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

[John Clements]

Thanks, Marc. I was amused by the comment in the SP book about the Hubacs doing their own thing. It seemed rather appropriate to this thread! There's also  a quote about decks sagging under the weight which is why they were later moved to the sides, and it does seem that the impact on the guns on either side was also known but accepted. I know the stove on the Victory (the only real one I've seen) is bigger but it must have been a significant weight with all the metal shielding and brick lining.

Going back to an earlier comment you made about Tanneron making up his own version, I've just been puzzling over the lack of access to the upper aft decks, and that of an internal railing along the walkway between the foc's'le and quarterdeck. Surely there must have been one to stop crew falling  off in a swell. So more hacking about of the kit.

[mtaylor]

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 Marc, thank you. As I said, I've not a clue but I've always wondered how they managed to cook on deck without burning more than the Captain's supper. There had to be embers aplenty flying about?

I'm not sure about this period, but the French often used charcoal for cooking.  The officer's food was done over a low fire on the larger ships.  Still a bit confusing to read what they cooked and how they did it, but like the English, the officers had their own meals.  

[shipman]

The crew had their meals provided as part of their dubious station in life. Officers had their own stores which they provided themselves.

One culinary delight for officers was Ox tong, which they considered a delicacy. Barf.

[wefalck]

Ox tongue is a common cut in Germany. It is usually salted and eaten e.g. with Sauerkraut. We also have a particular sausage made with it. In Canada I had grilled bison-tongue - very tender and lean.

 

The quality of the food for all crew degraded the longer a voyage lasted, as quite soon all the fresh stores exhausted and they had to rely on preserved stores. Not a lot of other options for food preservation apart from salting or drying ...

[Keith Black]

 Durning our life in Alaska we discovered Caribou tongue which was a considered a delicacy. It was boiled, peeled, cut into medium chunks, and used as an horderve. Served along with smoked salmon made for tasty treats on a snowy afternoon. 

[wefalck]

It seems one reason that North American bison was eradicated was, that they were shot by the thousands and just the tongue cut out and the rest of the carcasse left rotting and to the wolfes ...

[Hubac's Historian]

Yes, John, it is often noted of Laurent Hubac that he was among the most intransigent of the First-Marine shipwrights.  And while the review between SR and the Royal Charles seems to favor the RC, SR was regarded as a maneuverable ship under sail, and a stable gun platform.  Despite the additional width - that the building councils were trying to move away from, in favor of length - Msr. Hubac must have known a thing or two about building warships.

 

As it pertains to deck access to the poop and poop-royal decks, that is definitely a problem that neither Tanneron nor Heller addresses with SR.  However, Tanneron does address it on Le Brillant, albeit in an un-satisfactory way:

 

 

Here, the foot of the poop deck ladder falls directly in front of a gunport.  My answer to this problem will be to extend a short gangway from the poop and poop-royal decks, so that I can drop a ladder (oriented East/West) between the guns.  I will likey craft a vestigial, inboard rail for these short gangways, that is ornamentally consistent with whatever I make up for the deck railings at those levels.

 

As for the waist gangways, you raise an interesting question that I don’t really know the answer to.  On the one hand, there is the outboard timberhead railing that would have been about waist high, in reality.  I don’t think it would necessarily be wrong to craft a light stanchion railing, on the inboard side.  I can’t say for sure, though, but I will look through my image files.

 

What is lovely to look at is Marsalv’s amazing build of Le Gros Ventre.  I am particularly intriqued by his treatment of the waist gangway.  Just scroll to the more recent posts:

 

 

What does seem sensible to add, for sure, are support stanchions, between the guns.  I also like his lightly ornamental stool steps to the f’ocsle and quarter decks.

 

By the way, you might recognize the stove, here.  Although it is from a later time period, I chose Marsalv’s stove as the model for my own, as it was not wildly divergent from what is suggested in the SP monograph, and it seemed simple enough in its construction to be plausible for this earlier time.

 

Regarding the discussion of exotic mouth meats, I suppose I’d be game. It isn’t as though the animals have a mean tobacco habit, or any other nasty things happening in their mouths.  I’ve not yet tried it, though.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Hubac's Historian

[John Clements]

Thanks again for that very full response.  Marslav's build is amazing but I can't look at too many like that; it just makes me want to give up and start again.

I have begun to build a light railing along the waist walkways and am placing the guns on the upper decks before thinking about how the access can be contrived. Your solution is certainly a good one. I'll also think of placing the steps further inboard which is a pragmatic solution for which I don't have any evidence.

