Soleil Royal by Impulsius - DeAgostini - Scale 1:70

[Impulsius]

It’s nice to see that some people still follow my log. Thanks for the advice Martyn. I’m going to try that on my next model double planked model.

 

Welcome to the log Rick! It sound like you got yourself a great offer on the SotS. It looks like a fun build and the ship itself is amazing. I don’t think you need to worry about its complexity. The instructions DeAgostini provides are great and as long as you follow them and take your time I’m sure you’re going to end up with an amazing model. Just one advice, by the whole I pleased with DeAgostini but I had parts missing from a couple of shipments. Modelspace sent me the stages with the missing parts when I contacted them but I advise you to make sure that each stage contains all its parts before you start your build. This way you don’t have to look for missing parts (that you never received). I think, I had 4 packs when I began my build and I never came close to catching up. So I think 6 packs are more than enough.

 

Take care.

 

/Morgan

[Impulsius]

Hi everybody!

 

Here comes my next progress update. I'm getting closer and closer to the point where I’m today.

 

I started the second planking at the stern and at the bow. I then continued with the rest of the ship. I didn’t focus on making sure the joints where in the “correct” place. Perhaps some of you think this is or some importance but for me the result was good enough.

 

 

When I had finished planking it was once again time for ..... drumroll .... sanding I decided to try on some varnish to see the finished result. That’s why the bottom of the ship is a bit darker than the rest. I also added the keel. The keel was made of a darker wood but I still choose to give it a coat of dark brown stain to make it better match the area I tried varnish on.

 

I was now time to do some work on the decks. I had before added the grating but now I also added the “walkways” besides the gunwales. Both “walkways didn’t turn out the same. The end of one of them is a bit lower than the other side but hopefully it won’t be too noticeable.

 

 

I decided to buy the model stand suppled by Model Space. After some adjustments to fit the shape of the keel. As well as some strain and gold paint on the sign. I really happy with the result (sorry for the bad picture).

 

This will have to do for this time.

 

Take care.

 

/Morgan

[Impulsius]

Hi again!

 

I have been talking about following the instructions and for those of you who don’t all really know it DeAgostini has divided the build into packs (12 in total, one per month for me) and stages (140 in total). Each stage has its own instructions:

As you can see, the instructions are very clear. Since I like to keep track of things and to work in Excel, I decided to create an Excel document where I track my progress. This way, I don’t have to look thought the instructions constantly to find the one I’m looking for.

In their instructions, DeAgostini make the builder jump between working on the ship itself to smaller “side projects”. I guess it’s to keep the build interesting and of course you are sooner or later going to need the stuff you’re building.  Of course, it feels much better to completely finish a stage than to leave it at perhaps 50% so I have been completing some smaller builds along side the ship itself. I think it’s a great way to make the time pass while glue, paint or stain is drying.

 

 

A mix of different parts: A stair, the first of many but I have only built one so far. Some barrels (possibly loaded with some Captain Morgan). Didn’t really do much with the barrels. Some varnish and then I painted the black bands. The two catheads, not much to say about them. Finally, some gun ports. These are going to go just below the gunwale. They where more or less finished when I got them, so I just added some finishing touches and some gold paint.  

 

The four anchors. I must say that I found it really hard to work with the metal for the bands. It just wouldn’t bend the way I wanted it and I had to reglue it a couple of times before I got it right. I also finished the “heads”. Same thing here. The metal bands where a pain in the a**. I actually don’t know that these “heads” where for. I have been doing some research but found nothing. Do you have any ideas?

 

 

I have also built the two ship’s boats. Some of the pieces provide in the kit didn’t fit so I had to make some adjustments. Hopefully it won’t be too noticeable when I’ve added all the other details to the ship. In the future I think I should just make my own pieces if the ones I got wont fit. You learn your lessons along the way

 

 

Finally, I built some of the deck fittings as well as the hatches for the gun ports.

 

I feel like, at this point this post has been long enough. I have built some other things as well but I can’t show everything if I’m ever going to catch up.

 

/Morgan

[Impulsius]

Hi everybody!

