Le Soleil Royal by EJ_L - FINISHED - Sergal - Scale 1:77 - 1669 Version

[EJ_L]

Hello! I have not been completely idol on my build but with finishing the fore top mast on La Couronne and especially training my new mate (new 2 month old puppy), my build time has been severely limited. Still, I did manage to complete the next 10 strakes on the starboard side this weekend and I have started the next 10 on the port side. When done I will have 20 strakes completed on both sides and still will not have reached the lower gun deck. It is really a wonder when one stops to think about the sheer quantity of lumber that would have gone into building these massive ships. Just the planking alone would be a small forest and then you still have the framing, blocks, misc. bits and pieces and decorations. Not to mention what would have been needed for the fires to make the iron works. It is no surprise that Europe's forests were severely wiped out during the 17th and 18th centuries.

 

Anyway, enjoy the update and hopefully, puppy willing, I can get some more done this week!

[Hubac's Historian]

As a matter of fact, EJ, I just read in the Vasa book that over 1,000 oak trees went into her construction, and as many more into the forges that produced her hardware and cannon. And that doesn't even account for the other lighter species that would have planked her decks and upper works. Consider, then, the massive increase in size from Vasa to Soleil Royal!

Edited February 20, 2017 by Hubac's Historian

[Hubac's Historian]

Your planking, EJ, is coming along really nicely. I wonder, though, as I look at the aft two bulkheads, whether you are planning to fill and fair the dip that seems to be there before the finish layer of planking.

[EJ_L]

I just read that as well as I received my copy of that book on Friday and have been reading through it over the weekend. It is much easier to read and play with the new puppy then it is to try to plank when she is awake and full of energy.

 

Yes, I will be doing extensive sanding and patching/fill work before the second layer of planks go down. I am not completely sure what happened in that spot or more accurately, what I was thinking when I bent the planks the way I did.  With plank on bulkhead builds I am glad for the double layer of planking as it allows me to cover up the bad spots on the hull. While I try to run the planks as they should be, due to the spacing of the bulkheads that can be difficult. I could always run them as one long plank as they would be covered up but I like doing it piecemeal as that gives me more practice and makes me think more on what is going wrong and what I need to fix to make sure the second planking is better. This is especially important to me so I can see of the shape of the hull affects the wood as it bends and twists to make the shape. Where does it widen, narrow and what illusions are created that can throw off my perspective on alignment.

 

If you look on my La Couronne build, I ran the first layer of planking in the same manner and had bad spots in it. After fill and sand I was able to lay down the second layer to look very good. While not perfect, I am very happy with the overall outcome. I hope to do even better on S.R.. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Yeah - I think your hull work on Couronne is nicely faired. Having never done a plank-on-bulkhead kit myself, I csn only imagine the challenges it presents. I appreciate what you are saying about laying out all your plank butts - even on the first layer - for the practice.

[ca.shipwright]

EJ,

I'm looking at the third bulkhead from the stern in the next to last picture above. It appears that there is a "break" in the planking run- a sharp bend over the aft edge of this bulkhead. There is really no way to fill and sand to correct this unless you plan to fill all the way to the stern bulkhead A better solution is to remove the planks on this bulkhead and sand the bulkhead fair so that the planks flow out the aft edge smoothly and into the next bulkhead and further on to the last bulkhead at the stern.

 

One of the advantages of using full length planks for the under skin is that you get a very good idea of how the hull fairs out. I think most modelers take the view of getting the under-planking done, in whatever way floats your boat. Keep in mind that when the plank a real ship, they have frames every foot or so. They are able to get a true fair using the shorter planks. The gap between bulkheads is too wide to use scale planking- you cannot truly see the fairing required.

 

Having said all this, I really hope that the picture referenced above is a victim of some type of parallax and you won't have to any of the above.

 

Please, no criticism is intended. Your modeling is fantastic.

 

My Panart Victoy has almost the identical framing as the LSR.

