Le Soleil Royal by Bill97 - FINISHED - Heller - 1/100

[Bill97]

Got it 👍

Thanks guys

 

[Bill97]

I know I am asking monotonous questions about simple steps but this one really seems odd. In the steps where I put in the grates the instructions show the ladder coming up from the deck below through the hatch opening. However in these instructions, different from other model ships, it shows the ladders put together like a step ladder with the apex of the step ladder in the center of the opening, rather than two separate ladders leading up to the edge of the hatch opening. Is this correct?

[popeye2sea]

Bill, I did raise mine a bit by putting a filler piece of strip styrene on the ledges the gratings rest on. It gives the appearance of a hatch coaming.  BTW, it is the hatch coaming, which is built up from the deck, that actually raises the height of the grating that sits inside the top edge of it.  4 inches is, from what I have seen on actual ships, an extremely short coaming. The main hatch on Constitution has a coaming that is around 16 inches.

 

Regards,

Henry

[Bill97]

Thanks Henry.  I looked through your build for a picture. I can see that yours are raised a bit. It looks lovely me maybe the thickness of a grate?  I seem to remember that now about the Constitution. I am curious if my Constitution model has the grate displayed that way. Will have to check. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Bill97

[popeye2sea]

Most models I have seen do not show coamings that are realistically tall enough.

 

Regards,

 

Henry

[Ian_Grant]

17 hours ago, Bill97 said:

I know I am asking monotonous questions about simple steps but this one really seems odd. In the steps where I put in the grates the instructions show the ladder coming up from the deck below through the hatch opening. However in these instructions, different from other model ships, it shows the ladders put together like a step ladder with the apex of the step ladder in the center of the opening, rather than two separate ladders leading up to the edge of the hatch opening. Is this correct?

My old printed instructions show the same.  It does seem odd, even though you'd only have to step off to one side as you came up.

 

Thanks Bill for raising all these issues to get answers before I ever touch my SR!! 😃

[Bill97]

Right, wrong, or indifferent I decided to raise my grates off the deck level. I cut 2mm wide strips of .02 Evergreen and then added an additional strip along the bottom of each a distance down to equal the thickn as if the grate. Then with this stock material I framed in each hatch. I then glued in the grates setting on the tiny ledge. For the forward hatch I modified the idea to use the side of one Evergreen frame piece to border both the long and short grates. I also took artistic license and modified the ladder installation. I only installed one ladder and it reached the top of the Evergreen frame by not cutting off the bottom two steps as the instruction directed. Now a little touch up sanding and painting and it should be good. 

[Ian_Grant]

Good work. I'll reiterate that I really like your deck plank painting.

[Hubac's Historian]

Grating coamings look really good!

[Bill97]

Thanks Ian and Marc. Marc I plan to paint the whole stripe down the center red as you did. Ian I must do some very careful masking of my deck so as not to mess it up with red overspray when I airbrush the red stripe!  Wish me luck!  Will share my result tomorrow. 

[popeye2sea]

On 1/17/2023 at 8:49 PM, Bill97 said:

I know I am asking monotonous questions about simple steps but this one really seems odd. In the steps where I put in the grates the instructions show the ladder coming up from the deck below through the hatch opening. However in these instructions, different from other model ships, it shows the ladders put together like a step ladder with the apex of the step ladder in the center of the opening, rather than two separate ladders leading up to the edge of the hatch opening. Is this correct?

This "stepladder arrangement" never made any sense to me and I doubt that it was ever done. Can you imagine two sailors coming up from opposite sides? Collision!!  Or, what if you mis-step at the top? You would tumble right over just from momentum.  A more likely set up is that the ladders start offset to the side of each other and cross halfway up.

 

Regards,

Henry

Edited January 19, 2023 by popeye2sea

[Ian_Grant]

9 minutes ago, popeye2sea said:

This "stepladder arrangement" never made any sense to me and I doubt that it was ever done. Can you imagine two sailors coming up from opposite sides? Collision!!  Or, what if you mis-step at the top? You would tumble right over just from momentum.  A more likely set up is that the ladders start offset to the side of each other and cross halfway up.

