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

[EJ_L]

Another update to the hull planking. Started off by doing a little rework at the stern post. Spent some time looking through pictures of museum models and I am happy now with the look. Had to remove a few planks and ended up reworking the garboard strake some and I am glad I did. Too many things were bothering me and I am trying to break those bad habits of ignoring those things that bother me in order to keep moving forward. I've always regretted it so this has been a good opportunity to interrupt that pattern. 

 

More planking has also been completed. I start making my way around the prow this weekend. While still a lot of work to do, the starboard lower hull is nearing completion.

 

Starting a three day weekend tomorrow after work so I am hopeful that I will be able to get a bunch more done on her for the next update.

[BLACK VIKING]

Wow I have only been away for a few days and boy have you made some progress. Superb work on the planking EJ as they say round here lovely jubbly  

 

Martyn

[EJ_L]

Thanks Martyn. Even though it is the largest area to cover, the middle is the easiest to cover as well. The planks only need minimal sanding for widths and tapers on the edges to line line up. At the stern and especially around the prow, much more care has to be taken to ensure that the planks lay down like they should. Glad this step ended up on a long weekend as it will be nice to have the extra uninterrupted time to think things through.

[Hubac's Historian]

Great work correcting the keel/sternpost issue, EJ!  Planking looking really nice!!

[EJ_L]

A few hours into today's building session and the first four planks have reached the stem. 

[ca.shipwright]

E J

I ran up on this while I was perusing the net and thought you might be interested. I was particularly struck by the vibrancy of the French Blue as well as the rest of the ship.

 

http://www.stephensandkenau.com/ship/le-soleil-royal/

 

Regards

[yancovitch]

terrific planking job....don't think i could do that...just haven't the patience

[EJ_L]

Finished the lower hull planking on the starboard side today! Wow that feels good to say that. Better yet but I did it without drops or stealers. Bow, stern and everywhere in between contain 22 strakes from the lowest wale to the keel. Of course now I have to do it again on the other side but I always feel better with the second half after I know my plan has worked on the first. Hopefully have less waste too as I should have fewer do-overs. More to follow!

 

[testazyk]

Congratulations--beautiful work!  I like the way you put scarph joints in the wales too.

[yancovitch]

yum yum!

[Sjors]

Nice!!

 

Sjors

[popeye the sailor]

looks awesome!  very well done!  

[BLACK VIKING]

Superb job of planking and well done on not using any droppers or stealers  looking forward to seeing your next update 

 

Martyn

[EJ_L]

It's been a slow build week. Busy at work, not feeling good and the natural slowness of planking. Still, progress has been made! May be slow on updates the next couple of weeks. The Admiral and I leave on vacation for 12 days on next Thursday and I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then. I'm hoping to get in another update before I go. 

[CDW]

I'm really impressed with the way your Le Soleil Royal is turning out. It's going to be a stunning display when it's done.

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well and hope you snap out of that, soon.

Things have been rather hectic with me the past couple of weeks, particularly with the hurricane approaching, preparing, then dealing with the aftermath of it. As a consequence, I've gotten zero model work done. Right now, don't have a whole lot of incentive to get started back. Think I'll just sleep it off and get back to it when I feel like it. Amazing how a big event like a hurricane can make you rethink your priorities.

[BLACK VIKING]

Superb work EJ and I hope you feel better soon plus have a nice holiday with the Admiral. Looking forward to seeing your next update 

 

Martyn

[md1400cs]

Just catching up - looking nice! Enjoy your holiday,

[Bill Morrison]

You are doing a wonderful job!  My only comment concerns the hole or slot in the knee of the head.  The Heller plastic kit has the same feature, and I have been planning on filling it.  What are your thoughts?

 

Bill

[Tigersteve]

Just skimmed your log here. Nice work! How big is the hull?

Steve

[EJ_L]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments, likes and visiting!

 

Bill, I notice those slots a while back but still long after everything was too late to disassemble. I will probably end up using my dremel to cut them out. Just have to go slow but they should cut out fine. I plan to do that before I do my final sanding and seal the hull in case I mess up the finished wood, I can more easily replace it.

 

Steve, the hull is 33 inches long, 13 inches tall and 8 inches at the widest. When completed it will be around 41 inches long, 30 inches tall and 18 inches wide at the main mast course yard. She is a big model!

[EJ_L]

Made a good final push before vacation starts. Doubt I will have much time over the next couple nights before we leave so I figured I would call it good and post the update.   When I get back it should not take too long to finish up the lower hull planking. Maybe another 20 hours give or take a few. Then I will resume upward planking to top out the ship and start framing and closing up the stern. Lots of fun work ahead!

[donrobinson]

Nice work, enjoy the holiday

[popeye the sailor]

Wow E.J.   the pot side came out great!    the starboard side looks to be off to a good start    have a super holiday my friend.....look forward to seeing the finish when you get back  

[Nek0]

Hi E.J. !

Good work so far, the hull planking is no piece of cake but you did it quite well !!

The next steps will be more fun. I will keep an eye on your work !

[EJ_L]

Thank you very much and welcome to the build! I look forward to having you along on this journey.

[yancovitch]

oh..............just curious.....do you think you can use those flags i sent you for your la couronne?

[EJ_L]

I'm going to give them a try. I have a friend that does silk screen printing and I am going to ask her to try a few samples to see if they might make something usable. The images themselves are great quality just need to see how to transfer them to cloth. 

 

Things to to do when I get home from vacation. 

[yancovitch]

friend just printed them out for me on some silk inkjet printable fabric sheets, and they don't look too bad....very thin....so i'm applying some fray check liquid to see if that works.....will let  you know.....although i'm sure silk screening would be better....and i just discovered that the fray check i am using makes the colors run..............i mailed the company and maybe they can give me some advice here ....guess i'd need a water based one...................we'll see.......cheers....

Edited September 23, 2017 by yancovitch

[popeye the sailor]

if an ink jet printer was used,  water would not be a good idea........the ink is ready soluble with water.  I did some sail embossing using an ink jet printer...what I used is Testor's decal bonder.   it dries rather quickly and will not cause the colors to run.......do it in light coats.   a flat lacquer can also be used as well.  the flag is still positional after it dries. 

[yancovitch]

good info, thanks....but for my situation, i need the flags fluttering in the wind....i'll use these as a temporary solution, and when i get the bucks together, i'll have some proper flags made.........ha...last ones i had made were purchased in usa, and came from turkey

  for e.j.....they  should work well.....and....i've never done planking as well as ej...super!

Edited September 30, 2017 by yancovitch