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

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks, T_C!

 

I like “absence of proof is not proof of absence”😀

[t_corret]

That's an old archeological tag that should be nailed over the bed of any digger!

[John Clements]

Fascinating to see how you are progressing. The new pieces and their painting are exemplars of the art. I'm interested, and pleased, that you are including quite a lot of the red ochre colour, rather than the blanket French blue that appears on the box art. Struck by the St Philippe scheme, I'm intending to attempt something similar, reserving the blue for background to sculptures that were important symbolically, as that was the Bourbon 'house' colour. I've also been looking up paintings in Versailles to get some ideas for the figurehead painting. I think it's important that there was a commonly understood style of representation and symbolism in French Baroque art which would have carried over to ship decoration. Lemineur touches on some  of that in his book on the St Philippe.

I'm going to start my own build log here, when I can manage some reasonable photos, but it won't be anything as ambitious as yours.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, John!  I’ll be interested to discover what parallels you discover between French Baroque art and French ship ornamentation.  In large part, that is what the German text Uber Den Wellen was attempting to do, with regard to the ornamental program of the Royal Louis of 1668.  Unfortunately, this text was almost un-intelligible to Google Translate, and I barely grasped much of what the book had to say.  Interestingly, Versailles Der Meer translated beautifully.

 

I have corresponded with Lemineur on a number of issues relating to ships of the period.  He has convinced me that the scheme he shows on the St. Philippe is much more likely and representative.

 

That being said, my upper bulwarks will still have a lot of blue.  There will be a wide band of red ocher, along the main deck guns, connecting the red of the beakhead bulkhead with the red of the quarters and stern.

 

Just above that, the inset frieze ovals that frame the lowest tier of fleurs will be ultra-marine.  This will set them off nicely, while highlighting the rakish layout of the frieze.

 

The frieze backdrop above that will be the lighter Cerulean blue.

 

I look forward to your build-log.  They are invaluable tools to the build, particularly because they boost your own investment and motivation in the project.

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

This plate appears in the St. Philippe monograph.  It is contemporary to the times. I don’t know the artist or the vessel, but as I’ve mentioned before, the similarity in stern architecture to SR is striking.

This ship is almost entirely red and yellow ocher.

 

Only the Royal coat of arms shows a little ultra-marine. Also, barely visible on the upper finishing of the QG is an ultra-marine background for the crossed Ls of the royal monogram.

 

Interestingly, the Phoenix bird figures prominently in the stern, but I am not familiar with the allegory on the tafferal.  Whatever the ship’s name is, is tied to those clues.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[Hubac's Historian]

Admittedly, the following is a feeble basis from which to draw any serious conclusions, however the following contemporary reference to the battle line formation for the battle of Velez and Malaga, 1704, shows SR2 in the following colors:

This is in distinct contrast to the Foudroyant:

Interestingly, these two ships, in particular, began on the construction slipway as the other, but the official designation was changed, mid-construction; Etienne Hubac was, initially, constructing the Foudroyant.

 

Adding insult to confusion is this other contemporary portrait of La Reale from 1694:

The 2nd-rate warship, in the background, appears to be all blue.  Also, interestingly, all of La Reale’s hull appears to be painted ultra-marine, which would have been extremely costly at this later date.

 

So, I’m not really sure what to make of all of that.

[Hubac's Historian]

Lastly, since I’m on a roll of conjecture and potential discovery, I noticed the following while reviewing this portrait, yet again:

The attribution for this portrait is always Soleil Royal.  If so, this would be her early appearance, sometime between 1670 and 1685.

 

Two things about this are interesting to me.  First - they may be approximately representing the pale blue/green upper bulwarks that I tend to think may be correct for this period.

 

Looking closer at the upper bulwarks, though, I think I may finally have made sense of these ornaments:

They appear to be two dolphins, crossed at the tails, with perhaps a shell nestled between.

 

This could have been the early precursor of the frieze that is re-worked in 1688/89.  If so, that would be consistent with a tradition of re-working/updating previous ornamental schemes to reflect current tastes and styling.

 

My operating theory is that Berain’s stern is merely an updating of Puget’s first design, which was an elaboration of LeBrun’s original allegoric concept for the ship.