 

With this update I finally get to the stage where I am today. The more I study up on modelbuilding and read about different topics on this forum the more I realise all the minor flaws this model has. Even if I still think it’s great, I’m starting to see different areas where I could have had modifications to further improve the end result. For example, I could have replaced visible plywood with “real” wood. This being said, I have decided to just keep building this model according to the instructions. This is my first model and even though it is not going to give me any bragging rights on this site, it’s hopefully going to result in a model I can be proud of.

In my last update I left of after I had sanded the second planking. After this I added some of the boards on the side of the hull. I have been trying to find what they are called but without any luck. Do you guys have any suggestions?

 

 

I kept on adding boards to the hull and the then painted the lower half with varnish. The upper half is going to be painted blue, so no varnish needed here except on the boards who is going to remain unpainted. I also built and added the rudder as well as added the grating in the front.

 

After this point I decided to deviate a bit from the instructions. They wanted me to install the cathead and other deck fittings but knowing that I had to build the stern galleries and paint them and the upper half of the hull I decided to wait. I figured I would have to turn the model around a lot during these stages (it turned out to be true) and that I would break the fittings in the process.

 

 

 

Even though I didn’t want to add too much details before the galleries where finished I decided to finish the railing at the stern of ship. I also added the last boards to the side of the hull and kept on adding the foundations for the stern galleries. I sorry for the bad pictures.

 

 

Perhaps you noticed to on the last pictures, but I made myself a new building support. In the beginning I had a simple building jigg consisting of a board and a couple of L irons. But then I started planking the lower half of the hull I couldn’t longer us it. I had the ship laying just flat on my worksurface for some time but after I had varnished the hull, I notice that the part resting on the surface quickly got scratches. I therefore decided to build a new support. I took some old planks, some L irons, an old T-shirt, a staple gun and here’s the result.

 

 

 

I don’t have any pictures of the next step, the building of the galleries. This was by far the hardest and most annoying part of the build this far. The parts didn’t fully fit, they where hard to keep in places when gluing them and all the time I had to make sure I didn’t damage the rest of the ship. When I finally had “built” the galleries I had so cover up all the flaws and fill some holes in between the joints. I decided to use Plastic Padding for this. Plastic Padding hardens to a really hard surface ones dry and that’s what I was looking for. The bad thing with Plastic Padding is that it hardens really fast (just a couple of minutes) and that it’s not the easiest thing to work with once dry.

 

After much effort and a lot of precision sanding (remember I don’t want to damage the rest of the ship), I was finally satisfied with the result.

 

It has taking a couple of posts but now I have finally caught up to where I am. The next stage is to paint the galleries and the upper half of the hull blue. I’m really curious on how that’s going to look.

 

See you later.

 

/Morgan

 

[EJ_L]

Your build is looking very nice and knowing first hand the size and difficulty of these 1st rate ships, and that this is your first build, I would tell you that you should indeed be very proud of how she is turning out. Do not get too hung up on flaws, either the kits or your own. I've seen master modelers complain about flaws in their own work. Use them as learning points for the next build. How would you do it differently and such.

 

The varnish you have used is beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together with the paint.

[Impulsius]

Thanks for your nice words E.J. Yeah, the model is huge. It’s going to be 102 cm (around 40 inches) when finish. It doesn’t sound like much when you just read about it but in real life, on a table it’s something else.

I promise that I have made a lot of mental notes for future builds. On of them, don’t mix too much Captain Morgan and model building It looks good until you see the result the next day.

 

I have been using Humbrol mat cote for most of the stuff this far. I really like the end results but sadly it’s a bit hard to find in Sweden. I had to order from abroad since all the Swedish web shops where out.

 

I’m busy painting and I really like the result this far. I will share pictures when I’m finished.

 

/Morgan

[EJ_L]

It is a large model indeed. My own is similar in size and now that the masts are going up and I have to work above my head, the full size is really becoming impressive.

[Impulsius]

I have finished painting the upper half of the hull and I’m happy with the results. I just think the paint turn out to be a bit too shiny. I tried to add a coat of mat varnish but it turn out to be too mat. Now I’m finish about getting some satin varnish and try that. Aside from dulling the shin I’m thinking that the varnish will add some protection. That do you guys think? Do you put varnish over your paints?

