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

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, John!  I am glad to hear that you will continue with your beautiful model.  I’ll look forward to seeing your updates,

 

Well, last night I completed all of the port side touchups and got the last of the channels installed.  The upper main wale and the lower port enhancements still need re-touching, but I won’t bother with that until I have fit all of the buttressing knees of the channels.

 

For a change, I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

 

 

Interestingly, the walnut ink is not as reversible as I thought, in all cases.  To some degree, it permanently stains the red ocher, in particular.  When I did the QGs, there was some blotchiness in the wash-coat that I thought I’d soften later.  Well, I couldn’t even out the tones as well as I would like, in all places:

 

 

‘Not a terrible concession to a lesson learned, though.

 

So, we are off to the show!  If you are there, please stop by and say hello.  At 10 am, I’ll be giving a presentation on the model, as a representative of the Shipcraft Guild of New York City.

 

After the show, I’m going to take a few weeks away from the project, as I’m a little burnt from the past three months 🥴

 

Be well, and more to follow!

[Bill Morrison]

She makes quite an impression!  Your efforts highlight your dedication and your artistic skills.

 

Bill

[druxey]

Magnifique, Monsieur! Thanks for the update and best wishes at new London.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I'm sure this will be the star of the show, extraordinary detail. And enjoy the break!

[Jeff T]

Beautiful!👏

[mtaylor]

Have a safe trip and good time at the show. She will be (or should be) a big hit.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thanks guys!

[mtaylor]

How was the show, Marc.   I hope you had a great time and your ship got a lot of attention which you and it deserve.

[Hubac's Historian]

The show was really very good - a near-record turnout, with about 110 guests, and I believe 105 models.  Toms10 (Szabo) earned the Jim Roberts award for his HMS Leopard, and the recognition is well-deserved.

 

My only regret of the show is that I somehow missed Fried Clams’s Stonington Dragger.  I only realized this after the fact when going through pictures of the show that our club member Vadim had taken (see below).  That really is a terrible oversight, on my part, because I would have really liked to see the model and to meet Gary, in person.  I’m really sorry about that Gary.

 

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPZ6wW4gq0yNnMeDfHRzCuuKllVRkgFa-nCegjb6IvJk_YyzcEfasiougNEAuSIzQ?key=M0NvMmVWVEloWVRSbzgzWktwRC1BSV9aZTNtd2pR

 

SR was, indeed, well-received!  I gave about a 20-minute presentation, following Chuck’s excellent ropewalk demonstration - which is a hard act to follow.  At first, I only had a couple of new friends from the Jersey club at the table, but Mike Swanson did some rustling for me, and I ended up with a very engaged group of 10-12.  This was about perfect for me, as it has been a long while since I did any “public speaking” - my voice didn’t quaver much, but my hands sure did!

 

Many thanks to our club president Dan Pariser who took the time to mount five specific images of SR and her contemporaries, which very much helped with the story I was trying to tell about the ship and this model.  Without these visuals, Dan, the presentation would have been a very different experience.

 

I owe my wife and two children many thanks for coming out to the show and supporting/enabling Dad with his obsession.  They enjoyed themselves, and I think they were surprised to see the range of talent and subject matter on display.  Many thanks to them, as I know they hear and see quite enough about ships at home.

 

After quite a bit of traffic, we made it home, we ate and then I went to bed and slept for nearly 12 hours.  Today, I am clear-headed for the first time in ages.  I will still leave the model alone for a couple of weeks.  I want to be excited about it, when I take up with it again.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

Glad you had such a good time. I'm so sorry that I had to miss the great showing this time.

 

U.S.: Why you no open land border to nice, polite, vaccinated Canadians?

[mtaylor]

I'm glad it went well, Marc.   Take the time off you need as burn-out is tough to recover from.

 

Druxey, we're paranoid about everything lately.

[EJ_L]

I just got back from a much needed vacation and break myself. WOW! Seeing her set up for display is jaw dropping. It has been a while since we last saw her in full, I think back nearly at the beginning before you cut her all apart. Seeing those various pieces reformed and whole again is amazing. 

 

Taking time off from the build is good. I know I was getting bogged down with too much myself and had not been in the mood too much modeling. Now after a couple of weeks away from both the work shop and work, I am ready to get back at it.

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you very much EJ!  I’d like to say that my time away from the project has been restorative, but we have been busily figuring out managed-care options for my Dad, who turned 87 this summer.  All of that is, naturally, stressful.  Everything at its appointed hour, I suppose.

[mtaylor]

9 hours ago, Hubac's Historian said:

Thank you very much EJ!  I’d like to say that my time away from the project has been restorative, but we have been busily figuring out managed-care options for my Dad, who turned 87 this summer.  All of that is, naturally, stressful.  Everything at its appointed hour, I suppose.

Indeed on the appointed hour and family should come first before models.

[druxey]

Best wishes as you manage an elderly parent. It's never easy.