[mtaylor]

9 hours ago, wefalck said:

It seems one reason that North American bison was eradicated was, that they were shot by the thousands and just the tongue cut out and the rest of the carcasse left rotting and to the wolfes ...

And the hides were taken as there was big market for those.

[mtaylor]

I'm not sure if this applies to the SR or any other vessel of that era, but I've read that many of the larger ships had the ladders removed for action.  The crew would then have to use other means.... like climbing up through the grate areas.

[Hubac's Historian]

We’re literally coming down the home-stretch with Dad.  We moved his furniture and belongings, this past weekend, and we will move him this coming weekend - HUZZAH!

 

Naturally, work on the ship is fairly meager, but I did get the deck sheathing and stove painted, and I did manage to make-up and fit the forecastle beam that will be visible at the break of the forecastle deck.  A montage that shows my paint processes, particularly for my natural “oak” finish:

 

 

For some reason, I can’t load the other two pics of the sheathing because of an “unknown server error”.  Anyway, the process is pretty straightforward; flat black spray primer, followed by Citadel silver (allowing some black to peak through), finished with grey enamel wash.  The enamel wash picks up all the nail heads and sheet seams nicely, while giving an oxidized metal finish.  The white stripes are masks for where the stove glues down.

 

The stove begins with Modelmaster Random Tan as my base coat over white enamel primer:

 

 

Although it will never be seen, I chose to represent the brick work that is sandwiched between iron and wood.

 

Next, I slather the whole thing in Windsor and Newton medium grey oil, and allow it to sit for five minutes, or so, before wiping most of it away.  This paint gives the wood a pleasing silver-ish cast, like newly oxidizing oak, and it gets into all the plank seams and grain structure:

 

 

Next, after allowing it to cure for a few days, I do the same thing again with W&N Van Dyke Brown.  This is what restores a sense of woody warmth to the surface, while enhancing texture and depth:

 

 

The plate mounted to the deck:

 

 

The iron blacked-in:

 

 

I decided to rub some powdered graphite over the black, so that the lattice would pop a little.  Again, this will never be seen, but I wanted to play around with powder effects. It is subtle, but effective:

 

 

 

Lastly, the stove on-board:

 

 

 

The stove gives me a central glue connection for that beam, which will lend some rigidity to the whole deck structure.

 

In other news, I have 2 of 3, aft bulwark gussets fitted and installed.  All the prep work on the last bulwark is done, so I will resume painting soon.

 

I hope all are well, as the holiday approaches.  Thank you all for stopping by.  More to follow!

[wefalck]

Indeed, rubbing some graphite (soft pencil) over black give iron-work a sort of metallic feeling without looking too metallic.

 

You could also rub some white and/or grey pastel onto the bottom of the hearth to simulate ash from wood/charcoal ...

[Hubac's Historian]

I like that idea, Wefalck.  Thanks for the tip!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I don't know how you do this, Marc, at this scale. I know how I'd do it - get the printer to do the heavy lifting - but even then I doubt I could make something quite as lovely as that stove.

 

ps. I need to ask, do you know all this stuff about paints before you even start? which ones to use, what looks good over that, etc? Me, I do a bit of dabbing and stand back in trepidation, having absolutely no idea what I'll get as an end result and always surprisingly pleased if it's even remotely liked I hoped for. And this is just when I'm redecorating the house. I more or less just close my eyes on model parts and hope for the best.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Kevin-the-lubber

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you Kevin - I appreciate the kind words, and I can assure you that with sheet plastic, anyway, this kind of scratch-work really is not that difficult.  The main thing is staying in scale.  This is the first model I have made where I have attempted any of this sort of modification.  Mostly, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I want to go about it, and often enough - it works out.  Sometimes I have to throw away and take a different approach.

 

I had some prior experience with the Modelmaster acrylics when I did my first SR, so many years ago.  I liked them so much, and knew I could achieve reliable results with them.  The rest has been a process of trial and error.  I did a number of sample mock-ups with the un-used portions of my vulture-carcass hull (that I extracted extension pieces from).

 

Part of the reason this has all gone on for so long is that I am very deliberative and methodical.  I don’t really care too much how long it takes.

[shipmodel]

Hi Marc - 

 

Beautiful work as always.  

Thanks for the mini-tutorial on converting plastic to wood.

I have saved it to my toolbox and will rely on it as needed.

 

Best wishes to you and your father in his circumstances.