 

While I’m thinking about the varnish I’m going to do some work on the stern.

 

/Morgan

 

[Impulsius]

Hi everybody!

 

I’m just going to give you a small update. I have been busy at work for the last week but managed to spare a couple of hours.

 

I been trying four different varnishes oven the blue paint, but they were either too mate or too shiny. After consulting with the admiral, I decided to skip the varnish.

 

I have also been doing some work on the front (I wrote stern in my last update, but I meant front, for some reason I have troubles the with the names in English). I have also prepared for mounting the railing.

 

Until next time, take care.

 

/Morgan

[Le Capitaine]

Looking good!  I’m right behind you.

 

John

[Impulsius]

Yours also looks good John. I see that you’re following the instructions to a higher degree than me :). Take your time with the upcoming galleries. I had to do some modifications to the parts to make them fit properly but it’s worth the extra time.

 

Since my last update I have mainly been working on the railings at the different parts of the ship. I have also added railings to the decks and most of the stairs between the different decks and between the decks and the side of the ship. When I start to add the different details, the ship is really starting to “come to life”. It no longer just large surfaces, but there is starting to “happen” things as well.

 

 

I’m going to continue working on the railing and adding details.

 

Until next time, take care.

 

/Morgan

[Impulsius]

Hi everyone!

 

I’m just going to give you a small progress update. Since last time I have finished all the railing except the railing for the poop deck. According to the instructions, I should wait with adding them, so for once I’m actually going to follow them 😀

 

I have also started preparing the chainwales. Some sanding, staining and drilling later I’m quite happy with the result.

 

This was all for now. Next stage in my build is to start adding the bling-bling worthily of Louis XIV.

 

Take care.

 

/Morgan

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Impulsius

[Impulsius]

Hi everyone!

 

Since my last update, I have been adding some of the decorative parts to the model. A lot of gold, and lots more to come. I had some problems making the decorations stick to the hull. At first, I used “normal” super glue, but it didn’t work. The decorations easily fell off when touched and the glue discoloured the blue surface of the hull. I therefor decided to try epoxy glue instead. This worked much better but sadly a lot of glue go to waste since I can’t mix small enough patches.

 

That would be all for now. Until next time, take care.

/Morgan

 

[Emmet]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:36 AM, Impulsius said:

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

Where do I buy a pin pusher in the US along with the pins?  I cannot drill small holes in the frames with a pin vise drill.

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, Emmet said:

Where do I buy a pin pusher in the US along with the pins?  I cannot drill small holes in the frames with a pin vise drill.

Google is your friend. They come in various shapes and sizes to match the size range of the pins or nails you want to drive. https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Tools-110XW-Rampin-Pusher/dp/B001C04FYO/ref=sr_1_18?hvadid=77721782242675&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=pin+pusher&qid=1578508113&sr=8-18  https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer  https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer-for-Pins-3-64-Inch-Maximum-Diameter-Heads https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer-for-Nails-with-3-64-3-32-Inch-Heads  https://www.ebay.com/itm/TAJIMA-PUSH-HAMMER-PHA-M-MADE-IN-JAPAN/173860799427?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40719%26meid%3D64817b96a6844da7956597ebd258aca3%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D153532617128%26itm%3D173860799427%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

 

However, if you can't drill small holes in your frames with a pin vise drill, you'll probably not be able to push a pin or nail into a frame with a push hammer without breaking the frame. Appropriately sized holes are generally drilled before the nail or pin is pushed in unless the wood is extremely soft, such as with balsa.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Bob Cleek

[md1400cs]

22 minutes ago, Bob Cleek said:

Appropriately sized holes are generally drilled before the nail or pin is pushed in unless the wood is extremely soft, such as with balsa.

Well said Bob - indeed the best way - this also avoids possibly splitting narrow planks when hammering in nails however small.