 

In any case, at some point, I will do a detail drawing of this form because it is easy for me to imagine this as a repeating relief, perhaps with fleurs in-between, for my conjectural SR of 1670.

 

Alternating strakes of this crossed dolphin motif might have harps between the dolphins, or suns, or some combination of the above.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[Hubac's Historian]

I spent a good part of the prior week making these waste-pipe rosettes:

I really wanted to represent these, as shown, with acanthus leaves folded-in, around the pipe.  At this scale, though, that proved impossible for me to make something that looked good and right.

 

I began, one day, with a scrap of 1/4” x 1/4” stock, left-over from the rudder head ornament.  I didn’t have my drill or Dremel, that day, so I attempted to facet to round and then shape entirely by hand.  What I ended up with was approximately the right diameter, but too long and reminiscent of a saggy boob.  It was informative, though, in so far as what proportions I needed to arrive at.  So, I made up some more 1/4” stock and made a proper turning in my drill, the next day:

Middle and right are the neat little vasi-forms I was after.  From the top to the bottom of the “cup” is 5/16”, and the turning sprue gets cut into the waste-pipe end, adding another 1/16”, overall.

 

The trouble with Soleil Royal is that nearly every square inch begs for some form of embellishment.  I could simply have painted these red ocher and called it a day, but it seemed to me that they would look too pedestrian right next to the gilded acanthus carvings of the QG lower finishing.

 

I decided that I could subdivide the cup into quarters and eighths, easily enough, and scribe a reeded pattern into their surface.

 

On its own, this new embellishment, highlighted in yellow ocher, would probably be enough.  I decided, though, to take it a step further and try to create some nice recessed paneling, as on the lower finishing:

This was just as time consuming as it seems it would be.  In colors, though, the results proved worth the effort:

I even gave the waste-pipe a light ver-de-gris wash for the added realism.

 

Next, I was finally ready to begin installing the largest QG segments with their top and bottom transitional mouldings.  Here is the area, scraped and prepared for gluing:

The trickiest bit was the juncture of this bottom moulding with it’s counterpart on the stern; the trouble was that I didn’t have space, in my QG design, for the full thickness of the stern moulding which is, itself, a very close copy of what Berain drew for the stern.

 

So, I had to simplify the QG moulding and cope it around the stern moulding.  What’s happening, here, is more evident if you zoom in:

The top moulding, while also coped, does at least match the profile of its stern counterpart.  A few perspective shots:

The wooden substrate is CA’d to the plastic hull and mouldings, and the inside edges of the mouldings are styrene-cemented to the hull.  As always, I seek to ensure maximum connection and bond.  Tonight, I’ll install the port side, and I can then begin final fitting of the section below.

 

In the meantime, I’ve been shaping the very bottom section of the lower finishing, and making up the corresponding transitional mouldings:

I have an idea about how to represent the grape carving, of this lowest bit, which I think will work out much better than actually attempting to carve that detail - oh, for the love of paint!

 

Thank you for your interest and for stopping by.  More to follow...

Edited December 15, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[John Clements]

Wonderful work as always. I really cannot begin to copy your ability to carve in so small a scale so will be relying more on  just the thickness of acrylic paint to give relief where it is too small to model from plastic rod and strip.

Thanks for the colour versions of the b & w illustrations from the St Philippe book; far more useful. The large carving on the stern of the first red-painted ship has a Roman rather than Greek look about the main figure, but the double-headed dog on the right could be Cerberus (usually shown with three heads but maybe there wasn't room) who featured in the 12 labours of Heracles. There must be a list of three-decker French ships that might yield a clue. I don't have one to hand unfortunately.

[Hubac's Historian]

I have the lists for all rates, during this period.  I’ll take a look, John - thanks for the clues!

[druxey]

Excellent progress, HH! She is beginning to look as amazing as the original must have been.

[t_corret]

Have you tried W&N structure gel for your acrylics? You may be able to add with your paint an additional layer of detail. I am not certain how long lasting it would be over plastic, or with the weathering you use. I have used it on early miniatures that were quite plain to build up buttons, braid, and flaps, and it has lasted at least a decade.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Druxey!  Little by little, we are getting there.

