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

[EJ_L]

Back to work on S.R. this weekend and I have started to build the Admiral's Cabin. Obviously this one will be fancier than the Great Cabin and therefore a lot more wood work will be installed. I am hoping to build in some actual furniture such as tables, chairs, a bed and possibly some cabinets. There will of course be another LED lantern to illuminate the interior so all this fancy work doesn't go to waste.

 

Surprisingly, I have found myself really enjoying building these interiors. a large part of that is I think due to the freestyle nature of it. Other than the layout of the bulkheads, there is not much to tell me what kinds of decorations or furnishings would have been in her or where. So, as long as I can keep things looking like they would belong in the early 17th century and are things that would be found on a ship, I can pretty much let my imagination run free. After spending so many hours checking, double checking and repeating those checks again and again while rigging Couronne, this freedom of building is rather refreshing.

 

More to come as I have just gotten started so enjoy the update and I will have more in the near future!

 

[Eddie]

Hey howya goin E.J. mate, wow you are realy putting alot of work on this one can't wait to see more.

[EJ_L]

Thanks Eddie and welcome to the build. Good to have you along for the journey. 

 

I have done done a little more work on the cabin today but I have not taken any new pictures yet. Might have an update tomorrow evening depending how the day goes. The Admiral and I are out enjoying the band Blues Traveler in concert tonight so no new work. 😀

[EJ_L]

Few more walls and some furniture are now in place and the Admiral's cabin is starting to look like something. Still have several things that need to go in before I close this cabin off. Table and chairs, and some structural components and doors leading into the forward compartments. Also the lantern for lighting or all of this is pointless!! More updates soon!

[popeye the sailor]

looks 'move in' ready!!!      looks great.......nice 'n tidy.  are you going to lay a carpet?

[EJ_L]

Thanks! I don't think I am going to lay carpet but, I was considering a rug...

 

So more progress tonight. Support columns dividing the sleeping area from the main space have been installed. Doors are also in place closing off the forward cabins. Little by little she is coming together. Next up I have started to build the table and then the chairs which are still under design. I think I am going to have a lot of good build time this weekend and if so then we may just see this cabin finished out.

[popeye the sailor]

carpet.....rug......OK,  apples and oranges     looking better and better.......I recall the old Ambroid company.......they produced HO train kits {I have one}.  you could also purchase scribed wood molding and such as well.   it's gone now,  becoming northeastern scale lumber.   I did hear that the Ambroid co.  move to Canada.

 

very nice work.........  

[CDW]

EJ_L

Just visiting your build thread for the 1st time. Looking at all the progress photos, she looks great! I really appreciate the way your planking is coming along. Neat, clean, and professional. Excellent work, Sir!

 

CDW

[EJ_L]

CDW, thank you and welcome! Plenty more to see so pull up a chair and get comfortable as this will be a long build!

 

That would save some work being able to purchase scribed wood molding but, I don't mind making my own as much with those new scrappers I recently bought. They work great though on harder woods they do take some time. When I go to build my new train layout I may have to look that company up though and see what all they offer if they have resumed business in Canada.

[S.Coleman]

Looking awsome. Nice and tidy work. Are you installing lighting throughout?

[EJ_L]

Thanks Scott! Not throughout the whole ship but all the cabins and the stern lanterns. If the lower gun decks were detailed out and not just dummy decks I would probably do the whole ship but outside of the cabins, everything else can be fairly easily seen.

 

Now for the update: Admiral's cabin is complete! Spent almost the entire day minus a few breaks for food, drink, bathroom and puppy play time but still logged in 8 solid hours of building furniture and finishing the cabin today. The Captain's cabin is next but before that one gets built I think I will spend some time back on La Couronne. However, before that I think I need to give the eyes, fingers and brain a break from tiny detail work so I am thinking that it is time to run more planking. I have a lot of deck planking I can get started on as well as raising the hull planking up at least on one side. The other still needs to remain down till I can finish running all the wiring down through the hull. Plus, the table is in a nice messy state that is perfect for cutting wood and not so much for rigging so may as well keep on with the same type of mess!