 

Regards,

Henry

You might be able to do that if you rotate the ladders 90 degrees?

[Bill97]

I just used one ladder and glued it to the grate coaming I put in. I did not cut off the bottom two steps as the instructions directed so it was perfectly long enough. I have it glued to the starboard side since I plan to display the finished ship showing the port side. That way you will see the step not the hole in the deck. 

[Bill97]

Center section painted!

[Bill97]

Ok Marc with that complete it is time to turn my full attention to the upper bulwarks. I am ant to try my hand at the upper and lower ornaments you made for the gun ports. This will take time to get the carvings just right and then cast them. Any advice you could share will be gladly appreciated. 

[Hubac's Historian]

On 12/29/2022 at 12:51 PM, Hubac's Historian said:

Hi Bill!

 

The upper and lower port enhancements were carved from 1/16” styrene sheet.  Each half of the dolphin drift rail end caps was also carved from 1/16” sheet.  It wasn’t strictly necessary to glue an inner half for these ornaments, for the inner bulwarks, but you will have to carve left and right side masters for both port and starboard, anyway, so the little bit of extra work is worth it, IMO.

 

My #1 piece of broad advice is: take your time!

 

Obviously, I took the upper bulwarks to an extreme, but I had developed a very clear idea of what I wanted it all to look like, and I didn’t really care how long it took because I knew these modifications would completely transform the kit.  Start to finish, I probably spent a little more than a year modifying these 4 upper bulwark pieces and that is only up to and including the frieze.  The upper quarter galleries probably took another 6 months to make and assemble.

 

Take your time, and #2 piece of advice: don’t be afraid to erase your drawings and throw away unsatisfactory attempts for the masters; if you’re not that excited about your port enhancement master carvings, you really won’t be happy when they are repeated 28 times along the main deck guns.

 

#3:  Relative scale and proportion are everything; maybe your carving/detailing skills are not yet advanced, but as long as the element is proportional and the overall outline or shape is good, then the parts will look good.

 

This is where a willingness to draw and re-draw will serve you well.  My advice:  obtain some drafting vellum.  You can draw and erase on vellum almost indefinitely and it won’t disintegrate.  Make a photocopy of one of the forward upper bulwarks.  You may have to adjust the contrast a bit, so that you can clearly see the size and shape of the main deck ports.  There will be some distortion in the copy, but it is negligible and won’t hinder the process.

 

Then, blue-tape a patch of vellum over a port opening, for example, and you will be able to read the exact size and shape of the port opening through the vellum.  You’ll also be able to see the relative distance between the top of the ports and the drift rail above.

 

This is critical because you want your port enhancements to fit comfortably in-between.  It is important to use the forward bulwark for this because the available space tapers more narrowly from aft to forward.  I based my master on the aft bulwark, where the space is wider, and I had to let the very tops of my forward enhancements into the drift rails.  This isn’t terribly noticeable, but it is one thing I would do differently.

 

Another thing to be aware of is that despite using thin CA (just common Crazy Glue brand, at the time) to mount the masters to the plywood, there is going to be a lip of CA all around the carving, once the glue dries, and this extra glue/squeeze out, will affect the sharpness of your moulds all around the perimeter.  I learned pretty quickly that it was a good idea to gently scrape level this glue-lip with the corner of a very sharp chisel and-or EXACTO knife.

 

A main reason why my ornaments look good is because I spent an enormous amount of time completely eliminating the background, but also scraping each moulded piece so that all the surfaces and creases were more clearly defined.  Right out of the mould, the parts will look pretty good, but the extra working of surfaces - kind of like the way a metal smith chases brass castings of furniture hardware - really makes them stand out.

