Soleil Royal by Impulsius - DeAgostini - Scale 1:70

[Impulsius]

I have since I was a child been interested in models. The interest first emerge when I at 12 years of age visited the Wasa museum in Stockholm and laid eyes on their 1/10 model of the ship. Since then I have but some plastic models under my belt but I have a very limited experience with wooden models. I tried to build the Gothenburg from Billing Boats but quickly realized that the instructions provided was not enough for someone with my limited experience and the build was soon abandoned.

 

A couple of month ago I stumble across DeAgostini and their monthly subscription models. Their models come with very detailed instructions and some of the models even with videos. I decided to give wooden models a new chance and subscribed to the flagship of Louis XIV (the sun king and builder of Versailles), the Soleil Royal.

 

I decided to wait until I had received two monthly packs before I begun building and now they are both finally here.

Let’s get on building. Since I’m a beginner all advice and feedback is appreciated. I apologize if my English is not the best, it’s not my first language.

 

Morgan

Edited September 17, 2017 by Impulsius

[BLACK VIKING]

Hi Impulsius glad to have another Soleil builder l am also building this model so am looking forward to your build if you need any help there are lots of brilliant builders on this site to help 

 

Martyn 

Edited September 17, 2017 by BLACK VIKING

[Impulsius]

Great to hear from you Martyn! I’ve been watching your blog and must say that you’re doing an exceptional build. Since I’m a beginner I don’t plan to make many modifications to the build but I guess I’m going to add some details.

 

A question regarding the deck planking. I don’t really like the pattern in the instructions and been thinking about doing a pattern of three instead. I believe you did the same. Have you done any research regarding the planking beforehand? I have been trying to find information regarding, but I haven’t found any.

 

Morgan

[BLACK VIKING]

The deck planking in the instructions are very simplified for beginners to follow. The three shift pattern are quite common on ships of the period along with the five shift but it looks a bit over the top at this scale so went with the three shift. Hope this helps.

Martyn

[Impulsius]

Some building has taken place and the ship is slowly starting to form. I decided to not follow the instructions regarding the assemble order, but to build the ship from the ground up. If anyone is interested in looking at the instructions you can find them all as pdf:s at:
http://www.model-space.com/gb/build-the-soleil-royal.html and then choose the “Build” tab.

 

I begun to gluing the three pieces of the false kneel together, and to leave them to completely dry over night.

 

 

While then glue was setting I built my own homemade building slip. Nothing fancy, just a board with some L-irons??. I actually have no idea what they are called in English .

 

I have started to glue to bulkheads to the false kneel.

Until next time.

 

/Morgan

[AntonyUK]

Hello Morgan.

Welcome to MSW.

You chose a very nice ship as your first wooden build.

Nice to see you making sure EVERYTHING is square. So important and is often overlooked by first time builders.

Yes it's a good idea to stick to the instructions on your first build.

If your not sure on something... Please Ask  Black viking as he is also building this beauty and a little in frount of you.

Will follow along on this build as it is a interesting to me.

 

Regards Antony.

[Impulsius]

Hi Anthony!

 

Thanks for the welcome  The possibility to ask more experienced builders and to get feedback on my own build is the main reasons for me to post this log.

 

/Morgan

 

[Impulsius]

The weekend has been spent gluing all the bulkheads to the false kneel, at least those that I have at this stage. There is going to be two more arriving with the next shipment (number 3) but those are just going to support the topmost deck so I can do at lot of building before I really need them.

 

Sadly I forgot to take pictures while I was gluing the bulkheads and the support deck. But here are some after I was done.

The first time I glued the support deck I didn’t pay enough attention and the fit were a bit bad so I decided to redo it. To loosen the glue a bit I used white vinegar at the joints and it worked surprisingly good. Sadly, as you can see on the images, I did some damage to the deck. You’re barely going to be able to see the deck on the finished model but despise that I decided to paint the deck black to hide the damage.

 

Until next time.

 

/Morgan

[BLACK VIKING]

Looking good Morgan I certainly wouldn't worry about the lower deck as it won't be seen. Looking forward to seeing your next update 

 

Martyn

[Impulsius]

Some progress since last week. I’ve spent all my time working on the main deck. I decided to stray a bit from the instructions and glue all the deck pieces to the frames before I begun with the deck planking. This way I could use needles to make sure the deck stayed in place while the glue was setting.

 

I have begun with planking the deck and as I mentioned before in this log, I’m going to use three shift pattern instead of the “pattern” suggested in the instructions. See the picture below.