 

As always thanks for looking in and for the likes and comments. More will be on the way!

[Sjors]

Hi EJ,

 

I see a nice table with romantic light above it.

Can i make a reservation for two? 😁

Just kidding, looks just great!

 

 Sjors 

[EJ_L]

When in those foreign ports I'm sure the Admiral did some private entertaining.....

[Telp]

Just spotted this build E.J, looking glorious indeed so I think I shall pull up a plank to sit on and watch if I may. Would love to know how you wire up lights ect as its something I'd like to attempt but I don't have the technical know how.

 

regards

 

Terry

[EJ_L]

I've been planking the hull some more on the port side and started to lay out the gun ports. I have quickly noticed that they are not lining up with the dummy blocks that were installed before hand. Not a big deal to move or install new ones but a little annoying. The more frustrating part is that some of the ports are intersecting the frames. So I had to do some shuffling of the ports and I think I now have a pattern that will work. We shall see... 

 

While laying out the port holes I got to wondering if S.R. had an actual entryway? As most 1st rates did and being as tall as she is I cannot imagine there not being one however, there is no detail showing an entry. I have no problem scratch building one as that is what I did for La Couronne but I thought I would ask if anyone knew the answer or had seen a model or drawing showing an entry. 

 

And now on tot he picture! 

[popeye the sailor]

I haven't had the pleasure of building a ship of this size.......I always wondered what would be done with the gun port spacing.   not sure about a hull entry.......as with anyone who has built the Vic,  it might depend at what time your modeling.   wish I could help.

[EJ_L]

I ran into similar alignment problems on La Couronne and I have seen many other builds of these 1st rates that have alignment issues also. I think the main problems come from how the framing actually works on the model. The ports are laid out on the drawings as though the framing was built realistically. The model however uses false framing in the form of bulkheads. With actual framing, the ports can be inserted anywhere as the frame members can be cut and framed out to accommodate this. With the bulkheads, that solid panel of wood makes those modifications much harder.

 

What I have done in the past and intend to do on S.R. is that on the false decks I can adjust the layout enough to get the ports off the bulkhead frames and that will be fine. The upper decks that get finished I cut away all the excess false bulkheads to simulate actual framing. This to me not only makes the finished model look better but it allows for the gun ports to be installed where they are supposed to be and for the guns to have their rigging installed without having a large wood panel in the way. For an example, l look at how I cut away the excess false bulkhead wood to allow for the cabin build outs. I just trim away the bulkheads until a proper frame thickness is left that can be planked over properly.

[popeye the sailor]

Exactly!        there are a few kits out there,  that are slotted and have backings for the dummy guns.   one of these days,  perhaps I will have a chance to enjoy such demented pleasure  

[Ulises Victoria]

Heller's 1/100 Soleil Royal (plastic) has no entryways either.

Not sure how accurate this kit may be.

 

 

[EJ_L]

Well after more consideration I am leaning towards not building an entry way. While I have a feeling one was probably added at a later refit, there was a good chance she didn't have it at the start. I have read that that was a common practice and that the entry ways were usually added if the ship was going to be designated for an admiral's flag ship or if they were expecting the King to be on board. This was not always know during initial construction and was a common item to be added in later during refitting. I cannot say for certain if this is the case for S.R. but, it is currently my line of thought. The other deciding factor is that the entry way would have been located on the upper gun deck which on this model is a false deck. Not that I could not make something work but unless I am shown or told something to convince me otherwise the crew is just going to have to climb all the way to the top. 

 

So now on to new work! I have been busy so far this week as I decided to do some "easy" work and rest the brain, eyes and fingers before diving back into rigging la Couronne. Therefore I have installed the planking on the port side up to the main deck. Starboard side has to remain open until the wiring is complete. This has allowed me to finish laying out the first 28 gun ports as I showed in my earlier post. I think I found a layout that will work the length of the hull though I may need to adjust some of the dummy blocks for the canons when I cut open the holes.