 

Regards

 

 

[EJ_L]

Michael, after looking at the model and the picture, I'm not completely sure what is going on and what is correct or incorrect! The shape of the hull on this ship at the stern has admittedly been somewhat of a challenge. Her stern is a wonky combination of the narrow sterns found in smaller ships and the wide, flat sterns typical to ships of this era. To make matters worse, I do not have any clear pictures of the stern on the plan sheets. I do have lots of pictures of paintings and "fictionalized" images or guess work but those focus more on the decorative elements and less on the hull shape itself.

 

As to the break you are referring to, I am guessing it is a combination of bad fairing, a miscalculation of the bend of the planks when planking and false imaging in the picture. I know I make mistakes so I will not rule that out and this area was tough to fair due to the extreme curve in the framing but it does look a lot better in person than it does in the picture. However, I am going to keep looking at it and may re-plank that area if needed. One thing I like about pictures is that it can take something that while in person looks great but when seen in a picture with a different perspective and lighting, can show the bad areas clearer. 

 

I have not had much time to work this week due to the new puppy but I have been getting a lot of research and reading done as that I can do with one hand while playing with the pup with the other. I hope to get in some good build time this weekend and get the planking up a little higher. We shall see what reality allows but that is the plan.

 

P.S. Well done to the Admin team on the upgrade going smoothly. I like the new layout and design in so far as what I have seen. More user friendly when I get on it on my phone too.

[EJ_L]

20 strakes are now completed on the port side and I have to admit I am much happier with the way this side has give compared to the other. Now it is time for another break in planking to go work on La Couronne but up next is where I have to start making some bigger decisions. The next push will take the planking up and over the two false gun decks which by itself is not a big deal however, with the modifications I am wanting to do to attempt to detail the cabins, I need to finish figuring out how to build them.

 

I am also debating on if I will add any planking or other details that could be seen down through the gratings to the lower decks. Also the false deck for the weather deck still needs to be set in place and I would like to plank it over before the sides are up. I need to set the foreward most bulkhead at the bow so I can shape the hull planking to fit that angle and there are many other little details and things that I keep thinking of doing before the planking closes off the interior. 

 

I have a feeling that that there will be lots of hours coming up soon of test fitting and research  more that actual building. On the plus side, this log will start to get a lot more interesting as more than bad planking will soon be shown! 

[EJ_L]

Ugh, the sanding part.... yeah, I'm already looking to see if I can use my electric palm sander to hit the really rough stuff then finish by hand. That is one of those jobs suited for sitting on my back porch with a few adult beverages while I sand and sand and sand and sand and sand.....

 

Thanks for the compliment Zoltan and to all the likes! No matter how many times I see them it always feels good to see that others are enjoying the build with me.

[popeye the sailor]

that's what it's all about E.J.      I'm still amazed with the size of the hull.........makes for quite a planking job.   {I imagine you'll be doing a second planking = double the fun}  

[EJ_L]

Popeye, right now the ship is around 34 inches long and I believe her finished length will be close to 44 inches. This has been the first ship that when I am planking I either have to shift the ship left and right in order to plank both ends or roll my chair back and forth! All of my previous ones I could just angle differently for the ends. Her size is admittedly taking some adjusting and getting used to. It will be nice though later for the detail work. I keep thinking that many ships are built in 1:48 scale. My S.R. is 1:77 which is already quite big. In order to build a 1:48 scale version of her, she would about 59.5 inches long or just short of 5 feet! I am 5-11 so I would be only about 1 foot taller than the model if we were laid side by side. Now that is a crazy thought that now I actually kind of want to try out...  

 

Yes, she will be double planked as well. The nice thing with that is while yes, I do have to plank this large hull twice, the second time is usually much simpler as the hull shape is made and I just have to keep the planking in alignment. Still, lots of work and lots of hours. I rather enjoy it though so no problem there.

[ca.shipwright]

Ahhhh.

The never ending planking story. I built the Model Shipways Constitution in 1:76 scale. The planks were 1/8th in wide. I thought I would never finish. If I remember correctly there were about 150 planks needed. Thankfully there were some sub-assemblies that I could work on for a diversion.

 

Your SLR is looking good. Drive on!!!!!!!!

 

Regards

[EJ_L]

The planking continues to go on and on and on but, it is growing as the port side has now reached the lower gun deck. This is a good place to be as at least on that side there are no longer any crazy curves to deal with.