 

T_C - I have used a heavy body gel medium by Liquitex to build up fine detail before painting - in particular the triple tasseling of the lambrequin carving, on the stern counter.  This worked well, and I sealed it under a coat of liquid CA to ensure that it never de-laminates.

 

So I had a look at the lists, as re-printed in Lemineur’s Vaisseaux Du Roi Soleil:

While the color print, in the prior post, is cropped and does not show the forward end of the ship - I can see, in the B&W version that she is approximately pierced for 88-90 guns (excluding bow and stern chase ports).  With the masting hulk, in the way, and the foreshortening of perspective, it is a bit of a guessing game.

 

So, considering First-Rate ships from Rochefort, in the latter half if the 17th Century, there appear to be three possibilities that are close to this armament:

 

The Fier, the Fulminant and the Magnifique.

 

Regarding uncertain questions like these, I like to fall back on the following reference:

Here are the capsule synopses for each ship:

 

One thing, armament-wise, that does seem pretty clear in the color print, is a QD armament of 10 guns.  Also, there is the clear absence of a forecastle deck.

 

The Magnifique carried 6 on the QD, and the Fulminant 12, until 1707 when the number was reduced to 10.

 

Perhaps this is a portrait of the Fulminant, around 1707, during a refit.  However, the name Fulminant alludes to a violent explosion or flash of lightning.  It would seem more likely that the tafferal tableau would make  some visual allusion to lightning, or an explosive force. Also, the Fulminant carried more guns than seems likely in this portrait.

 

You mention the possibility of Cerberus, and perhaps a connection to the 12th labor of Hercules, however I agree with you that the soldier is dressed in Roman garb and that is at odds with the Greek mythology.  The soldier holds his sword up high, yet Hercules is traditionally shown as armed with a club.

 

The name Fier, in French, means proud, and that certainly seems to be the bearing of the Roman Soldier, having vanquished his enemies.

 

So, that is my best guess.  I think this ship is the Fier.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[Hubac's Historian]

Hello again!

 

I was surprised to discover that my initial fairing to the shape of the hull, for these lower finishing pieces, was only approximate.

 

I was sanding them along the curving arc of the lower main wales, but not accounting for their actual rake in the horizontal plane.  It was also only possible, initially, to guess at what the connecting angle would be with the transitional moulding above.

 

When I first offered these up to the hull, after securing the section above, I found that there was significant daylight in the middle of the piece, and the top angle was all wrong.

 

It took a fair amount of careful contour sanding and re-checking, but eventually I got the pieces flush up to the hull, fore and aft, and a closed joint at top.

 

Here you can see the changing tumblehome as reflected upon these inner surfaces:

One mistake I made was painting these before final fitting.  All of that handling burnished through much of the gold.  I also found that, while ordinarily sure-handed, I kept dropping these delicate pointed things on the floor.  Lots of swearing!  My kids wrote a song in my honor for dad’s hobby-time: “Oh EFF!!, I dropped my model... Oh EFF!!, the paint is scuffed!”

 

Anyway, after fitting and retouching, I was finally able to secure them in place:

Now, while I could not be happier with how this is progressing, I do sometimes think it is important to talk about some of the things this model IS NOT, even though it aspires to be them.

 

While I’m pretty sure that I have an accurate read on the shaping of the active seats of ease, I am less certain about the lower finishing.

 

In this port quarter drawing of La Royal Therese, one can see the seats of ease section pretty clearly:

There isn’t really a lower finishing beneath, so it fairs back pretty closely to the hull.  Nevertheless, I think I’ve captured the shape and weight of this section pretty well.

 

Here is another example in Le Terrible:

 

I do wonder, though, whether I’ve left the aft end of the lower finishing as too full.  While I think I have the general contours correct, a part of me thinks that the aft end should probably round back more closely to the hull.  I am not going to change it, but it is something to keep in mind for anyone else attempting to model these early QGs from pictures, alone.

 

The other issue to note is the exaggerated overhang of my stern counter:

As I’ve discussed before, this is a byproduct of my approach for including the round-up of the transom; in a tapering arc, I pared back the transom edge of the hull, towards the waterline, so that my stern post would not be positioned too far aft into the stern counter.  This is a difficult thing to explain, and my whole line of reasoning may have been flawed, there, but it was an educated guess, at the time.

