gibbons.  He sure did some truly fabulous work!  Thank you for sharing these.

[John Clements]

HI!

I found this thread a couple of weeks ago and have worked my way through to the last page at last. It was worth every minute. Like so many others, I am amazed by your attention to detail and dedication to the subject.

I had begun my SR project a few months ago. It is only the second sailing ship model I have attempted, having just previously spent two years building Heller's Glorieux using the Boudriot books, after a friend, looking at my collection of WW2 ships, said 'but you haven't got a sailing ship!' (he's a sailor). I bought the St Philippe book as a major help but your project has given me a lot to think about. I'm definitely not up to anywhere near your level, and I've already assembled the kit up to main deck level, but I've been fascinated to see what you've achieved so far and I am used to working in plastic for small details (but not carving yet), so I'm hopeful I can take some of what you've described and copy it.

Just a few points - I've thrown away all the kit cannon and am using the barrels and carriages sold by HisModels which I really like (being in the UK, I pretty well buy all my bits and pieces from them); I am putting in some interior detail especially of the officers quarters which are visible through the  stern windows but also the ovens like yourself; I was really pleased to see your painted figurehead as I had always believed these were multi-coloured as so many British ones were, and I do really wonder whether the stern main sculpture might have been coloured too.

I'm sure a lot more things will come up as you progress and I'll be very interested to see how you tackle all the problems with this project. I hope we get to the end of it before my hand gets too shaky - if I say my shipbuilding career started when Airfix first released HMS Hood, you'll be able to work out I'm no spring chicken!

 

All the very best,

 

John

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you so much, John, for taking the time to read through the whole log.  It is extremely gratifying to me that you have taken such an interest in the project.

 

I will be interested to see what you do with the kit, so please start a log, if you haven’t already, and I will gladly follow along.

 

I’m pretty sure that the St. Philippe monograph has a plate showing the grand chamber of the Royal Louis, along with a schematic of Soleil Royal’s paneled ceiling.  These would he highly instructive for your efforts to fit out the interiors.  I briefly entertained the idea, myself, and decided against it because I knew how labor-intensive the exterior would be, and I would like to finish this project, at some point.

 

I am also thinking that the tafferal with Apollo’s horse-drawn chariot would likely have been a more colorful affair.  I have some ideas about what I might like to do, there, and will probably use one of my spare, stock stern plates to do a mock-up - even if the proportions will be entirely different.

 

I will have to look up HisModels.  I have never heard of that company before, but it certainly sounds worth a look.  My gun modifications were extremely time consuming, but ultimately worth the effort.  Mr. Delecroix did plant that seed in my mind that the Heller representation of the trunnion support is laughably ridiculous. He is, of course, right about that.  I have yet to see whether correcting that problem will place the barrels too low in their port openings.  Maybe it might be worth swapping them out - we will see. 

 

Anyway, I’ll be looking for your work, and happy to help out in any way I can.  I have personally benefited tremendously from the knowledge, advice and spare parts of so many here.

 

All the best,

 

Marc

Edited November 17, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[John Clements]

Thanks very much, Marc.

Yes, do have a look at HisModel. Radimir is very helpful and knowledgeable. He offers a whole list of items put together for this kit. I'm just about to order the wooden deck. He does a huge range of blocks of all sorts and sizes, deadeye clamps and very useful PE like eyebolts and hooks in useful sizes, so there's really no need to make one's own.

 

John

[Hubac's Historian]

The stuff does look good, John!  Thanks for the reference.

 

The lower-finishing pieces are now ready for prime and paint:

I have yet to make the waste pipe rosettes that mount to the aft overhang of these pieces, but I will tackle that shortly.

 

Today was a very productive day spent trimming out the next level up - the functional seats of ease.

 

The first order of business was to clear away the wales and let the forward edge of this section into the wales, as neatly as possible.  My goal was not to disrupt any of the paint that will remain visible, as the touch-ups were such a pain:

The pre-shaping on the scrap hull created a good mating joint:

I am quite satisfied with the subtle outward, billowing shape of the piece.

 

One thing that dawned on me, here, is that the aft end of this section should follow the round-up of the stern.

 

The picture, above, reflects this, however - before, the back ends were square to the mating surface, which created a weird back-angled appearance, considering that the ship sides taper inwards, at the stern, like a wedge.  This is one of many small details that are not immediately apparent, if one hasn’t first made a full set of drawings.

 

One benefit of altering this profile into the roundup is that it enabled me to bring the side profile of the stern counter into more of a vertical plane.  The difference is slight, but an improvement, nonetheless.

 

A montage of the paneling process:

There is no substitute for the gradual process of arriving at a line; draw, erase, repeat!

I still need to add the rail pieces, between the pilasters, which will create the sunken panel effect.  I also have to cast a series of fleurs for these panels, but this has been a very satisfying step in the project.