 

The real story of this weekend though is that I have started to build the interior of the great cabin! In order to run the LEDs before the hull is closed up I had to know where they needed to be and in order to figure that out I had to have cabins to put them in. Also, it is far easier to build the cabins now while the hull is open and I actually have room to work. I had though about just leaving the stern off and working the inside from there and while some final details and touch ups may need to take that route, the floors, bulkheads, and many of the other details I want to add can go in now.

 

Thankfully S.R. has a lot of windows on her stern to allow people to see inside her and combined with the lights, I have hope that all this work will not be completely wasted. If I'm wrong then at least these pictures provide proof that I am in fact partially insane.

[Steve 12345]

Hi EJ i like the idea of planking upwards and the finish line growing easier rather than harder I think I will adopt this on my next build 

[popeye the sailor]

there are quite a few folks,  who will plank from the keel up.   I tried it and found it hard to hold the straight line.    deck and aft quarters is looking real nice E.J.

[donrobinson]

Looking good E.J., she certainly is a big one

[EJ_L]

I have always planked from the keel up on the lower hull. The upper hull I usually do first from the lowest wale up. (See my La Couronne build log) On S.R. I had to do it a little different though due to the extensive modifications to the cabins. With needing access to the interior to run wiring and to install the bulkheads and furniture, I had to hold off on the planking. While I do see the advantage of starting from the top down in that you can hide screw ups on the bottom of the ship, if your layout is drawn in properly and you take your time, either way works fine. I do think that if I was trying to do the planking in a single layer I would go from the top down.

 

Thanks for the compliments Popeye! Hopefully they will only look better as they go! The best part of modeling the interior is no one really knows what it looked like. There are a few sketches of the interior dimensions and layout but as far as decorations and the actual furniture I have not yet found anything. So here I can definitely take creative liberties and design the spaces as I think they possibly could have looked.

[Ulises Victoria]

30 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

there are quite a few folks,  who will plank from the keel up.   I tried it and found it hard to hold the straight line.    deck and aft quarters is looking real nice E.J.

A possible solution may be, plank some going down from deck line, and then some from keel up, and meet at the middle?

 

[popeye the sailor]

I've done that as well......and it works particularly well with the second planking.   it melds the plank well at the turn.

 

I hope you make provision in regards to visibility........you don't want to go all out,  only to close it up,  never to be seen  

[EJ_L]

I have not tried the meet in the middle approach but it might be something worth trying.

 

As for being able to see inside the cabins, S.R. has large rows of windows on her stern that will allow people to look inside. Combined with the LED lights that I will be placing inside you should be able to see most of the details fairly well. The real challenge to see inside will come when/if I decide to case her when she is done. Being able to get up close and look will make things easier but if you are several inches away due to the case, I do not yet know how well you will be able to see the interior. I will play around with this as the build progresses and for the next couple of years this will not really be an issue!

[md1400cs]

EJ,

For some reason I had forgotten, or missed that you will add LED's. That is an area that certainly requires much forethought. Any "leaking" lights would be unfortunate indeed once you could not go backwards. Great idea. The other builders whom I have seen here adding lights seem to be very successful indeed. Adds a huge extra dimension to a ship. Good luck (:-)

 

PS: your SR is looking quite good so far....

 

Cheers,

[EJ_L]

Light bleed through is another reason why I am building the interior walls before planking the hull. Once the walls are in place, I plan on sealing off any and all cracks/gaps in the wood work and then I will paint the backside that will be in between the planking layers black. That is what I do on model buildings for my railroad that have lights and it seems to work great. Last thing I want is to turn on the lights and have a glowing ship!

[EJ_L]

I got a lot done tonight and the great cabin takes on more life! Exterior bulkheads are up, doorways to the quarter galleys cut in and built a couple of bench/storage lockers. Next up I am going to try to build a table and a couple of benches and then I will be ready to run the wires to the lights. I plan on trying to design a couple of small hanging lanterns for the lights to go in. I bought flickering LEDs in hope to simulate candle lighting. We shall see. 

