Sovereign Of The Seas by NMBROOK - Scale 1/84 - based on the works of Van De Velde the elder

[BLACK VIKING]

Stunning work Nigel . Just nipped on to see how you are doing . Rgd Martyn

[NMBROOK]

Hi Martyn

Nice to hear from you buddy.Thank you,work has stopped for the minute,busy with another build,Royal Caroline,I have another log in this section.Dropped in on your log this morning,she is looking fabulous mate.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[NAZGÛL]

Looking forward to see the updates. I've missed them.

 

 

/Matti

[canoe21]

Hi Nigel.Brook

 

I just found your build log On the Sovereign of The Sea, you are doing an out standing job on her with  all the great details that you are scratch building and adding to your fine ship. I love your idea of going with the beauty of the natural wood, I wanted to try it on my HMS Victory but decided that my wood working skills were not up to snuffs , but now with a bit of practice I may give it a try on my next build. Keep up the great work and Enjoy.

 

Regards   Lawrence

[NMBROOK]

Thank you very much indeed Lawrence for your very kind works,I do take influences from both Bernard Frolich and the Russian Palace style in my work and mix them up with the western way of replicating original colours,so I can't take all the credit.I do personally like letting the beauty of the wood show through and whilst you can build Victory in this style,it is a tough ship to build as a first model in this style.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[BLACK VIKING]

Thanks Nigel yours is looking top notch as all ways Happy building rgd martyn aka BLACK VIKING

[NMBROOK]

Thank you very much indeed Brian Unfortunately I cannot for see anytime on this build until I have completed Royal Caroline.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[SandyM]

Hi Nigel,

She's looking good. I like the idea of deck beam supports.

Sandy

[NMBROOK]

Hi Sandy nice to hear from you.I made a jig so the deck beam shelves remain a consistent height down from the gunport cills.I plan on making the deck beams from plain 3.4mm square boxwood cambered in a jig.The combination of support columns and hanging knees should ensure they keep their curve.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[SandyM]

Hi Nigel,

I have been thinking of the best way of cutting back the ribs to give more clearance on the decks. Your solution fits best, as I am putting in fore and aft "U" beams to carry the fibre optics (you can see the indents for the posts on my build). So if you don't mind I may just nick that idea.

To keep you updated, I have been working on the stern, like you, I remodelled the transom out of Walnut. The problem I had was when you Gold plate wood  the grain appears to get highlighted, that's OK for small bits, but for the large areas on the stern it looks a bit off. I decided to copper foil these areas prior to plating. I will post some photos soon.

Sandy

[Bill Hime]

Good morning my friend,

 

Nigel, I spent the duration of this night reading and studying this log. I'm afraid every possible adjective has already been involked upon these pages, I'm at a loss for words . You represent the best parts of all of us and then some. I will continue to follow closely. I will shift over and join you on the Caroline for the duration.

You inspire me deeply, thank you.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Bill

[NMBROOK]

Thank you very much indeed Bill for your very kind words  

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[themadchemist]

What an excellent ride the last few day reading through your SotS build. Amazing build for so many reasons. Your striping out of the inner bulkheads makes me think, can you really even still consider this a kit with only small bits of the kit remaining. The work and pictures tell a great story and are very informative also. Thanks for sharing.

 

I did wonder, what is your source for the black dyed boxwood. Its not Ebony but the ease of use makes it a nice alternative. Thanks also for your help on bending the small ebony planks for my project, I'd nearly given up on that.

[NMBROOK]

Hi Keith

Thank you very much indeed,and thank you for all your likes I have a little joke with myself that there is less than twelve square inches of plywood keeping this in the 'kit build' section   .I can categorically say nothing else of the partwork will be used and I no longer subscribe,just seemed a waist of money as I am not using any of the parts.

The black boxwood and the red wood I used for the railings come from 'originalmarquetry.com' in the UK.I also get the square boxwood and various other bits from them.The downside to the coloured woods is that they only come in 0.7mm thickness.The square uncoloured boxwood comes in very handy ranging in size from 3.4mm square right down to 0.81mm!! in 1metre lengths.