 

Thank you for the likes, your comments, and for looking in!

 

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

So much Rococo! Looks terrific.

[EJ_L]

I was curios as to how you were cutting all those curved lines, scroll saw, knife, etc... while I have done the "hundred hole" method, usually on inside curves and extremely tight radii, that would not have been my first guess. With as tiny of details as you are working, that may be the smart way though, and I certainly can't argue with the results.  

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks, EJ!  I have found that when I “fight” the styrene sheet by trying to cut through it, I tend to slip.  Also, the blade raises a lip around the cut, which is just more work to level.  The Dremel makes quick work of a perforated cut line.  I’ve done so much of that for this project that I can hear and feel that the Dremel bearing is about shot.  It was well-worth the small investment, though, and I won’t mind replacing it.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[shipmodel]

Hi Marc - 

 

Excellent work on the QG base and details.  Those compound curves must have been a bear to get right.

 

Stay safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Dan

[Hubac's Historian]

The first transitional moulding I needed to master runs just beneath the false windows of the quarter gallery.

I was unsure, at first, whether I would be able to successfully recreate the turreted appearance of the moulding, above each pilaster.

 

The difficulty has to do with the fact that moulding scrapers do not get into inside corners very well.  Ultimately, I found that I could clean to those inside corners with my 1/8” straight chisel and my #11 EXACTO.

 

The moulding is actually made up from two layers, laminated together.  The thin, under-layer  has a tiny cove cut into it’s edge, and it is stepped-in, slightly, from the upper layer.  The piece, below, marked “template” is a card pattern I made for the under-layer:

 

The trick to all of this was to try and cope this side moulding into the overhanging ends of the stern shelf-moulding that the Four Seasons will sit upon.  It took a good deal of patient fitting, but eventually I got there:

Once I had fit the upper layer, I could cope-in the lower layer and then laminate the two:

A few pics to give a sense of this section:

After I make and fit all of this for the port side, I will make up the transitional moulding for the underside of the seats of ease.  The connection with its counterpart, at the stern, is a little funky, but the answers will become clearer as I work my way through it.

 

Thank you for the likes, your comments and for stopping by.

[druxey]

That dentillated molding is so well done it made me smile!

[Chapman]

A well-considered and neat elaboration of this difficult part. 

[Bossman]

Stunning! No other words for your artistry and craftsmanship. Well done Sir!

[mtaylor]

You, sir, are a master.. wonderful work.    

[SJSoane]

Hi Marc,

 

I somehow lost the notifications to your build. I am just catching up. Looks spectacular!

there needs to be a shanty song, "file, fit, file, fit, file, fit...."🙃

 

Mark

[rkwz]

I am blown away at the level of detail, skill and dedication to your work. In particular your mouldings are simply stunning. A true master of the craft !

[Hubac's Historian]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your kind words and encouragement.  I can not overstate how much I appreciate all of you who have stuck with me, from the early stages of the project, up until now, when it is finally rounding into form.  I am, of course, equally happy to see new faces here.  A hearty welcome to you all!

 

If I had truly understood just how much effort would be involved in getting this far, then I may not have ever started.  Going on this journey has really increased my appreciation for all of the modelers who make every last thing from scratch; to do so, and maintain a consistently high standard - as so many of you do - is a true test of commitment and perseverance.

 

I have learned every bit as much from your logs, as you have from mine.  Thank you!

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[EJ_L]

Excellent idea to carve the trim along the edge of a flat piece rather than try to make actual molding strips to install. I tend to try to apply normal construction techniques to these models which is extremely difficult and often times I end up with sub-par results. I'm going to have to remember this idea.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks EJ!  I tried moulding the edge and then “ripping” it off with a straight-edge and matt-knife, but my rip cuts were always uneven, and with raised lips.  With wood, and a miniature tablesaw, this method would be much more effective.

 

I have been turning the problem of how to make these QGs over, in my head, for a long time.  So far, this approach seems to be working with minimal headaches, fortunately.  Just slow.

 

Last night, I thought I was going to cope-in the bottom moulding on the starboard side, tape and prime the four QG sections, and prep stock for the waste-pipe rosettes.  That was my plan!

 

Instead, I spent 2 1/2 hours coping that one moulding into place.  It does sit sweetly, though, and I’ve managed to minimize the disparity between a simplified version of the much more involved stern counterpart moulding.

 

Future pics will elucidate that much more clearly.

 

All the best,

 

Marc 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

Good things take time!

[Hubac's Historian]

It’s been a good weekend for painting.

 

The primer coat is always a pretty solid indicator of how uniform your surface prep was:

I love the primer coat because it homogenizes all of the different materials.