[Sjors]

I'm sorry E.J that I'm late for this build.

The give me the wrong direction....

And the popcorn machine is heavy!

If you don't mind I wil put him down....

There is a nice seat in de back, I will sit there and watching....

 

You are on the right track, that's what I can see.

The only thing is that curve at the stern.

Looks like a swan ???

 

 

Sjors

 

[EJ_L]

Welcome Sjors, good to have you with us and don't worry, you are not too late as this is a slow moving build. Glad you brought that popcorn machine with you, I think people are starting to get hungry.

 

The curves at the stern of S.R. have been much more interesting to build than I was expecting. The hull goes from a nice smooth gentle curve quickly into a rather extreme narrow curve on the last two frames. This has caused some interesting challenges and shapes in my planking. The more I complete the more I believe that once done, everything will look alright but till then?.... 

[EJ_L]

Great Cabin interior is complete! Built the tables and benches this morning and after finding some airline tube for an aquarium while out buying toys and treats for the puppy I managed to finish up the lantern this evening. While it is a little oversized for the scale, I am rather happy with it as I am working in only about an inch of space!

 

 

In this picture I am holding the stern windows in place. This was the template that came with the kit however, this is not the configuration I will be using. I will modify this to have a 6 window layout with two of those spaces acting as doorways to the balcony. I just wanted to see how much visibility I would have of the interior when it is closed in. I think with the light in there I will be able to see plenty.

 

By the way, the light does flicker to simulate a flame and not just a steady light.

 

Next I am moving upward to the Admiral's Cabin. To do this I need to install the false main deck which covers the entire length of the ship. So before that happens I need to blacken in spaces below gratings or plank them, (yet to be decided), and also install a conduit through all the false decks for the wiring to come out the bottom. This is kind of a crucial step in that once I start planking in this cabin, I do not want to take off this deck again so I need to make sure there is nothing else that needs to be below it. More to follow soon though I may use this as a stopping point to go back and do some more rigging on La Couronne. I will see how quickly the plans for the next steps take shape in my mind.

 

[donrobinson]

That light looks real sweet, nice work E.J.

[Hubac's Historian]

I love the light EJ - the cabin looks great!  I'm glad that you have decided to re-create the six window configuration of Berain's stern.  Doing so, however, will mean that you will need to re-scale and re-create all of the window framing and ornament from scratch.  I was curious to know how you were going about mapping out a new layout and also what your plans were for reconciling the ornamentation.

[md1400cs]

Lights look great. Yup the post from Hubac'sHistorian is certainly intriguing.

 

So two ships at a time - Model railroad (with lights) other hobby, dog, occasional libation, ice storms, an Admiral, work,  you certainly have a busy life

 

xo

 

Cheers,

[EJ_L]

The window framing, hatching and casework I will make out of wood piece by piece. Slow, meticulous and a pain in the rear but that is simply model building. As for all the decorative pieces in between the windows, I do not know. The ones provided were cast in metal and as with most kit fittings, they are not the greatest so even my modest carving abilities should be able to produce something at least on par with what I had. I am considering making molds to cast my own resin pieces but with the scale being what it is, I do not think I could really make a mold that would hold good detail. Unless a better idea comes to me, I plan on just carving my own pieces to the best I can.

 

Haha! Yeah Michael you are right I do stay fairly busy. I enjoy way to many things that there is just simply not enough time for all of them! It is a blessing and a curse as I get to enjoy many things and am rarely bored but I have to prioritize and let go of many areas of interest for the sake of sanity! These last two years have really allowed me a lot of free time for models with the Admiral in graduate school and a clinical internship so I am left to fend for myself a lot. Also a few things like the train are on hold till I finish setting up the new room for it. I am reaching the limits though of what I have time and energy for so I am starting to pick just a few of my favorite hobbies and concentrate more on them. Being a jack of all trades is fun but I think I have reached a stage in my life where it is time to start mastering a couple. 

 

The puppy is starting to take care of herself though I wish the potty training would hurry up! Those occasional libations just make everything a little less stressing. Speaking of, I think it may be time to pour a glass and settle in to see what the next stage will be.