Reale De France by fmodajr - FINISHED - Corel - Scale 1:60

[fmodajr]

Grandpa Phil,

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions. Appreciated! I will give this a try using the “Imperial Gold” I have.

My goal is to remove the shinyness of the brass. I will post my results soon.

 

Thanks again. This is all new to me!

Frank

[fmodajr]

6 hours ago, md1400cs said:

Frank - that came out superbly!!  Glad that our ideas worked out. Your work on this project is Top Notch - Pleasure to follow along

My next project will need areas to be painted - this will be brand new learning for me - Hmmmm Learning continues.

 

Regards  as always

 

Michael

Thanks for the kind words! Very helpful people in this forum.

So, you have your next project picked out? Is it the Viking model?

 

Frank

[md1400cs]

Frank,

 

It was to be - still might be - but the rumor is that for Father's Day I will be gifted with a Sergal Sovereign of... - When it again becomes available backordered world-wide until Italy comes back to life along with the rest of the planet.  - Hmmm

I just got the new McKay book and, It will be an incredible reference. Either of the two I plan on "bashing" the best that I can. In the meantime following your work, and almost done with my current build so TBD

Regards

[fmodajr]

Starting work on the bow area.

 

I worked on the dry brushing, following the suggestions of grandpa Phil, (thank you!!) and I was able to remove some of the shine from the etchings. It went pretty well, with only a couple of tiny areas of the gold getting on the colored background.

 

 

The first etching attached to the front face

 

The etchings attached to both sides of the bow stem

 

Here is a photo of the completed bow area deck planking (stained, but not sealed yet). After this photo, I will show how I ended up here.

 

I cutout the forms from the plans and glued them to strips of the Eastern White Pine (the same wood I have been using for the other decks). I ground the strips to 1 MM thick.

 

After cutting and shaping each piece, I had to individually glue thin strips of black paper to simulate the caulking.

Center piece ready to attach to deck

I worked from the center towards the edges

 

[fmodajr]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step will be to add the edge trim pieces to the deck sides and begin to add the deck fittings.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Frank

[md1400cs]

Impressive work -- bow planks, caulking both so well scaled. Your plank edge cuts are so great - I need to learn how to do that. I will use 1mm planks and the black paper idea for my next decks. I'll send you a PM when I get there asking about the paper etc.....

Take Care 

 

[fmodajr]

10 hours ago, md1400cs said:

Impressive work -- bow planks, caulking both so well scaled. Your plank edge cuts are so great - I need to learn how to do that. I will use 1mm planks and the black paper idea for my next decks. I'll send you a PM when I get there asking about the paper etc.....

Take Care 

 

Hi Michael,

Thanks for stopping by!

The Corel plan bow patterns were very accurate. So cutting the planks to the patterns had me doing very little tweaking. The hard part was gluing tiny strips of black construction paper to the edges of the different shapes! Glad that section is over!

 

Frank

[fmodajr]

Hello,

I continued on with some more work in the bow area.

 

First I installed the long curved trim piece on each side of the bow planking. It was a pain trying to get the curves right from the tip of the bow all the way back to the cannon face. I was able to soak the wood and then heat it up with a curling iron for help on the bends.

 

 

On both sides of the bow stem, where I installed the photo etch pieces, I had to add 2 strips of 1mm by 1mm wood to continue forward the trim pieces I had added earlier in the build.

 

 

Next was adding the iron bands to the deck and adding the nails. I antiqued the bands and nails, which were supplied in the kit as brass photo etched pieces.

 

 

Small railings are added to each side. First the slots were milled then the pieces were soaked and heated to create a slight curve, in order to follow the curve of the deck

 

 

 

Railings attached to the deck

 

 

A small 1 mm by 2 mm trim strip added to the back edge

 

Followed by 2 knee pieces, cut and painted

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, 2 catheads are made, along with the sheaves,  and added to the deck with metal bands.

 

 

 

 

Now to move on to other parts of the ship model!

 

Thanks for visiting,

Frank

 

[Clark]

Frank,

it is a pleasure to see your progress and the effort you are putting into the details. I noticed that you did not install the cannons yet. This because you wanted to finish the front deck first?

Clark

[fmodajr]

1 hour ago, Clark said:

Frank,

it is a pleasure to see your progress and the effort you are putting into the details. I noticed that you did not install the cannons yet. This because you wanted to finish the front deck first?

Clark

Hi Clark,

Thanks for stopping by.

Yes, in my opinion, if I installed the canon before the bow planking, I would probably have knocked them off while sanding, staining, and adding the fittings of my latest post. That is why I waited. I am now free to install the cannon, before finishing the upper platform above the canon. I will be installing them soon.

 

Thanks,

Frank

 

[fmodajr]

Hello,

Moving on from the bow area for a while, I decided to tackle the placement of the chain plates for the main mast shrouds.