 

I also installed the forward bulkhead and have test fitted the sub deck at the bow.

 

Next up I decided to start work on the main deck. Framed out the cargo hatches and built the gratings. Then I started planking. I also have begun cutting out the excess false bulkhead pieces and I will replace them with supports that more closely represent actual framing. You can see behind the aft cargo hatch where center supports have been removed as well as forward of the main hatch. Lots more to go so enjoy till the next update!

[Elijah]

Wow! That interior looks great! Looking very good, EJ.

[EJ_L]

Thank you very much Elijah! 

[EJ_L]

Building continues but I hit a major speed bump in the gun port layouts. I finished the main deck planking on the port side and decided to raise up the hull planking some more while I had that side of the ship facing me. Once up high enough I started to lay out the gun ports for that deck and quickly noted that something was off on the layout. So I quickly built one of the gun carriages and mounted a barrel on it then set it in place and uh oh! 

 

Obviously this was not going to work. After remeasuring everything on both the model and the drawings plus checking to make sure I didn't install something backwards, upside down or for another ship, I have come to the conclusion that the drawings simply do not match the precut locates for the gun ports on the false decks. So in order to keep the correct layout, I now had to shift all the ports up in addition to the horizontal rearrangement already done. Then start from the main deck and work down to get the spacing right between decks.

As you can see, it was not a minor adjustment. Truthfully this was something I was concerned with when I first started to build the cabins and modify the interiors. I noticed a lot of alignment issues then and wondered if they would extend out across the ship. Well they did. I'm glad I decided to go ahead and run the hull planking and start the port layouts as it is fairly easy to fix and adjust whatever needs to be in order to make this work.

 

So now back on track and moving forward again. Got the gun ports located properly and cut out on the main deck and upper gun deck. Still have to do the lower gun deck and once that is done I need to adjust several of the dummy blocks for the gun barrels as a lot of the locates with the kit do not work. That will have to wait for a while as I am stopping to go work on La Couronne. Here she is as of tonight. Starting to have the shape of a ship of the line now. 

[BLACK VIKING]

Wow well done on finding that out before you cut out all the gunports as that would have been a nightmare:-( . Looking forward to seeing your next update. 

 

BV

[Sjors]

Drilling and sanding and drilling and sanding and drilling and sanding......

Assembly line work 

 

Nice !

 

Sjors

[Hubac's Historian]

Wow - that's frustrating how un-reliable the kit plans are.  Good catch!

[md1400cs]

E.J

 

Nice catch indeed. 

[EJ_L]

The saying is to measure twice and cut once but sometimes it is more along the lines of measure 3 times, look at it another way, measure again, walk away for a while to clear your head, measure again from a different angle, have a drink to cloud you head and get another perspective, measure again and finally find the mistake then redo the whole thing and finally cut and hope it is right! 

 

Ive actually seen this issue of the gun ports not lining up correctly on several builds especially of these larger first rates. I'm thinking that the problems are partially coming from translating the locations from 2D drawings onto a 3D object and also not having a solid reference point to start from. 

 

Plus side is the starboard side will be easier as I now know what to do to make the layout work. 

[EJ_L]

S.R.'s shipyard has been back in production this week and the main deck has been planked. Very little of this deck is visible once the forecastle and quarter decks go on. Mostly just the area around the large cargo hatches will be easily seen. I needed to get this deck planked though so I can continue upward with the framing so I can continue planking the hull. The framing needs to be in so I can place the upper decks (temporarily for now) so I can make sure my elevations are correct and where to terminate the hull planking as it does not run the full length of the ship the higher it goes.

 

I have also started to clean up the port side gun ports and set the frames in them. This doesn't have to be done right now but I was just looking for something simple to start working on last night.

 

I will be starting the last Captain's cabin build out soon as well. When that one is done, I will be able to finish up the wiring for the lights and close up the starboard side. Then the fun job of smoothing the hull can begin...

[popeye the sailor]

looks good E.J.      don't envy you on the sanding though........that's a lot of ship to cover.  deck looks great too