French Ironclad Solferino 1861 by GrandpaPhil - FINISHED - Orel - 1/200 - CARD

[Keith Black]

18 minutes ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Still waiting on the copper tape.

 

 Dang supply chain problems, hope that it gets to you soon. She's really coming along nicely, Phil, well done.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!

[GrandpaPhil]

The starboard battery armor is on:

 

 

I still need to cut out the port side and then install the waterline armor belt.  
 

After that, if I actually get my copper tape, I’ll copper the hull.

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you all very much for the likes and just for stopping by!

I’ve been making progress!

 

The port side battery armor is on:

Both amidships waterline armor belt pieces are on:

 

 

I may go ahead and finish the lower hull as intended, just to see where is goes.

So far, this model is looking pretty good.  

It isn’t perfect, but none of my stuff is.  

However, I am happy with how it’s turning out, so far, especially for a study model.

So, I’m going to play it out and just see where it goes.

Edited November 20, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

Waterline belt is on:

 

 

 

Quick lesson learned:

 

If another piece is going on top, smooth out the underlayer.

 

That is why there’s a gash on the port side of the copper.  There is a bunch of extra material that can be used to hide the gaps included with the kit.

[GrandpaPhil]

I made some bad mistakes.

 

I should have left the minor gaps in the “copper” and not smoothed the ridges from the frames down and used the extra to cover the gaps (and the holes that I made smoothing  the hull out).

 

I didn’t take the thickness of the card into account.

 

Oh well, it’s a study model.  And, the Admiral is happy with it.  She’s looking forward to displaying it.

 

 

I built up the rest of the covering for prop mounting and covered the keel.

 

 

 

It’s weird worrying about a propeller.  
 

It has been a long time since I built a ship that wasn’t sail driven.

 

My usual era is 18th century or before.
 

I love making the carvings and doing all of the decorations. 

But I also really like the transition era ships and predreadnoughts. 

Edited November 21, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

The prop is assembled:

 

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Good Saturday Morning Everyone!

Solferino has a propeller!

 

 

And the rudder is in work!

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Just a quick observation regarding card kits.

 

This is my first card ship built from a kit.

 

I have built two from scratch.  
 

This kit has been very difficult for me because I have grown used to, for lack of a better term, playing a game of make it up as I go along.

 

A key example is that propeller.  
 

In a scratch build, I would carved the hub from a dowel rod, painted it, notched it to take the blades and then made the blades and set them into the hub.

 

The whole painting thing is another difficulty that I have had.

 

I have never been the cleanest with glue, and I usually just paint over my mistakes, lol.

 

That is not as much of an option with a card kit where everything is precolored and not intended to be painted.

 

Case in point, look at my lower hull.

 

Even coppering wasn’t really an option with the structure around the propeller housing and the rudder.

 

Although, I will watch for that with Magenta.

 

All of the pieces for that model will be three times the size of those that came with the Solferino.

Edited November 27, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[mtaylor]

Phil,

I see no reason for you not to scratch build parts where you think you can do better than the kit.  Kit Bashing is a noble trait.

[GrandpaPhil]

My apologies, I phrased that poorly.

 

I meant to say that building a card ship from a kit is a completely different experience than building one from scratch.

 

Building this hull has been more difficult for me than either of my two scratch builds.

[Old Collingwood]

Wow  mate  - that is amazing what you are doing  - there are so many complex curves  - and using paper card  - seriously  can't get my head round it,  keep going  you are doing  superb.

 

OC.

[GrandpaPhil]

I finally got a chance to work on my model!

 

The rudder is done:

And the stern is ready for the rudder installation:

And installed:

I pinned it in place.

 

Here’s the Solferino:

Currently working on the bulwarks and getting ready to build the stacks (These are the pieces that need doubled):

[GrandpaPhil]

The first layer of the bulwarks is on:

 

 

I will have to use these pictures heavily when it comes time to design the build up of Magenta’s bulwarks.

[GrandpaPhil]

The second layer of the bulwarks is on:

 

[Keith Black]

Phil, coming along nicely. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Keith,

  Thank you very much!

 

Thank you all very much for all the likes!

 

Making progress on the bulwarks!

 

 

 

 

I need to pay attention to the scupper and framing locations for the Magenta!

Edited December 20, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

Working aft to forward on the bulwarks:

 

 

I discovered a mistake.  I failed to stagger the pieces building up the cabinet at the stern, so the stern bulwarks will not be angled correctly.  

Oh well, chalk that up to learning, lol.

 

The stern for Magenta will be built according to the original plans and have the raised grating platform instead of the cabinet.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

Making progress:

[GrandpaPhil]

Bulwarks are on:

 

 

 

Time to detail them!

[GrandpaPhil]

Once I finalize the bulwarks, I am going to paint all edges and problem areas and then seal my work in.

[GrandpaPhil]

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

It’s been a busy end of the year here.

 

I relocated my shipyard into our upstairs loft.

 

Put some of the trim on the bulwarks:

 

 

Once the rest of the trim is on, I’m going to mix paints and have an edge painting (painting the white edges of the card) and touch up party.

And then seal the entire model.

Edited January 2, 2022 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

All trim is on now.

The edge painting is moving slowly, but is about half done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I shouldn’t have waited this long, but I hadn’t really planned on using this for a display model until a couple days ago.

 

The Admiral decided she really liked it, so this is no longer just a sacrificial study model for the Magenta.

 

Solferino will be rigged with wood blocks, deadeyes and get real sails.  
 

I was already going to make wood masts and yards, because it’s easier to make them from wood than card.

 

I cleaned up the gaps in the bow and fixed the bad spot on the deck where I set the model, upside down, on my glue stick during the early stages of the model.

It’s looking a lot better.

 

The next step will be to seal the entire model.

 

The hull itself will then be done.  Everything else from here on out will be a matter of fittings.

I will edge paint and seal each assembly prior to installation from now on.

Edited May 11, 2022 by GrandpaPhil
Grammar

[clearway]

it's always a plus when the admiral actually likes what you are doing!

 

Keith

[GrandpaPhil]

Absolutely!

[Ian B]

really loving this unusual subject matter build---@GrandpaPhil your doing her great justice --I'd so like to make it in wood....

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!
 

The plans can be found linked from Wikipedia in .tif format.

 

The jpegs that I converted for them are over in my Magenta build log.

The Orel kit is easily convertible and rescaled (which is basically what I’m doing with it) for a scratch build.

 

It’s less than $40, too, from Amazon or Ebay.

I might (read probably will) buy a second kit to rescale and make templates for the fittings from.

Edited January 11, 2022 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

I’ve been enjoy the snow.  
 

 

 

The view is one of my favorite parts of my new workshop.

The lower hull is now done:

 

 

 

Now to edge paint the trim and the upper bulwarks.

 

Soon it will be time to start updating the Magenta’s plans.

 

Details like the cabin structure under the forecastle deck and the location of trim pieces in the bulwarks will be invaluable (little things you don’t think about when initially planning a model).

[GrandpaPhil]

The edge painting is done:

 

 

 

 

The Solferino is sealed:

 

 

 

 

The sealant mostly blended the minor color differences between paints and colors.  
 

The deck gave me quite a scare because it bubbled up where I missed spots when laminating, but those spots laid back down after the sealant dried.
 

Currently working on the stack:

 

This has been a learning experience.  I’ll be taking lots of pictures to update my plans for Magenta.

Edited January 24, 2022 by GrandpaPhil

[Jackson7]

That is a delightfully sharp paint-job