Kind Regards Nigel

[themadchemist]

It was an enjoyable read. I typically have several extra tabs open with differing build logs I'm reading through at the time. Eye issues limit my reading time so it took 3 days but then again I spend a lot of time looking at pictures.

Its funny you mention 12 square inches. You'll probably need to take picture to show the judges of her construction to prove there's kit in there.

 

I find your work very inspiring and your bravery of just ripping into her is refreshing to see. Dee Dee is building her second lobster smack and she is planning on ripping out and opening up the cabin. I quit paying attention to instructions long ago and so when I started his hobby roughly a year ago Ir was quite easy as the AL instructions are horrible. I was shocked to see the RC arise towards the end of reading. The RC and SotS are 2 such beautifully ornate ships.

 

Here's a technical question you may know, the forward bulkhead with the round gun ports, were they functional? I'd think firing through all the front beak and rigging would call for a really good aim to make sure you didn't take anything out. Just a thought. Sometimes I just really find it hard to believe some of these very ornate ship were actually meant to fight in battle. The difference in mind set from then to today I find fascinating. Seriously, can you imagine if the US built an aircraft carrier and covered it with sculpture.

I have recently finished the UK series Monarchy and interestingly they discuss Charles 1 and his ship tax leading to so many problems. One might say that the SotS was a big part of his demise. Its a very informative series well worth viewing and its on Netflix streaming.

 

BTW I looked at originalmarquetry.com as you mentioned it but I can't seem to find the black boxwood. What category is it under.

[Gohfelder]

Hi Nigel!

Wow, a really fantastic work!!!

 

Regards, Bernd

[NMBROOK]

Hi Keith

The front bulkhead was depicted in the artworks as having four cannons in the central ports.The outer two had no cannons and wouldn't be able to accommodate any without great difficulty due to the close proximity to the inner hull wall.As to what use they were I don't know as they would probably remove half the bowsprit!You are correct in the SOTS was indirectly fundamental in the start of the civil war.Ship tax was only paid by coastal communities,but the ever spirally budget of the Sovereign necessitated everyone would have to pay it.The fact that Charles ordered the ship despite major recommendation by the Admiralty that it was a ridiculous idea,did him no favour.The ship would never be repeated in the fact it was purely a display of wealth,ego and standing.

      I do agree photos will be necessary for the judges as I do plan on entering National competitions when she is finished.Hopefully I will 'just' scrape into the modified kit class,scratch class is another ball game altogether,up against some builds that the modeller has taken half a lifetime to build,not only that but according to the national model boat magazine,the Russians have started making an appearance,which will make for massively tough opposition

I will look into the Monarchy series you mention,it may be on Sky anytime..

       The black boxwood is in the banding and stringing section listed on the left of the homepage.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

Edited December 14, 2013 by NMBROOK

[NMBROOK]

Thank you very much indeed Bernd for popping in and your kind words

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[NMBROOK]

Thank you very much indeed Geoff for your kind words and many,many likes

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[michael mott]

Nigel, I just finished reading through all 22 pages. Your details and carving are exquisite!, yes it  really is not a kit is it, it should be in the Scratch build section in my opinion. Some bold moves there during the construction. The treatment of the hull and the treenailing really do look sharp. the step by step on the carving was useful, I shall have to give some carving a go.  How did you find the maple for your planking to work with?

 

Michael

[NMBROOK]

Hi Michael

Thank you very much for your visit from the 'darkside'  .and your kind comments.The build is on another forum and is infact in the scratch section.I guess I just like to push the boundaries as to how far you can take a kit.In many respects it probably would have been easier to start from scratch.

Regarding Maple,I find it a very nice timber,it is hard but more forgiving on cutting tools than boxwood.You can get sections that are 'flaky' but these show themselves as being a rather bizarre grain pattern.As a light coloured and cheaper alternative to boxwood I would recommend it.

This build was really my first foray into serious wood carving,so all I can say is 'you don't know until you try'.Timber selection is paramount,boxwood being the ideal (Janos is the expert in this) pear coming second.I chose pear because I wanted something darker for this build.

There is a rather large section on the Russian forum detailing making your own miniature gouges.It is heavy going with the translator but they have experimented with everything from Veterinary hypodermic needles to taps.The most successful versions are either made from taps or drillbits.