 

First step was to take the brass etched pieces for the plates and bend them to the contour of the lower section of the hull.

 

Next, I blackened or antiqued the brass chain plates, the ring on top, the chain, and the toggles.

 

The chain plates are nailed to the hull. A larger ring is attached to the top of the formed chain plate and the chain links are attached to this ring. Then the chain passes thru the deck slots made earlier and finally fastened to the toggles.

So, note to myself! Next time I cutout slots for chain links to pass thru, it would be a good idea to make sure the slots are wide enough for the chain links! LOL! I can't believe I never checked. Luckily, the slots were just wide enough.

 

 

There are six shroud lines on each side that are rigged to the mainmast. There are 8 slots and toggles. The 4th slot from the left is rigged much longer and goes up to other areas of the mainmast yard. The last slot to the right is the same length as the rest, but is for other rigging lines.

 

View of Chain plates under deck. I noticed from this photo that I have some touch up blue and red painting to do. See green arrows.

 

View of finished assembly

 

 

Now, I will be moving back to installing the 5 cannon and finishing the upper deck above the cannon.

 

Thanks again for the "Likes" and for stopping by.

Frank

 

[Hubac's Historian]

As always, Frank, this is incredible work.  I really love what you are doing, here.

[md1400cs]

Frank,

As Mark just posted incredible indeed. 

 

[fmodajr]

Michael and Mark (Hubac's Historian),

 

Thank you both for visiting and your kind words. Appreciated.

Metal working is not my strong point. Much prefer working with wood! Glad I tackled this section now.

 

Frank

[Clark]

On 6/27/2020 at 2:53 PM, fmodajr said:

Michael and Mark (Hubac's Historian),

 

Thank you both for visiting and your kind words. Appreciated.

Metal working is not my strong point. Much prefer working with wood! Glad I tackled this section now.

 

Frank

Glad to see your progress.

Clark

[fmodajr]

Hello,

I finally made it to the stage in my project where the cannons are to be installed.

 

The first step I did was to darken the canon a little, using a blackening product.

 

My friend made me a small jig, in his basement metal working shop. I put the canon pin on the jig and I was able to shape the canon caps using some brass sheet metal. 

 

Using the same product, I blackened the pins and brass caps.

 

 

Cannons Installed.

 

As I mentioned earlier in the build, I should have installed the canon before the cross beams of the upper deck were installed.

I had a hard time nailing the caps (20 nails total) with the beams in the way.

 

View from the stern with the lines coiled.

 

 

The Corel kit calls for 2 openings on the upper deck for the foremast. One to the port side of centerline and one to the starboard side. I decided to have some fun and deviate from this and try to follow some of the design of the "Fleur de Lis" plans, which call for only one opening on the port side.

Installation of the beam to support the mast. 

 

 

The "Fleur de Lis" plan also shows a large knee to support the beam for the foremast.

 

Next step is to plank the  upper decks and add the trim moldings around the planking.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Frank

[fmodajr]

I made some more progress with the upper deck over the cannon.

 

The planks for the decking are from the same material as the other areas of the model and I used the same methods with the black paper as described previously.

The Corel plans call for the decking planks to go all the way "end to end" on the beams underneath. I thought this odd. I was thinking that the molding around the edges should go on first, but in checking with the "Fleur de Lis" plan, the layout was the same as the Corel plan. (Molding or trim to be added on top of the planks)

The Fleur de Lis plan show the decking planks slightly wider than the Corel plans and I followed this also. I made the decking planks 5 mm wide instead of the 4 mm.

 

 

Tree nail pattern added, using same tool as described earlier in the log.

 

Decking Stained and Sealed

 

When adding the trim around the edges of the decking, I followed the design from the "Fleur de Lis".

The Corel plans have me using just 1 mm by 4 mm wide trim pieces around the deck.

The "Fleur de Lis" plan for the trim is more robust around the front and outside edges. This made more sense to me because the railing posts will be attached to these pieces.

 

"Fleur de Lis" trim molding design I used

 

Trim Pieces painted and installed.

The green arrows show where the railing posts will be attached to the upper deck trim.

The blue arrows show the plain 1 mm by 4 mm trim that is on both plans.

 

 

Side View

 

Now onto closing up the port and starboard side of the upper deck.

 

Thank you for the "likes" from my previous post and for stopping by.

 

Frank

 

 

[Clark]

Frank, the advantage (at least to me) is that you are ahead. But I was also reflecting about the two holes for the foremast. I could also not realize why there are two. Following the Fluer de Lis may be an option. But it also may have been a sense of symmetry since it was a ship of pomp.

Clark

[fmodajr]

4 hours ago, Clark said:

Frank, the advantage (at least to me) is that you are ahead. But I was also reflecting about the two holes for the foremast. I could also not realize why there are two. Following the Fluer de Lis may be an option. But it also may have been a sense of symmetry since it was a ship of pomp.