 

Lastly, before I mount my carving masters, I first painted the mounting surface with thin CA and sanded that after dry.  It seals the surface of the plywood and smooths over any grain structure or imperfections in the surface veneer.

 

I think the best I can do, Bill, is refer you back to this earlier post.  One addendum to this entry is that I use a micro drill bit in my Dremel to create a perforation all around the part;  this makes it easier to extract the master from the styrene sheet.  Also, I use common hobby glue-sticks to temporarily stick my paper patterns to the plastic.  Once that glue dries, I use an Exacto knife to transfer the lines through the paper into the plastic.  After washing away the paper and glue residue with arm water, I can then rub a pencil lead across my score lines and the design will show up clearly against the white plastic.

 

As I say - take your time with this, and then take even more time.

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, another thing that can be done on these bulwarks is to score the missing planking lines across the blank background around the carvings. Easy to say, harder to do. 😄

[Hubac's Historian]

Oh, yes - great mention, Ian!

[Bill97]

Great advice guys. I am going to give it a try. I am not a defeatist but if I can not get them to look nearly as good as yours Marc I will abandon the idea and go with the bulwarks as every other builder has. I really like the extra touch it adds, and I will gold leaf them as I plan to do the other ornamentation on the upper bulwark. Marc do you remember the Evergreen thickness you worked with?  The great thing is that I only need to get one really good carving, or two if I do the bottom piece as well, because I will then use it to mold and case all my pieces. I know once I get into this carving my progress will be slow so my post will be less frequent but I hope to keep you guys up to date on my progress. 
Along the way as I am working on these are there other bashings to the UBs you like?  I already added the Evergreen along the top rail. I know I could still do the skids on the hull and UB and that is something I could also tinker with. I really like them as well. However I am really pleased with my hull paint job, and like the carvings we discussed here, if the skid fit to the hull was not perfect I think the addition of them might look elementary and possibly ruin how nice it looks. 

[Hubac's Historian]

1/16” sheet styrene

[Bill97]

Never mind Marc my question about the Evergreen thickness for the port engagements. I reread your comment post and see you said 1/16. 

[Bill97]

University art student granddaughter working on my hatch enhancement prototypes. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Bill97

[Ian_Grant]

How much does she charge?

[Bill97]

She is getting close. She does not get dinner at Papaw’s until it is perfect! 😊

[Ian_Grant]

Marc has a rival!

[Hubac's Historian]

Indeed I do!  This is why the arts should remain a part of core curriculum for K through high-school.  Kudos to your Granddaughter for her excellent work! 

[Bill97]

Yes Marc she is in fact majoring in art as a freshman at a university here in Louisville. Working in all the different mediums.  Doing really well. I put her to work carving my enhancements.

[kirill4]

Good day, 

very interesting in this decoration making... Bill, Marc,  what do You think if make one fully detailed and scaled element of decor , made it from that oven hardened stuff which Doris uses for her decoration, sorry I forgot the name  of it...  and than, just try to reproduce it in copies as much many as we need - make matrix and use  epoxy for reproduction? I 'm just crying looking at this girl ... to make one element is ok, but it looks she wants to make it again and again... ? or what is the idea ?

All The Best! 

[kirill4]

sorry , but that decor she made , it is out of scale - remains too big, if compare to the original kit decor which could be seen on the photo...

what if just sculpturally create a sample  from that Doris magic sculp stuff as much close as possible to the original design , and after backed it in oven , than to cut by rasor nife to the desired final shape... doing this phase which she is busy now only once , and than, just to start making copies from epoxy or special casting resin?

Edited January 21, 2023 by kirill4

[kirill4]

Sorry, Bill

I just read your post 439 - that reproductions are planned ...
Then of course there are no questions
If only, maybe more convenient and more accurate on scale, if you first make a sample of the decor from this sculptural hardening mass and after polymerization in the oven, even then give the final shape using a model knife? And then make the required number of copies from this sample?

Edited 49 minutes ago Kirill4

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by kirill4