It is something I will experiment with when I get back on the build.

 

Kind Regards Nigel

[mtaylor]

Nigel,

 

We moderators put our heads together and agree... off to the scratch build area with this.  

[NMBROOK]

I would just like to say a big thank you to the moderators for moving my log It has come as a very pleasant surprise.I do feel like a very little fish in a very big pond now though    

I would like to say 'Hello' to everyone in this section,the 'darkside' and I shall no doubt enjoy corresponding with you all.I haven't made many posts on this side mainly because it is nearly a full time job to follow all your great works.When I have popped my head in I find myself sat reading one of the logs for several hours.

They are all fascinating and a very enjoyable read

Kind Regards Nigel

[md1400cs]

Nigel,

 

Nigel,

 

After I got the email updating  a posting on your SOS log, I clicked in. Yes, your ship needs to be on the other side of our world, the side where many michelangelos also exist taking blocks of wood and creating astonishing ships timber by timber. You are now where you belong, with some of the best of our artists. The kit side also have builders that make me swoon with envy (in the positive sense) of how excellent their work also is, however building a complete ship plank-by-plank from just looking at pieces of paper is amazing.

 

I then clicked on your page 1of your log, and spent a wonderful time revisiting your entire build. I had forgotten, in some areas, of how amazing it is. 

A wonderful way of having my morning Laté. 

 

Regards,

 

Michael

[michael mott]

Good to see your build where it belongs Nigel.

 

Michael

[NMBROOK]

Nigel,

 

Nigel,

 

After I got the email updating  a posting on your SOS log, I clicked in. Yes, your ship needs to be on the other side of our world, the side where many michelangelos also exist taking blocks of wood and creating astonishing ships timber by timber. You are now where you belong, with some of the best of our artists. The kit side also have builders that make me swoon with envy (in the positive sense) of how excellent their work also is, however building a complete ship plank-by-plank from just looking at pieces of paper is amazing.

 

I then clicked on your page 1of your log, and spent a wonderful time revisiting your entire build. I had forgotten, in some areas, of how amazing it is. 

A wonderful way of having my morning Laté. 

 

Regards,

 

Michael

Thank you very much Michael It has come as a great surprise being 'relocated'Toying with changing the title of my link.It seems inappropriate now.What to,haven't got a clue .I have looked backed through my log myself and realise what a rollercoaster it has been.If I was to start all over again,the build would start in this section as that is what I should have done in the first place,scratchbuilt.That would have avoided the few compromises I have had to make regarding my only true source of reference,the Van de Velde engraving.

I thank you again for your kind comments

Kind Regards Nigel

[NMBROOK]

Good to see your build where it belongs Nigel.

 

Michael

Thank you very much Michael Whether your post prompted this action,I don't know,but I thank you anyway.I do feel a little guilty,that with all the interest in this log,I haven't worked on this build for five weeks.If I feel I can afford some time off at Christmas,I shall remedy that.

Kind Regards Nigel

[Ferit]

Hi Nigel,

It's nice to see your build where she really belongs...

If she continues to stay at kits section I have to think what is mine...

In fact it was a pleasure to see your SoS at the same Log, for me to belong to the section where she was, now she had gone away...

Edited December 16, 2013 by ashiponthehorizon

[NMBROOK]

Hi Nigel,

It's nice to see your build where she really belongs...

If she continues to stay at kits section I have to think what is mine...

In fact it was a pleasure to see your SoS at the same Log, to belong to the section where she was...

Thank you Ferit

The one good thing is this log won't be out of place in this section when it goes on for a few years  

Kind Regards Nigel

[flying_dutchman2]

Nigel;

WOW, this is intense especially all those tree nails on the hull.  So perfect.  I am always amazed by the people - you included -  that have perfected the art of ship modeling ( I know it takes time to learn and practice of doing, that is with everything).  Excellent workmanship.

 

Questions:

Why is it on the works of Willem van der Velde de Oudere (the elder)? 

Did he do a painting of this boat? 

Why 1/84th?  I never heard of this. But then again one can do a boat any scale he or she desires.

Did you adjust it to a scale you liked best?

 

Thank you

Marc