Clark

Thanks Clark,

That's what makes it fun. Everyone can make their model a little different.

Trying to work off of 2 different plans might get me in trouble at some point, but for me, it makes it more fun and interesting!

Frank

[fmodajr]

Hello,

Finishing up the sides of the upper deck platform.

 

Made up the planks for each side.

 

Painted blue and installed. The planks are parallel to the upper deck, but tapered at the bottom to follow the curve of the deck.

 

Shaped and installed the trim pieces, which were painted antique gold

 

Blackened the eyelets, chain and toggles for the foremast shrouds.

 

Chain attached to the eyelets and toggles and installed on each side of the platform.

Will add the blocks when the foremast is installed.

 

[fmodajr]

Added some final pieces before I move my attention to the stern of the model.

 

Made up some block assemblies.

Blocks are from Syren Company and they are so much nicer than the blocks that came with the kit.

I stained the blocks with a chestnut stain.

The first block (to the right) is attached to an eyelet.

The middle 2 blocks have a ring between the blocks and eyelet.

The block to the left, is attached with a removable hook.

 

Blocks fastened to the ship

 

 

Added some cleats

 

 

And finally some ornamentation on each side. The pieces were painted with the antique gold.

 

The railing system on the upper platform will be added later.

Shifting my focus now to the stern of the ship!

 

Thanks,

Frank

 

[marktiedens]

Outstanding,as usual.

 

 

Mark

[fmodajr]

8 hours ago, marktiedens said:

Outstanding,as usual.

 

 

Mark

thanks for stopping by Mark!

[fmodajr]

Working my way towards the stern of the model.

There is a decorative platform near the stern.

To simulate the pattern, I cut a piece of Redheart wood (the same red wood used earlier in the build). Surrounded it with basswood and then the redheart again.

 

 

The pattern was cut into slivers about 1 mm thick.

 

The pieces were glued to a backing piece of wood also about 1 mm thick.

Then I ran the wood thru a thickness sander and took it from 2 mm to 1 mm thick.

 

 

Attached and glued the strips together into the required shape

 

The assembly is now glued to both the port and starboard sides, followed by adding finishing side trim and stern top trim. The basswood and red heart was then sanded, stained with light oak stain and sealed

 

A top trim piece now added to finish the area.

 

Next was to make and install a midway arch and arch brass decoration. The arch will support some roofing beams later in the build. The archway seems to be the entrance to the more elaborate area of the stern.

 

Archway pattern.

 

Finished archway and brass decoration piece (painted the ships blue). Only the top half will be visible

 

Archway assembled and installed.

Yes, I know I will damage this by hitting it while working on the stern lol!! 

The archway is fitted onto slots cut into 2 long strips of wood that I made (see green arrows)

These L-shaped strips of wood run all the way along the ship on both sides of the center, on top of the bench supports beams.

The inside of the L-shape strips will support the center decking planks that I will begin to work on.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Frank

 

 

[marktiedens]

It just gets better & better.

 

 

Mark

[fmodajr]

12 hours ago, marktiedens said:

It just gets better & better.

 

 

Mark

Thank you Mark!

Appreciated. thanks for stopping by for a look.

 

Frank

 

[Clark]

Frank, looks great (as expected). Regarding the center decking planks: I have browsed through the plans and have noticed that some rigging runs through the midway. Thus I decided to make the center planks immediately before starting the rigging when all the other stuff is mounted. Do you have any idea how to handle the rigging, when the midway is coverd by planks?

Clark

[fmodajr]

4 hours ago, Clark said:

Frank, looks great (as expected). Regarding the center decking planks: I have browsed through the plans and have noticed that some rigging runs through the midway. Thus I decided to make the center planks immediately before starting the rigging when all the other stuff is mounted. Do you have any idea how to handle the rigging, when the midway is coverd by planks?

Clark

Hi Clark,

Thanks for stopping by.

Yes, rigging runs under the midway planks. I will estimate the amount of rigging line I will need and run it thru now, before I glue the midway planks in this area. I will install, but not glue, a couple of planks where the rigging runs around the 4 sheaves that are installed just behind the mainmast (under the planks). After the rigging in this area is finished, I will glue these planks down. I will show more detail about this issue and how i'm planning to handle this in my next progress posts, in a couple of weeks.

Thanks,

Frank

[Strata]

Beautiful ship. 😍

It made me realize how i always underappreciated the beauty of galleys. Somehow anything before galleons wasnt interesting enough but looking at this, i just have to change that opinion.

[md1400cs]

Hi Frank,

I've clicked a lot of likes - but said little. 🙁

Well your current build is really brilliant. The needed accurately spaced bits to really give justice to this very complicated boat (ship?) are so impressive.

Superb work - in all areas - indeed.

 

Cheers my friend - hope all is well for you and yours in our Brave New World.

 

MJD