 

Emmet - welcome back 

[Emmet]

16 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

Google is your friend. They come in various shapes and sizes to match the size range of the pins or nails you want to drive. https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Tools-110XW-Rampin-Pusher/dp/B001C04FYO/ref=sr_1_18?hvadid=77721782242675&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=pin+pusher&qid=1578508113&sr=8-18  https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer  https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer-for-Pins-3-64-Inch-Maximum-Diameter-Heads https://www.micromark.com/Push-Hammer-for-Nails-with-3-64-3-32-Inch-Heads  https://www.ebay.com/itm/TAJIMA-PUSH-HAMMER-PHA-M-MADE-IN-JAPAN/173860799427?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40719%26meid%3D64817b96a6844da7956597ebd258aca3%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D153532617128%26itm%3D173860799427%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

 

However, if you can't drill small holes in your frames with a pin vise drill, you'll probably not be able to push a pin or nail into a frame with a push hammer without breaking the frame. Appropriately sized holes are generally drilled before the nail or pin is pushed in unless the wood is extremely soft, such as with balsa.

Thanks  I just ordered a collet for Dremel to drill holes. I think the frames are very dry.

[Bob Cleek]

6 hours ago, Emmet said:

Thanks  I just ordered a collet for Dremel to drill holes. I think the frames are very dry.

Within normal ambient humidity levels, the moisture content of the wood shouldn't have much to do with how hard it is to drill. The problem is likely a dull drill bit. You might also try starting the hole with a sharp "pricker," a small sharp nail or pin, as you would with a center punch in larger work, to give the bit something to "bite" when starting out. You may find a Dremel to be over-powered for drilling free-hand with small bits. The small bits will often easily break if there's the slightest wobble when they are running at speed. Good luck with it!

[Emmet]

13 minutes ago, Bob Cleek said:

Within normal ambient humidity levels, the moisture content of the wood shouldn't have much to do with how hard it is to drill. The problem is likely a dull drill bit. You might also try starting the hole with a sharp "pricker," a small sharp nail or pin, as you would with a center punch in larger work, to give the bit something to "bite" when starting out. You may find a Dremel to be over-powered for drilling free-hand with small bits. The small bits will often easily break if there's the slightest wobble when they are running at speed. Good luck with it!

Thanks for the input.  Whew, I did try to penetrate the surface of the wood but it was a nogo. I tried gently hammering a small nail but it was scary.  I realize what you are saying about the Dremel.  I also tried using a small drill with a nail to try to penetrate.  I will let you know what happens when I get the collets that handle small bits. It could be I can break the surface with the dremel and go from there. I used the pin vise drill to make holes in planks and other soft pieces and it worked fine. I will be using the rotary attachment.  It is a shame that the revs are so high at the lowest setting.  I am thinking I will leave only about 3 mm for drilling and try to put a pin in after that. Dremel also has a keyless chuck but the reviews on that were all about wobble.

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, Emmet said:

Thanks for the input.  Whew, I did try to penetrate the surface of the wood but it was a nogo. I tried gently hammering a small nail but it was scary.  I realize what you are saying about the Dremel.  I also tried using a small drill with a nail to try to penetrate.  I will let you know what happens when I get the collets that handle small bits. It could be I can break the surface with the dremel and go from there. I used the pin vise drill to make holes in planks and other soft pieces and it worked fine. I will be using the rotary attachment.  It is a shame that the revs are so high at the lowest setting.  I am thinking I will leave only about 3 mm for drilling and try to put a pin in after that. Dremel also has a keyless chuck but the reviews on that were all about wobble.

The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps the spot where you are trying to drill is an area of particularly dense wood. This can occur adjacent to a knot which may have been cut away, but the 'fringes" of dense wood remain. That said, if it's wood, it ought to be able to be drilled rather easily. It's a mystery at this point why it isn't.

[Emmet]

18 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps the spot where you are trying to drill is an area of particularly dense wood. This can occur adjacent to a knot which may have been cut away, but the 'fringes" of dense wood remain. That said, if it's wood, it ought to be able to be drilled rather easily. It's a mystery at this point why it isn't.

The Dremel rotary does a good job drilling 1 mm holes.  I am still having some problems but I am on the way to solving this situation.  See my website.