[Hubac's Historian]

I appreciate that very much, Mark and David.  It’s all a bit overwhelming, but my sister and I are a team, and I think we are on the right track.

[Bill Morrison]

On 8/27/2021 at 12:49 PM, Hubac's Historian said:

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!

When will you be in New London?

Bill

[Hubac's Historian]

Hi Bill,

 

Actually, the show was this past weekend - last Saturday.  The show was a success, overall.  A video team made a review of the models present:

 

 

Somewhat perplexingly to me, personally, they chose to show only the incomplete starboard side of my model, but what can one do?  Any publicity is good publicity.

[Bill Morrison]

3 hours ago, Hubac's Historian said:

Hi Bill,

 

Actually, the show was this past weekend - last Saturday.  The show was a success, overall.  A video team made a review of the models present:

 

 

Somewhat perplexingly to me, personally, they chose to show only the incomplete starboard side of my model, but what can one do?  Any publicity is good publicity.

Unfortunately, I am home suffering from surgery on my left knee after shattering it with a fall.  They removed approximately 1/3 of  the patella, so I am currently restricted in movement.  I am sorry I missed the convention!

 

Bill

[Hubac's Historian]

I am sorry that you are suffering through that Bill.  May your path to recovery be a smooth one, my friend!

[Bill Morrison]

Thank you for that!  I appreciate it very much.

Bill

[Hubac's Historian]

So, this popped up in my YouTube feed:

 

https://youtu.be/Lu-GImpTE8k

 

with the unboxing video:

 

https://youtu.be/aj-itoug5io

 

Artesania Latina sure has been busy, these days!  Endeavor, Vasa, and now Soleil Royal.

 

After watching these two videos, I will say this much for the new model - they at least spent some time trying to present a reasonable facsimile of Berain’s stern, along with the 1693 quarter galleries for SR2.

 

I think the model is interesting, but it is always a little disappointing when a kit manufacturer doesn’t spend at least a little time looking into what a ship should look like.

 

That being said, I think there is potential, here, for a skilled builder to alter the bulkheads and adjust the sheer for a more realistic appearance.  The question, of course, is whether the effort required is even worth the price of entry.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[Kevin-the-lubber]

What did they get wrong Marc? Though at £800 for entry I won't be going there anyway.

[Hubac's Historian]

I find the entire sheer line of the ship to be rather high, clunky and poorly detailed.  The run of the wales is similarly in-elegant, and apart from port wreathes, they have made zero attempt to ornament and detail the upper bulwarks.  The headrails aren’t too bad, but their attachment to the hull is awkward as the rails seem to project away from the hull, instead of fairing along with the tumblehome of the hull.  All of the decking, deck furniture, etc is just over-simplified garbage.  I could go on, but for those dollars I think the market would want something more than a decorative object.

 

Sour grapes aside, I am certain someone out there will have the talent to make it something considerably better than the sum of its parts.  I’ll be gladly following along as they do.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[EricWilliamMarshall]

Hmm, are you but one laser cutter away from being than person?

[Hubac's Historian]

My eyes are my laser 🙃😉

[John Clements]

As you say, it is disappointing when there are so many good things one could say about the kit that there are such obvious errors like the lack of decoration - and the whole hull painted blue. Sadly they haven't been following this thread and have skimped on their research. An opportunity wasted.

[Hubac's Historian]

Speaking of research, John…

 

As I haven’t had much time at all, to devote to the current model, I have spent quite a fair amount of time conducting research for Soleil Royal 1670.  As a GenX’er, I am continually amazed by the strides we have made in computing and on-line connectivity; we’ve come a long way from DOS!

 

It took a little fiddling, but I finally figured out how to navigate the database for the French Archives Nationales.  If you recall, I was initially intrigued by a footnote I found in Ronald Portanier’s dissertation on the evolution of ornamental carving, in French naval architecture.

 

Back in June, I sent a digital file request for this comparison, dating to 1672, between Soleil Royal and the Royal Charles, ex Naseby.  I referenced the archive location noted in Portanier’s work MAR/B/5/3 (the archival coding specifically relating to armaments and naval technologies), and included a description of the specific subject matter in the additional information section of the request form.  With boundless hope, and breathless anticipation, I pressed SEND, and heard nothing back, thereafter.

 

Or, so I thought.  After the New London show, I decided to re-visit these archives.  Searching through abstracts of other files that mention and/or discuss SR, I found the following array of interesting things:

 

I had great hope that this file, “Les Pieces de sculpture..” might be a Hyatt-like description of Soleil Royal’s stern.  I requested this document.

 

More recently, I discovered this document which apparently discusses the wax model made for the re-fit ornamentation in 1688.  I hope to receive this document some time this week.

