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

[Bill97]

Put in the second gun deck today. To make sure the three decks lined up for the future installation of the mast I taped the lower mast sections together and used them to test the alignment of the second deck I just installed and I also laid the top deck in place to further check the alignment. All seems OK. I assumed me the mizzenmast will have a bit of a rake toward the stern, just as the Victory has. One little oh “darn” I ran into when I was dry fitting the mast. A little bit back I added Evergreen to the seam in the bottom deck to strengthen it as you guys recommended. When I dried fitted the fore and mizzenmast after gluing in the next deck I determined the evergreen was just a bit too close to the square hole the bottom of the mast sets in. The Evergreen slightly obstructed a solid seat of the mast bottom. I had to use some ingenuity to trim off a little of the Evergreen while only being able to access the space through the mast hole in the deck above. But I eventually got it, and it he mast bottom seat perfectly. 

[Bill97]

And then the second gun deck. After I drill the holes and add the thread for the hatch lanyards I will have completed the foundation of this beautiful ship. From here on will be the more artistic bashing and artistic interpretation. 

[Bill97]

One question about the second gun deck. The instructions show two #3 guns at the bow where no hatches exist. Is this showing two #3 guns that will be in that position on the main deck or do I glue them on the second gun deck? Head scratcher. 

[Ian_Grant]

Aren't there ports about there on the beakhead bulkhead?  Or is that higher up?

[Bill97]

Ian there may be. If there was would it be on this deck or higher?

[Ian_Grant]

Just pulled out my instructions again; it appears that this deck level is where the gunport openings on the beakhead bulkhead are. The bulkhead is very tall on this ship.

[popeye2sea]

There are two ports in the beakhead bulkhead on the second battery deck. There are also two uncovered ports on the third battery deck.

 

Regards,

Henry

[Bill97]

Thanks Gentlemen. I will check that out.  Will need to did through the parts to find the beakhead bulkhead to help position the two cannons. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Bill97

[Bill97]

Ok so I found the beakhead bulkhead and just set it in place so I could position the he two forward cannons. Is this how it is supposed to look?  I am not sure it is. The barrel almost lays on the deck outside the hatch and seems as if when fired would tear up all kinds of forward construction and rigging. Also seems that the recoil inside the gun deck would be dangerously close to the most forward side cannon. 

[Hubac's Historian]

If you are to arm these ports, Bill, the guns should be forward facing.  The historic reality is that, in actual practice, when these ports were armed, they merely shifted the next adjacent broadside gun over to the chase port.  The reason for this is exactly what you have illustrated; there is not enough recoil or working clearance to have these two guns rigged at the same time.  Most of the time, these guns were not armed.

[Bill97]

Marc what is he preferred practice to n modeling?  Maybe just close these two hatches?  Seems like if I put them in now before adding the next deck they are surly going to get knocked loose!  Maybe I should just make fake carriages there that I could later just insert the barrel into the hatch. 

[Hubac's Historian]

It depends on your preference.  I chose not to arm any of my forward or stern chase ports because on this go-around I wanted to represent something more true to the times.  If you don’t arm them, I’d just close the hatches.

[Bill97]

Thanks Marc. That seems to make the most since. Looking at your build, along with Henry’s, and a few others I know I am going to be doing a lot of bashing around the bow area to include filling in the area between the two cheeks and making head rail timbers. I think I will just leave the two forward hatches closed. 
 

On a side note Marc, what is your position on the side galleries being opened up?  After reading several build logs that was my plan. Since then I have read others, including one my Daniel (Dafi) that argues the side galleries were fully enclosed as Heller has molded them. I am reading through you extensive blog but have yet to come across what you did. I like the look of them opened up and additional flooring added, but I just wonder what is most accurate. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Well, Bill - the question of the galleries is a complicated one.  It is my belief that, in many ways, Tanneron modeled SR after the better understood (perhaps) second SR from 1693.  Heller, I propose, then made their prototype with closed galleries - perhaps using this drawing as a basis for that decision (right):

 

Everything about this drawing is consistent with a French progression toward fully closed quarters, lower stern height, a more restrained and overall reduction in ornamentation.