 

The result was a very rakish stern counter, which I find aesthetically pleasing, but it is not strictly accurate for the period.

 

One look at Tanneron’s models of Le Brillant and L’Agreable confirm a flatter, more vertical counter:

Lemineur’s monograph for the SP re-enforces this notion.  It is notable, also, how Le Brillant’s lower finishing is relatively less bombastic than mine, and fairs much more closely with the hull.

 

Anyway, making this model in the manner in which I am is sometimes a guessing game.  One particular benefit of this QG is that it extends beyond the line of the transom, and obscures the exaggeration.  I will have to make a pair of wrapping corbels that finish this detail of the model.  Here are the pattern tracings I have made for this purpose:

 

Anyway, EFFIT! as this moderately old man is wont to say.  Taken in its entirety, these small architectural variances should not be too glaring:

So, I’m just finishing up the low finial of the lower finishing.  I will wait to paint these until after final fitting:

 

Once those are in place, I can concentrate on making the window section above.

 

Now that I know the North East Joint Clubs meeting is slated for October, I will try to get a certain amount of work done.  I would like to get the upper bulwarks up and painted, the structure of the upper stern framed and planked, the quarter deck installed, and perhaps make a start on the galley stove.

 

Given my pace, so far, this is ambitious, but not altogether impossible.  When I last showed the thing, two years ago, it was merely a collection of un-assembled parts.  However far I get, it will be a vast improvement.

 

As ever, thank you for stopping by, and for your likes and comments.  Happy Holidays!

Edited December 20, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[Landlubber Mike]

Great job!  I hereby nominate your log as the most epic on MSW  

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Mike, but that is surely an honor I do not deserve.  There are many more substantive and worthy projects that are happening here, IMO.  I appreciate the thought, nonetheless.

[kirill4]

14 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Great job!  I hereby nominate your log as the most epic on MSW  

Good day Marc,

Totaly Agree with Mike🙂!!!

This is fantastic project, such deep research of the subject and than brilliant reproduction findings on the model!!!

I deeply admired for your work and this approach to business !

All the best!!!

Kirill

Edited December 22, 2020 by kirill4

[SJSoane]

Marc, truly magnificent work, and thoughtful conjecture based on impressive historical research. Outstanding.

 

Mark

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Mark!

 

So, the low finials are now painted and in-place.  You can see, below, the 3/16" spacing (18", full size) between the last gunport of the lower deck and the quarter gallery.  This resulted from filling-in and moving the port forward 1/4" from its stock location, at the start of the build.  Here are a few less than stellar pics of that:

There will be some re-touching to do, but I am very pleased with how this all resolved.

 

The past few days, I’ve been making the wrapping corbels. The ones the kit provides are perfectly lovely, and I had hoped to adapt them to the new shape of the lower finishing.  It turns out, though, that the new shape was too radical a departure, and the available space for them is now shorter.

 

All of that considered, though, I still found it to be an efficient process to extract the ornamental scrolls and bell-flowers.  The new corbels are shaped like this:

As was true for the QG sections, most of the work, here, was scribing these corbels to the compound curves of both the counter and the lower finishing.  Extracting and glueing-on the trim was easy.

 

I can’t quite remember who suggested it - maybe T_C - but painting these soft “lime” parts with CA is really the best approach.  The wood essentially becomes case-hardened, and after a light sanding with 220, the grain fully disappears under paint.  This is ideal, as I did not want the tell-tale signs of mixed-media.

 

I’ll prime these tonight and paint them before installing on the model.

 

I’ve been strategizing how best to represent the false windows of the QG.  I have an idea that picks up on the individual shading of panes on Berain’s drawing.

I have at least one scrapped window to experiment with.  We shall see.  I will begin drafting and making these window frames in the next few days.

 

Thank you for looking in!  More to follow.

Edited December 30, 2020 by Hubac's Historian

[mtaylor]

The paint really brings your carvings to life, Marc. I'm always impressed and inspired when see your log.   I hope you have a great and happy new year.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you so much, Mark!  I really appreciate that you have stuck with me from the start of this project.  It has been a slow build!

 

As I think we all are, I’m really hoping for a better 2021.  It may be a rough start, but I think we’ll get there.