I have come some way towards finishing the main deck but I’m a little worried that the planking material provided is not going to be enough since some of the strips I received where of bad quality but hopefully the none damaged will be enough to finish the model.

Until next time.

 

/Morgan

Edited October 3, 2017 by Impulsius

[AntonyUK]

Hi Morgan.

Nice progress with the build.

Shame on DeAgostini for supplying such rubbish.

I would contact them by email with the photographs of the affected timber.

They are slow to respond but will send you replacements.

 

Regards Antony.

[BLACK VIKING]

Hi Morgan luckily Deag supply more than you need to complete the decks but I would definitely flag this up to customer services as this is unacceptable 

Very nicely done on the planking certainly better than the instructions 

Looking forward to seeing your next update 

 

Martyn

[Impulsius]

Thanks for the feedback Antony and Martyn. Didn’t really think about contacting them, thought that a little damaged material was to be expected but now I understand that this is not the case. I’m going to send them a mail.

 

Morgan

[Impulsius]

It has been a busy week at work and I haven’t had too much time left for building but at least I have finished the planking of the main deck and to apply varnish to the surface.

 

I think it all turned out pretty good. Perhaps I made the nail heads a bit to big but it’s a bit too late to change it now.

 

Deck with and without varnish.

I ended up doing three layers of varnish just to get the right finish. 

 

Until next time.

 

Morgan

[BLACK VIKING]

Superb work on the main deck she is coming together very nicely ,well done my friend 

 

Martyn

[Impulsius]

Hi!

Sorry for the long absence, it has been a lot at work these last couple of weeks and when I have had some time left I have been building

I have been working on a lot of different areas of the ship so it has been a bit difficult to take pictures.

 

Glued the beams supporting the next level of decks as well as the first piece of the bow

Planked the "walls" for each of the decks.

Glued the first two "walls" in place. I also decided to glue the doors to the walls since I think it's going to be hard to do it later when I have added the next level of decks.

Next I added the next level of deck and started the planking process.

I also applied some planks to the piece in the bow.

And glued some other pieces into place at the bow. You can never use to many clamps right ?

That’s all for now.

Cheers

Morgan

[AntonyUK]

Hi Morgan.

Looking good so far.. 

That ship is quite some size looking at the photos.  You can walk from one end to the other.

 

Regards Antony.

[Impulsius]

Hi Antony!

Yes, she really is large. Don’t really have a plan for what to do with her when she is finished

/Morgan

[Impulsius]

Hello everybody!

I made some progress during the weekend and soon all the decks are finished. I’m starting to get a little tired of deck planking at this moment but guess I’m going to miss it when I’m planking the hull.

 

I finished the bow for now (except for one piece who I added soon after taking the pict ure) and also finished planning the deck behind the bow.

'

Added some pieces who is going to hold the stern piece.

Finished planking the first “stern deck”, not really good at ship terms yet and also added and finished the deck above the first.

 

While I was planking the decks I also started to make some of the deck grating.

 

That’s all for now take care and see you soon.

/Morgan

 

[EJ_L]

Hi Morgan! I'm a little late but you have not gotten too far ahead yet. Off to a great start on your build! I too am building Soliel Royal but not by DeAgostini. Always fun and educational to see the many variations of similar models that get built. Even when you are just starting out and following the instructions, every builder is unique and therefore every model is as well. Plus you never know who may give you that inspiration for something you have never thought of doing. Plus you are lucky to have Martyn building just ahead of you on his model. It is turning out to be a beautiful build and you will have some great guidance to help you on yours.  

 

Good luck and I'm looking forward to an enjoyable build!

[BLACK VIKING]

She is really coming together well Morgan very nice work. Looking forward to your next update 

Martyn

[CédricL]

Good evening Morgan,

 

Well, another SR...at least, you'll have the chance that this ship is so popular

Just one point about your decks: all the planks must be nailed on the beams, as you figured only their extremities you should also mark the other ones in order to gain a more real appearance.

 

Good luck with your build.

Regards.

 

Cédric

[AntonyUK]

Hi Morgan.

Nice progress with the build.

Adding the treeenails as Cedric suggests would make the deck look so much more better. BUT it is a lot of extra work.

Sometimes when there is so much deck furniture you cannot notice lack of treenails. 

 

Regards Antony.

[Impulsius]

Hi E.J and Cédric! Welcome to the log. It’s always fun to get more feedback and advice. I have seen your build E.J and you’re doing a supreme work on your model. It’s interesting to see how different manufactures create different models of the same ship.

