Sovereign of the Seas by pirozzi - FINISHED - Mantua

[pirozzi]

Constructing and mounting the poop deck flag pole brackets.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

The completed belfry before placing on the deck.

[pirozzi]

The belfry placed on the deck.

[pirozzi]

Decks full of murdering guns.

[pirozzi]

Completed main deck bilge pumps and mounted on the main deck along with the main mast pin rail.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

The completed main deck capstan and what it would look like mounted on the deck with the arms in place for hauling. When I do mount the capstan permanently, the arms will be removed and lashed to the deck next to it. The arms in the hauling position would crowd the deck when the small boats are secured over the hatchways.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The plans call for about 10 pin rails along the bulwarks. This is not nearly enough, especially if you are going to rig her with full sails like I am going to do. The photos show about twice as many pin rails. The extras were made from scratch with spare lumber from my stash.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Even more belaying pins and cleats are needed to rig her properly. These were placed on the railings in their proper positions. All were additions to the kit as supplied.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

Two blocks are needed for the anchor haul on the catheads. This is the block with the metal hook and lashing in place.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The metal hook and lashing was made from 0.5mm brass wire.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The catheads constructed, rigged, and mounted before fishing the anchors. The anchors will be placed at the very end of the build since they get in the way when rigging and working around the forecastle.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Constructing the cannon port doors and preparing the hull ports for hanging them. Once they are hung, the gun barrels are placed.

I only hang the doors and place the gun barrels on those ports that will get covered by the shrouds and anchors. The rest will placed at the very end of the build, as they tend to get in the way during the rigging and often get damaged along the way.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

Placing the foremast chain wales. Note the little wood support brackets on the top of the chain wale. The kit does not include these, but they were proper to the ships of the period. I made them out of walnut strips from my stash.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The main mast chain wales. Also, the kit does not include the platform and ladder rungs for the side entrance way door. I made these also from walnut strips.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The mizzen mast chain wale. The wales could not be placed flush with the hull because the decorative trim protrudes from the side of the hull. It was necessary to cut out grooves to accomodate this.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

Adding the deadeys, lanyards, and chain to the chain wales for the mast shrouds.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The poop deck forward railing and stepways to lower deck.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Adding ladder rungs to forward doorway leading down to the heads. This was not included in the kit. I added this feature.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Main deck gun mounted in the firing position.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

Cannon ball racks with cannon balls for the upper decks. The kit did not include these. I made the racks out of walnut and used #6 shot from some old shotgun shells for the cannon balls.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

For hoisting the lower yards, the kit uses jeers. According to "The English Treatise of Rigging 1625", ships of the period were using ties and halliards since jeers did not fully replace them until about 50 years later. The SOS however was built around 1637 and was in the transition period and actually used both. The halliards were fastened to the deck at the base of the mast with knights. The photos show the ones I made out of 6x6mm walnut stock.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

The completed main deck gun battery. I added the cannon ball racks, water buckets, and rigging for an additional touch.

 

Vince P.

[riverboat]

What a beautiful model!!! I don't know how many of this type ship you have built, but ou sure are doing a fantastic job on this one,

I'll have to remember to ck you out now and then. Great Work Vince!

Frank

[pirozzi]

Cutting out and framing the stern gun ports. I will not add the doors and guns until the rudder is finished and mounted.

 

Vince

[pirozzi]

Working on the rudder. The base plywood cutout was cracked and badly warped. I had to cut it and staighten it out and then splice it back together. Since it will be planked over with walnut strips, it will look fine. I also made a change to the sternpost. I had it planked with horizontal strips like the instructions called for, and got a lot of feedback from other modellers that it should be planked vertically. I did some research and found ships with it planked both ways. The base stern post was constructed with heavy pieces of timber joined vertically. Some ships however planked over this horizontally to match the planking of the hull. The SOS however did not, so I changed it to match the rudder which runs vertically.

After the rudder was mounted I installed the stern gunport doors and guns. This should complete the stern.

[pirozzi]

My computer and network have been down for a few days, so no updates. It is back up so I will post more photos soon.

 

Vince P.

[jay]

Vince, I remember this build well to say the least!. actually one of my fav's. it has helped alot of our members in all way's. thank you for the repost Please keep in mind your labor is not in vain and much appreciated (besides she looks greater than ever)

 

Jay

[pirozzi]

Next up is the small boats. The kit does not include them but for sure the real ship had them. I bought 2 plank on frame kits from Model Expo that were very close to what the boats were probably like. Working with such small boats was more difficult than the ship itself. I added features such as water barrels, oars, oar posts, boat hooks, and fore and aft hoisting and mooring lines.

[pirozzi]

The boats were mounted on the main deck over the gratings in a double decker fashion. I also installed the capstan and lashed the arms to the deck beside it. The cradles for the boats were made from scrap lumber from the boat kits.

 

Vince P.

[pirozzi]

It is now time to start on the masts. There are 9 crowsnests (mast tops), and 13 tree assemblies. After assembly, I finished them in a walnut stain. The floors of the tops did not have the reinforcement ribs, so I added them using 2x2mm walnut stock.

Shown is the crowsnest for the spritsail top mast. The others are similar but in different sizes.

 

Vince P.