 

I wish you health and happiness in the coming year, Mark!

 

ATB,

M

[druxey]

And best wishes for a better 2021 from me as well!

[Hubac's Historian]

‘Just a quick update.  Corbels are painted and in-place.  Yes, I will fill and fair that joint at the top 😉:

I have the port side and stern quarter windows drafted:

One of the problems/complaints, concerning the Berain/Vary drawing is the sometimes confounding inconsistencies between the irrefutable Berain stern drawing and the quarter drawing.

 

Because the, now, concrete reference points of the model enable me to make reliable drawings for this next phase of the build, I decided to address these inconsistencies.

 

The reality of the kit meant that the actual space available for these windows is taller than what I initially drew:

One way to effectively deal with that real height discrepancy, while also helping with consistency, was to include the same window ornament, along the top stile, as seen on the stern.

 

The fact that I have reduced these QG windows, in number, from 5 to 3 helps with the overall width to height ratio.  This is different from what Berain/Vary drew, but more consistent with better understood examples of the time (SP, 1693), while also paying respect to the hard realities of the kit.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Edited January 2, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[Baker]

Another beautiful update, always a pleasure to look forward to.

Great work

[md1400cs]

Mark,

 

Just catching up - you have brought plastic to such an amazing form of life - beyond brilliant - and your sculturing in this format is also superlative indeed. Woa!!

[t_corret]

To be remembered in your post is an honor I don't deserve. Thank you.

[Hubac's Historian]

T_C, a great idea should always be acknowledged.  This one, I shall not soon forget.

 

I have to say that, while the making of window frames is labor intensive, it is an enjoyable process.

 

One cause for satisfaction is that the original drawing is quite a mess, in this section:

The reduction of windows from five to three just really de-clutters the whole design.  Also, ensuring that the top and bottom rails of the windows are parallel improve the overall sense of balance.

 

A brief montage:

This is one approximate idea for doing a stylized false window.  It isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it is an idea worth playing around with a little.  I’ll make some extra panes to experiment with a few different looks.

By including the top-rail ornament, I ensure that there is consistency with the corresponding stern windows.  If I had made simple frames, without these ornaments, the windows would appear too tall.  Another nice thing is that, for a change, I have a really clear idea what the underlying structure of these windows will be.  Constructing them should be relatively straight-forward.  Anyway, it is a work in-process.

 

I tried to get a decent zoom into this portrait of the Battle of Barfleur by Peter Monamy:

The well-documented stern of HMS Britannia is easily recognizable.  There is a strong likelihood that the French ship firing on her from the starboard broadside is Soleil Royal.

 

Like all potentially credible portraits of SR (Monamy is in the upper echelon of period marine artists), these thumbs are too small to read for detail. This portrait may still exist in the Glasgow collection, though.  I will have to send an inquiry.

 

’Twas a dark day for America, yesterday.  Hopefully, more sane days are on their way.

 

Thank you for your likes, comments and looking in!

Edited January 7, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[kirill4]

Mark,

Each time I'm reading your posts I start thinking why human life such too short!!! :)))!!! at least my life obviously to short to complete all my modelling plans :)))

still can't finish my curent project with galleon... and  meanwhile constantly dreaming about how to build SR  kit or gallera or chebeck kits ...???

I'm very satisfied that when I will be ready for that kits ,I will have your build log as REAL guidance!!!

Thank Your very much for sharing your ideas and achivements!!!

All The BEST in 2021!!!

Kirill

[EJ_L]

Those window frames look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing how your glass panes turn out. That has been one area that I have not yet found a medium that I like using so I am curious to see what your ingenious mind comes up with.

[kirill4]

Mark,

Did  You see  that?

I thought I saw You somewhere talking about sails?😄but now can't find where I saw it 

I used to  thiniest percal  for making my galleons sails ... but what Dafi found and developed is amaising!!!

, it is much, much great suitable for scale sails!!

Will be Great and interesting if Your Tell us what is Your r opinion? ^)))https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t7592f815-Laminatsegel-fuer-Modelle-im-kleinen-Massstab.html

https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t125f165-to-Victory-and-beyond-130.html#msg115827

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by kirill4