 

And Happy Holidays to all.

 

Dan

[EricWilliamMarshall]

On 12/15/2021 at 7:45 AM, Hubac's Historian said:

unknown server error

I hit this often myself. I have found if save my entry and edit, I can add the missing image without issue. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Eric!  Yes, that does seem to work whenever that server error pops up.

 

This is just an alive’n kickin’ post to say that work has continued, albeit at a meager pace.  I am starting, though, to regain some of my former momentum.

 

I made the starboard channels, and I have all of the ground colors painted for the starboard, aft bulwark.  I won’t bother posting pictures of those items until they are installed on the model, as it is nothing new to see.

 

Last night, I made and installed the lam-beams for the forecastle deck:

 

 

 

Tonight, I can sand them fair and then make a cardboard pattern for the forecastle deck.

 

More to follow.  Try not to let COVID overwhelm your thoughts and emotions - despite the grind we are living through now, life won’t always be like this.

 

All the best,

 

Marc

[Keith Black]

 Marc, more of the same beautiful work. absolutely gorgeous.

 

 Hey, do you do model work in the TV room? If so, I don't know you do it. After moving tools and blocks down stairs to the TV room last winter, I tried for six months to get work done stropping blocks, I failed miserably. 

 

 I've lost two years to Covid at a time when two years of my almost 75 years is a lot! This maybe the new normal, the price we pay for destroying the environment/habitat of numerous animal species around the globe. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Thank you, Keith!  Yes my whole modeling life happens on our kitchen table.  I’ve even built a finely carved wall cupboard on that table.  I’ve just purchased a clamp-able Swingline lamp, so my lighting will improve dramatically, very soon.  Of course, one day in the future, I hope to have a little true shop space, at which time I will crossover to arsenal-style modeling.

 

I feel you very strongly, re COVID.  My Dad is 87, and I feel that COVID had very much to do with his mental decline, these last few years; the dementia was probably inevitable, but the pandemic likely accelerated that process.

 

It is true that human-kind is killing the planet, though, and that all of these things are inter-connected.  I was reminded, recently, of just how prescient a movie Soylent Green really was in the year that I was born.

 

If one wants to make a DoomsDay Double Feature out of a Friday night, just add Mike Judge’s Idiocracy to the viewing queue.  That movie used to be funny, now it’s just terrifying.

[Keith Black]

8 minutes ago, Hubac's Historian said:

I’ve just purchased a clamp-able Swingline lamp, so my lighting will improve dramatically, very soon.

 You've been doing all this beautiful work with poor lighting?! Oh, to have younger eyes again. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Well, not exactly - for the longest time, I had this pedestal lamp with a shade that swiveled up or down.  It was a pretty cheap lamp, but it gave decent light, until the poor casting that connected the shade to the swivel just sheered off one day.

 

We finally bought a grown-up lamp that does an excellent job of lighting the living room, but I still need that focused light for close work.  All that being said, my eyes have changed significantly, since I began this project.  My distance prescription has hardly changed, over a 10-year period, or more, but I can no longer focus up close with my glasses on.  I suppose bifocals are in my near future.

[Keith Black]

2 minutes ago, Hubac's Historian said:

I suppose bifocals are in my near future.

I tried bifocals, not my cuppa. I've stuck with ever increasing strength reading glasses. 

[druxey]

HH: you might consider 'progressive' vari-focal lens spectacles. Since I got mine, I've rarely needed an Optivisor - something that i wore extensively over the previous 10 years.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I don't think this business is very good for the eyes. I have umpteen pairs of glasses including varifocals and magnifiers but I'm now struggling with even these some days. It's the miniscule detail that's the killer, though colour contrast can make quite a difference.

[Hubac's Historian]

That is certainly something to consider, Druxey.  I didn’t even know that exists until you mentioned it.

[druxey]

Alas, I'm of an age to know these things!

[Hubac's Historian]

I suppose the paradox of aging is winning despite the losses - Druxey, you’re a triple-crowner any year.

[EricWilliamMarshall]

On 1/13/2022 at 1:12 PM, Kevin-the-lubber said:

I don't think this business is very good for the eyes.

I’ve come to the conclusion that no business, at all, is good for the eyes.  These wondrous organs are not built to last and I’m thankful that, at least, they degrade over time instead of straight-out fail all at once!

[No Idea]

I'm a few (many) years late to your build - but wow what dedication and determination.  This is simply amazing and I'll be following your work from now on!!!