L'Ambitieux by Jorge_Goncalves - De Agostini - 1:59

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi everyone,

 

"The L'Ambitieux was a First Rank three-decker ship of the line of the French Royal Navy. She was armed with 92 guns, comprising twenty-eight 36-pounder guns on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on the middle deck, and twenty-six 8-pounder guns on the upper deck, with ten 6-pounder guns on the quarterdeck.

Designed and built by Honoré Malet, she was begun at Rochefort Dockyard in July 1691 and launched on December of the same year. On completion in April 1692, she joined the Ponant fleet and took part in the Battle of Barfleur on 29 May 1692. Following that action, she was destroyed by an English attack at La Hougue in June 1692."

From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Ambitieux_(1691)> 

 

This kit by Altaya/De Agostini is so far only available in France and Portugal. It was released in 140 weekly issues consisting of kit parts plus a publication with detailed instructions and some articles about ships. According to the manufacturer's indication, the scale is 1:59 and the final measurements of the model are: length - 97cm; height - 88cm; width - 42cm

 

I hope it looks like this in the end…

[Jorge_Goncalves]

This is my second ship build (after NRP Sagres). I started in the middle of summer and I went to the 50th issue where I finished the first planking.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the beginning, so I'll put some photos of the current state below. I promise to update whenever I make progress in construction.

 

Ready to start first planking…

 

First planking completed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deck stained with bitumen of judea

 

 

 

After sanding

 

 

 

 

With the bulwarks painted red

 

And that's it for now!

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Jorge_Goncalves

[Tim Holt]

Very nice!  Hopefully not too ambitious for the builder (name of ship joke)

What was your finish approach to the deck?  It looks like regular deck plank edge darkening, and then stain on the top?  The final picture has a great "old wood" look to it.

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Thank you Tim.

 

The deck was stained with bitumen of judea diluted in turpentine. I like the effect too.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Jorge_Goncalves

[Lee J H]

I like the feeling of red.
What kind of paint did you use?

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi,

I normally use vallejo model color, but this red is from Occre.

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi everyone,

 

I take this opportunity to update the build log.

 

Working on 2nd planking:

 

 

 

 

 

A few more paintings on the deck and placed the gratings in their final location:

 

 

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hello everyone,

Happy new year!! A few days of vacation during the holiday season allowed to progress on this build.

 

The 2nd planking was completed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some more developments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a productive month 🙂

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi

 

In the last two weeks I worked on the ship and also on side jobs like boats, anchors, ladders etc (some not finished yet).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This kit has many metal parts that need to be weathered and in some cases painted as well. Below, I show the first pieces I made.

 

Original:

 

Weathered with Betumen of Judea:

 

Painted with Vallejo Royal Blue:

 

Other pieces I've worked on as well:

 

 

Parts placed on the ship:

 

 

Current status:

 

That's it for today    

[dancooper]

She looks fantastic, and it is a very beautifull ship.

I started this collection about 4 or 5 years ago as well (over here it was from Altaya, not DeAgostini), but unfortunately I ran out of money to after about 18 or 19 parts 😔

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hello everyone,

 

In the last few weeks, my productivity on the bench has been low, but some things have been done, mainly in the bow.

I'm completing the lining anchor as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next steps should be the gunports framing and paint the hull.

 

That's it! 🙂

[allanyed]

Hi Jorge,

Your workmanship looks great!   

 

A question, hope you don't mind.  What are the holes in the picture below for?   They look to be for belaying pins, but this ship would not have any belaying pins in real life as they were not used until about 1745 thus my question.

 

Also, the openings in gratings were about 2.5"-3" or about 0.05" (1.25mm) at your scale,  so a seaman's foot or heal would not get stuck in the openings.  These look about double that size but it may just be the angle of the photo.

 

Allan

Edited February 25, 2022 by allanyed

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi Allan,

 

Thank you for your comments! 

 

On 2/25/2022 at 7:29 PM, allanyed said:

A question, hope you don't mind.  What are the holes in the picture below for?   They look to be for belaying pins, but this ship would not have any belaying pins in real life as they were not used until about 1745 thus my question.

 

Also, the openings in gratings were about 2.5"-3" or about 0.05" (1.25mm) at your scale,  so a seaman's foot or heal would not get stuck in the openings.  These look about double that size but it may just be the angle of the photo.

 

In fact, I've been more concerned with getting the job done right according to instructions than looking at the real ship.

After seeing your comments, I did some research and realized that the way I am representing L'Ambitieux is probably not the most historically correct.

 I will look into future steps to be more careful and correct what I can, knowing that my skills can be a limitation as well 🙄

[Jorge_Goncalves]

The last few weeks were productive: gunports framed and painted red, channel boards and catheads built and glued, some paintings (blue and black), etc.

 

The best is to show the pictures. 🙂
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi

 

It's been a while since I've updated this thread.

In order not to delay further, I show you some photos with the most recent works.

In the next few weeks I will finish putting up the decorations and start preparing the cannons.

 

[Nek0]

Hi Jorge ! Congrats for your build, it's a very neat work !! The ship looks great !

 

 

[Jorge_Goncalves]

The last few months have mostly been spent building all the cannons.

 

Here are some step-by-step.

 

Preparation for painting

Primer applied:

Red by Occre:

Black Mate by Vallejo:

Dry brushing with Gold by Vallejo:

Done!

Homemade rope:

The rudder has also been made and placed in its final position.

This is the current state of L'Ambitieux: