L'Ambitieux by Nek0 - Altaya

[yancovitch]

wow...what a lovely hull...being a shape junkie, that's a nicely formed hull.........ha, even the hull on the victory kits, differ somewhat...... i wasn't happy with the sergal victory hull..

[Jorge_Goncalves]

Hi,

 

I've only just discovered this thread... excellent buid!!👍

I'm also building L'Ambitieux (I have the build thread here on the forum), but the level of perfection is quite far from this. 😀

 

In Portugal, who's selling this kit is Deagostini.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Jorge_Goncalves

[Nek0]

Hi fellows !

I'm currently building the stern, I knew it would require a lot of adjustment and I've not been disapointed. Every single piece of metal has been grinded, the wood parts have been vastely customized, but I'm quite happy with how it turned. I think I managed to make the stern look like the Berain drawing (more or less) better than the manual did. The main work was making the galleries less wide, and trying to respect the continuity in the structure and between the different parts. 

The work is going on !

 

 

 

[Nek0]

On 10/21/2022 at 6:25 PM, Jorge_Goncalves said:

Hi,

 

I've only just discovered this thread... excellent buid!!👍

I'm also building L'Ambitieux (I have the build thread here on the forum), but the level of perfection is quite far from this. 😀

 

In Portugal, who's selling this kit is Deagostini.

 

Hello Jorge ! I just discovered your build, thanks to the link in your signature. It's a great work, impressive !

 

[Hubac's Historian]

The ornamental quality of the castings looks really very good.  I can see how your modifications to the structure have amplified the difficulty of making it all fit together seamlessly.  As always, you are doing a splendid job!

[Nek0]

Thanks Marc ! You’re right, following the manual would have been quite easy but the result was not there. Modifying the structure to make the shape correct made the assembly much more difficult but it was worth the time and work ! The metal parts are really awesome, they are really close to the drawing and the sculptures are marvelously done… 

😃

[Nek0]

I continue working on the stern and I did little improvements. I focused too much on the contour of the galleries and I didn't pay much attention to the alignement of the different elements inside them. Making all this fit correctly is really a pain but it's worth it, The final result will not be perfect but I think it will be nice enough.

 

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

The continuity between levels, as you noted, is greatly improved, and it really makes a difference in one’s perception of the thing.  It is also pretty remarkable how much metal you had to remove from the upper finishing, in order to make that look suitably low-profile.

[yancovitch]

clean clean clean.....ahhhh.........

[Nek0]

For the rudder fittings I really hesitated to use what the kit provided...... To go faster... But it was still a little too disproportionate and it didn't require so much effort to redo, so I redid. The stern is finished, I'll do some shots tomorrow. In the end I'm pretty happy with what I managed to get out of the parts, there were quite a few modification, but the image is quite faithful to Berain's drawings and the general impression is really nice !

[Hubac's Historian]

C’est magnifique!  Tres Belle!

 

I love the black and whites, but can’t wait to see color.  Would you say your blue, which I also like very much, is more of a Prussian Blue?

 

Might that be a sneak peak for SR?

[Nek0]

Thanks Marc !!

Concerning the blue, it's quite hard to tell. But yes, it would be something like this one below.

Here are also some general shots. I hope you like them !! I find that it reproduces quite faithfully the images of the engravings and paintings of the time... Which is the purpose of this model. Not to give all the details of a construction but to reproduce the overall image that this type of ship could give. Anyway, it's nice to have a model that progresses quickly !

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Nek0

[yancovitch]

are  you going to add any kind of stain, or whatever is used, to accentuate some of the carvings, to give a more 3d effect?.....i never tried this, as i didn't have the confidence to do it well....

[Hubac's Historian]

I will say that this kit has to be the strongest basis for making a French 17th C. warship model.  Of course, you have done very much to improve it, but it is nonetheless impressive.      Very clean paint work!

[Hubac's Historian]

It is interesting, though, that no stern chase ports are represented.

[Nek0]

Yes it will receive a patina, maybe something like this:

 

 

[Nek0]

Thanks to both of you ! Yes, the kit is very impressive. I immediatly thought it was a great kit when I saw the add and had the first issue with the parts, but this feeling is even better day after day building this ship. Concerning the chase ports they are supposed to be done, I just did not make them yet.

 

[yancovitch]

what do i use for a patina.....now that i know what it's called........material...how thin?....the gold i used was oil based.....

Edited November 17, 2022 by yancovitch

[yancovitch]

sssssok...i found something.....

Edited November 27, 2022 by yancovitch

[Nek0]

Hello Vic ! In my humble opinion the gold you used for your models is goegeous ! I will show what will use for this model in my next message 

 

[Nek0]

So, what I use for a patina is this colour by Citadel. Diluted with some water, and then a final step of light brush with the yellow. Here are two pics with the patina before the final brushing. 

I'm currently working on the bow. I had to correct the positionning of the elements. 

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

On castings as nice as these, that wash really makes the detail pop.  I’m especially impressed by the quality of the figurehead.

 

It is interesting that the standard alignment of the trailboard could be that out of alignment with the knees of the head.  Once again - a masterful job at bringing it all together cohesively.

Edited November 28, 2022 by Hubac's Historian

[yancovitch]

aaaaaah...so beautiful !!!

[Nek0]

Thanks to both of you ! Yes, there is a lot of little invisible work required before everything fits correctly... The elements of the hawseholes are done.

 

 

[yancovitch]

ach...he's off again..😄

[Nek0]

I had a complicated year, one of the problems being a flood in my workshop... I had to wait for a few months before I could make a new ground and work again on the model. Everything is fixed now, and the Ambitieux is now at the painting stage. I really like how it looks now, and it will still improve when the painting is over. 

 

 

[yancovitch]

yahoo!!

[Hubac's Historian]

The paint work is exquisite.  That is more like what the ventre-de-biche color is supposed to look like.

 

It looks as though the flood caused black mold to grow along the baseboards.  Did you cut away and replace the bottom foot of sheetrock?

 

Be very careful of black mold - a serious danger to your respiratory health.

[Nek0]

Some new shots from the painting stage with a lighter color. I had to make a mix of several paints to find a color I'm happy with. Now, I may do some light weathering. 

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Nek0

[Hubac's Historian]

That’s interesting to bring it up a few shades.  Looking great, Marc!