 

A few pics of the process:

My initial thought was to take the cerulean blue (Utrecht artist acrylic, heavy body), and add yellow ocher to arrive at a more greenish blue; a light blue with a greenish cast would be a more period-correct, common blue that would have been derived from copper salts.  What I arrived at was teal, and while I like the Charlotte Hornets uniforms, this is not quite the look for Soleil Royal!

 

So, I went back to my cerulean base.  After all, the following Corvette model was largely my inspiration for my color scheme.  I really liked the way this light blue relates to the yellow ocher, even if it is a more stylized choice for my period:

 

My cerulean base-coat looks like this:

Here’s the rest of the process:

Et, finalement:

I spent quite a lot of time dialing-back the walnut ink distressing so that it wouldn’t be too much.  I think the walnut ink does dial-back the blue enough to be plausible for 1689.

 

I also switched from my self-mixed Tamiya yellow ocher to Vallejo’s Mars Yellow, which is pretty exactly the shade I want right out of the bottle.  While I still have to go over the work 2-3 times for the color saturation I want, the next coat doesn’t lift the previous coat, as with Tamiya.  This characteristic of the Tamiya paint makes it extremely frustrating to work with.  Considering the sheer volume of ocher paint that is going onto this model, a change to something more user-friendly was imperative.

 

This is probably the best window into what the general paint scheme of the stern will be.  Ultra marine will make very selective appearances.  I thought about painting an oval of ultra-marine around the shells, but I didn’t like the only partial framing of moulding.

 

It’s obvious, I suppose, but worth re-iterating how much easier it is to paint these ultra-detailed surfaces, off the model; you can find whatever angle you need.  As I consider it now, I’m really starting to dread the paintwork I have waiting for me on the lower stern.  At the time, though, I couldn’t see any other way forward than to construct the stern in-place.

 

Tomorrow, I will start the waste-pipe rosettes.

 

As ever, thank you for the likes, comments, and for stopping by!

Edited December 7, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

A very impressive result, especially considering the scale. Well done!

[shipmodel]

Nice and clean, Marc.

I like the color combinations.

 

Dan

[EJ_L]

Indeed, very beautiful paintwork. I'm loving the direction you are taking the paint scheme. Most S.R. builds end up somewhere closer to the scheme I used on mine, simple ultra marine blue and gold. What you are doing here puts my mind towards the elaborate paint scheme found on the Vasa. I think this is going to be a truly insightful model worthy of scholarly discussion and providing a rare look at what could quite plausibly have been what she looked like during these years. I'm looking forward to seeing these pieces come together with the hull. I think they will enhance each other brilliantly.  

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, EJ!  I hope that presenting an alternative scheme will spark debate.

 

Before the Vasa was found and fully re-constructed, popular depictions of the ship were only approximate in structure and the ship was always shown in the Swedish national colors.

 

While the structure of the Vasa has been understood in my lifetime (1973), I remember how astonished I was to discover that her topsides were red, and later - that her sculptures were a riot of colors.  This fundamentally changed the way that I thought about the appearance of the Baroque warship.  If we accept that the galleons of the prior epoch were vividly painted in geometric forms, why would the affinity for painted decoration disappear in the Baroque period?  If anything, the increase in ship size presented a larger canvas for artistic expression, and that is what the Baroque period was about, as it related to warship design; being impressively magnificent, or as young people say - being “EXTRA!”

 

Warships were always expensive to build, and the cost of gold leaf - if used on the scale that we, as modelers, are accustomed to thinking it was used - would quickly match or eclipse the overall cost of building the vessel.

 

I have read about an early process of approximating the appearance of guilding with some form of metallic-appearing undercoat, with a varnish topcoat that prevented oxidation.  Perhaps, the truth of the 1670s was a mixture of real gilt work, this other faux process, and vivid color work.

 

Hyatt’s description of the Royal Louis of 1668 (in 1677, if I remember correctly) does seem to indicate that she was leafed extensively.  Because both the RL and SR were only intended to be port beacons (Levant and Ponant, respectively) of the wealth and might of the crown - perhaps the crown truly spared no expense on those two vessels, and leafed them much more-so than any others.  Even if that were the case, though, I still think it is highly probable that their sculpture work would be a vivid riot of colors.

 

By 1688, as France was preparing to directly engage the allied forces of England and Holland, the cost of extensive gold-leafing would be prohibitive.  Making sure that there were cannon to arm the ships would have taken top priority, especially considering the lavish costs of re-furbishing  so many of the ships, at this time.

 

What I am doing is highly conjectural, of course, but I think plausibly debatable.

Edited December 10, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[t_corret]

As you know, in historical terms, absence of proof is not proof of absence. You are making informed artistic choices just as the builders did. Nothing you have done looks unlikely, baring some find of a detailed period painting, and provenance of the time, place, and talent of the artist. Keep up the wonderful work.