 

Eventually, I will request this document, which describes the flags carried by SR:

 

So - back to the first request I made for the SR/RC comparison of 1672.  I had thought that Mr. Portanier had mis-identified the location in his footnotes because MAR/B/5/3 seems to reference documents between the years of 1691-1759

 

 

Surely, he must have meant MAR/B5/2.  So, I sent a second request referencing this other file location, along with a request for the sculpture document.

 

Much to my amazement, within five days I noticed an email containing a link to the sculpture document from the file-sharing server WeTransfer.  Now, this was enlightening to me.  I had been expecting these documents to come from an email address directly connected to the Archives Nationale.  When I looked back to my emails from June, I discovered the WeTransfer document linking me to the SR/RC comparison!  I had the damn ship in my back pocket for months, and didn’t even realize it!  Naturally, the link had expired.  ‘Turns out - Mr. Portanier’s referenced location was correct, and I had only succeeded in confusing matters with my second request for the wrong location.

 

I wrote to my contact at WeTransfer explaining how I had managed to gum-up the works; she was, naturally, having a lot of trouble finding the document in the wrong location.

 

Anyway, at the end of the day, Ms Wulf ended up sending me the comparison, the sculpture document, what seemed like a fascinating accounting of the “radoub”, or rebuild, and also the ship-log of SR2, from the Valez/Malaga campaign of 1704.  To say that I was overjoyed just does not adequately express how I really felt.

 

And, so, I began the lengthy process of transcribing and translating these variously legible, hand-written documents.  I started with the sculpture document.  To give you an idea, this letter which is addressed to the Intendant at Brest, Msr. de Seuil, looks like this:

 

 

Deciphering something like this is particularly challenging because the spellings are sometimes antiquated, words often run together and seem like one word, and writers of the time employed a strange and archaic form of abbreviation.

 

In Google Docs, I began to key in a letter by letter transcription, fortunately the software seems to recognize archaic spellings and often suggests the modern spelling and/or phrasing.  This combined with my keying possible words into my Google Translate app, helped me to parse a likely meaning from the most opaque sections.  I have found that, as I work through a document, I will often encounter more legible examples of words and characters, that help clarify other less clear sections of the text.  It is a backward and forward process of revision.

 

My method is to alternate, paragraph by paragraph the French transcription with the rough English translation.  I then highlighted, in blue, any particular passages that had to do with SR, specifically.

 

Well, this particular document did not turn out to be the treasure-trove I was hoping for.  Mostly the correspondance (from a sender I have not yet identified, which does not look like the hand of Colbert) concerns the amassing and distribution of sailors and soldiers, among the major port fleets.

 

Here is what I found of interest, relating to SR:

 

also,

 

 

 

 

What is interesting to me about these passages is that they were clearly experimenting with methods aimed at preservation of the backbone of the ship, while simultaneously considering a scaling-back of the ornamental works, which were decaying, some 12 years after launching.

 

Okay, all well and good.  Next, I turned to the radoub document:

 

 

I quickly discovered that a lengthy and thorough translation would not be necessary.  This was not, after all, a lengthy accounting of the specific cost estimates for the re-build in 1688/89.  Instead, this is an aggregate estimate for the ships returning to port of Brest in August of 1690, one month after Tourville’s victory off Cap de Beveziers.  The costs listed are for the radoub (repair of battle damage), careening and general maintenance of the listed ships. It is a fascinating document in its own right, but not especially illuminating toward my quest for understanding the ship as she first was.

 

Next up, I have turned my attention to the quite lengthy (16 pages!) comparison survey of SR and the RC:

 

 

The observations and conclusions noted in the left margins are written in such a small and stylized cursive that they are incredibly difficult to decipher.  I have found that my letter for letter transcription has to be conducted via magnification of the PDF files on my phone.  Even then, the translations are only approximate, but nonetheless illuminating.  Here is what I have so far:

 

 

And, so, this is all a process that only slowly yields fragments of a mosaic that might, or might not add up to a portrait of the ship.  Perhaps I am merely re-treading ground already covered by Lemineur and others before me.  I believe that is a journey I must embark upon for my own edification, though.  I will not give up!

 

What little modeling I have done concerns the buttressing knees of the channels.  One advantage of lowering the fore and main channels to below the main deck guns is that there is now more surface mounting area to allow for a more credibly functional support than what the stock kit provides.  The process requires some careful coping around the top edge of the upper main wale, and around the garland carvings.  It is slow work:

 

Eventually, I will add the simulated bolt heads, as I have done elsewhere throughout the model.  Note how the forward end of the fore channel flares out further than stock, in order to compensate for the lower positioning;  this is necessary so that the shrouds will clear the reverse tumblehome of the upper bulwarks.

 

Well, that was all a mouthful.  I hope I have not bored you all to death with my process.  Until next time, thank you all for your continued interest, your likes, and your comments.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[druxey]

Actually the new rabbit hole you've opened is fascinating; predating Olivier, as it does.

[Hubac's Historian]

Incidentally, as the iphone is wont to do, today I got a picture update from June of 2018:

 

 

She’s come a long way, since then!