I have been reading up on treenails and I guess you mean that I should do something like this Cédric?

When I think about it, it makes total sense to mark the rest of the nails. I saw that some people make their treenails in actual wood (toothpicks or similar) but if I decided to mark them I’m just going to use a pencil. Too create them from wood is going to take too much of an effort Thanks for the feedback.

I have been on the road for most of this week but hopefully I will have time to do some building during the weekend. Until then, take care.

/Morgan

[greyhawk]

Hey Morgan. 

 

Building this one myself, I'm up somewhere in building phase 95 or so right now.

 

One thing you might consider about the treenails is "how many of them are even going to be visible?", "Who is going to notice?" and "Would they even be visible in this scale?" When the kit is done, there is a lot of stuff going on on the decks and above to distract from the planking.

There is a trend in model ship building right now to strongly mark the heck out of deck planking, but if one looks at photographs of decks or is on an actual deck, these things are actually tiny and barely visible. I myself have barely touched the deck planks up and still think they come over too strong compared to real life decks.

[BLACK VIKING]

I must admit that to do all the tree nailing might be a bit overkill on this scale as like Greyhawk said they are practically invisible. Being a bit sad I have measured the ones on the Victory and they are only 30mm across so at this scale they would be minute.

 

Martyn

[Impulsius]

Hi everybody!

 

First, sorry for the long absents. I haven’t given up on the build, far from it but a lot has happened in my life and frankly, I have been too lazy to update the log.

Thanks a lot for all the feedback regarding the nails. It’s a bit too late for this build but I’m going to keep it in mind in future builds When you’re a newbie you mostly follow the instructions and don’t think much about the finer details.

 

I have done a lot of progress since last time. I have tried to take pictures along the way but sadly, I sometimes got too caught up in the building and forgot about it.

 

Anyhow, here comes what I been up to since my last update:

 

I finish planking the different decks and since I already marked the nails on the other deck, I did the same on the last ones. Better keep it consistent.

 

After this it was time to prepare the bulkheads for the planking. I must say that this stage isn’t the funniest thing to do. But I understand its importance for the finished model, so I tried to do it as carefully as possible. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures of it, I was too excited to start with the hull

 

The kit has pre-cut sides, so I don’t have to worry about marking the gun ports. I “just” must make sure the sides are positioned correctly. As you can see, I had some gaps between the side panels but thankfully there is two more layer of planks that’s going to cover them up nicely. I don’t know that you think about pre-cut sides verses marking and cutting the gun ports yourselves but for me as a beginner it felt really nice to not have to worry about it.  

In the instructions they tell you to nail every board to the bulkheads and even provide you with the nails as well as a nail pusher. Since this is a double planked model, I decided to follow the instructions and found that it made the planking much easier. No need to mess with any needles or claps (for the most part). The only con that I experienced was that the sanding became a little harder. I had to use a file to remove some to the nailhead to make sure the surface was flush.

Sadly, I didn’t take may pictures of the planking. I just followed the provided instructions who stated, step by step how I should do it. I found this really helpful since this was my first time. I have read about the process but it’s something else to do it yourself.

 

After I finished planking I did a lot of sanding. And then some sanding and after that, some putty and then some more sanding. You can see the finished result below:

 

I think this is going to have to do for this update. I promise to return soon with the rest of my progress.

 

Until then, take care.

 

/Morgan

Edited August 13, 2019 by Impulsius

[BLACK VIKING]

Hi Mogan very nicely done on the planking. One tip for next time is don't put the nails in all the way so after the glue has dried you can pull them out . Looking forward to the next update.

Martyn

[EJ_L]

Nice planking work. Good to see you still at her. We understand about life taking priority over modeling. No worries on update delays, we will be here waiting.

[RickyGene]

Hello Morgan, I have really enjoyed your build thread and look forward to more.  For some time I have look @ De Agostini and have steered clear of.

You know the saying, ignorance is bless!  But after reading many threads of De Agostini ship builds here on the site.  I had to give one the go.  So many evenings looking, trying to decide which one, they made the decision easy for me.  I ended up pulling the trigger on their HMS Sovereign of the Seas.  They were offering a summer sale,  1USD got the 1st pk w/Stage 1 to 11.  Then I got a 25% off the rest of the next 11 months subscription.

Needless to say, this would be the most difficult project I have even thought about trying.  But witnessing your build has give me the nerve to tackle.

I am currently working on the HMS Terror, have received the 1st pack and will not start until I complete the current build.  I figure I should have at least 6 packs by then, maybe?  Anyhow, I will be following your work.

Rick