 

So, going back to Tanneron - the contextual evidence that remains from the late 1660’s/early 70’s suggests that he wanted to have his cake and eat it too.  His model, in the Musee de la Marine, represents a kind of hybrid between what the ship may have looked like in 1670, and what SR2 may have looked like in 1693.

 

I chose to discard (cannibalize, actually) the kit quarter galleries and instead make from scratch what I am pretty certain are the quarters and decor from the refit of 1688/89. I may be wrong about this, but at least it is an attempt to place the ship within a specific context.

 

I have made certain specific variances, where it served me to maintain some of the Heller ornamentation, and I have taken some authorial license, but my interpretation is based directly on the above.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Hubac's Historian

[Bill97]

Which is the quarter galleries closed. Right?

[Hubac's Historian]

Well, not exactly.  In the 1680’s, the prevailing trend was to enclose the lower, functional section of the quarter gallery; to have an open walkable balcony above that, that wrapped to a walkable middle balcony on the stern; and above that, was a shallow amortisement that gave the impression of a fully-rounded structure, but that was really more of a surface ornament:

 

Also, by this time, the walkable lower stern balcony had been eliminated as it was easily susceptible to damage in heavy following seas.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Hubac's Historian

[Bill97]

So Marc did you cut the quarter gallery in half horizontally and reconfigure the bottom half to stand out further for the balcony and the top half close to the bulwark?  

[Bill97]

Top deck installed!  Prior to installing the deck I added lanyards for the second gun deck cannon hatches to be used later. I read on a number of build blogs that since Heller did not provide stanchions to reinforce this deck it had a good bit of flex to it once installed. This would be obvious in places where strong rigging is attached to the deck. I decided to use scrap spruel to fashion stanchions similar to the ones between the bottom two decks. Once I installed the top deck I was still not satisfied with the amount of flex around the two large openings in the deck where I could not place stanchions for support. I then decided I would further the reinforcement by adding additional stanchions to the areas around the two openings. I carefully measured the needed height of each stanchion, applied glue to each end and positioned it under the deck at the openings. I did this working with a tweezer through the hatch. Looking from the stern end under the deck it looks like support posts holding up a roof, or deck. I am now venturing into the part I have looked so forward to since I saw the SR. That is painting and gold leafing the bulwarks, galleries, and stern!  This will be a very slow labor of love!

 

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Bill97

[Hubac's Historian]

Main deck looks great, Bill!

 

When I say that I cannibalized the kit quarter galleries, what I mean is that I pulled three small ornaments out of them to re-incorporate into the new quarters.  My build-log is absurdly long, but somewhere in there details the full process of drawing the QGs, and fabricating them from wood and plastic.

[Bill97]

No problem Marc on the length. I will find it. I am going to set the hull aside for a while now and concentrate on painting and ornamenting the upper sections for a while then take them back to the hull. Working on those side galleries will be a big part of that. 

[Hubac's Historian]

I am going to make a strong recommendation before you begin painting your upper bulwarks:  take as much time as necessary to get a good fit of the UB’s to the rabbet just above the main deck.  This is THE worst aspect of this build because it is so poorly fitting; SR is no Heller Victory, in this regard.  Trust me - you do not want to do all this careful paint and gilding work, only to then have to handle those parts excessively to make them fit.

 

The parts are always going to be under tension because they do not neatly conform to the X/Y curvatures of the hull.  Not at all, really.  On top of that, the rabbets are not clean, and to get a good bond, you’ll want to fair these with a small, hard block to which you double-stick some coarse sand-paper.  Doing these things will REDUCE the amount of tricky putty work you must do, afterwards, although it will not completely eliminate it.

[Ian_Grant]

Forewarned is forearmed.

[Bill97]

Thanks Marc and Ian. I am definitely forewarned. Based on your comment my goal before a drop of paint goes on the UBs is to get a fit as nearly perfect as possible. Is there much issue in the joint between the rear UBs and the stern piece?  I will try to confirm that fit as well before any painting. I remember one of you, I need to look back to see who it was, mentioned adding Evergreen to the top of the UBs. What again was the recommendation?  Need to do that as well before painting. Please try to think of any additional recommendations as I am attacking this critical part of my build. Marc I am still studying how best I want to open the side galleries before painting as well. 

Reading through both of your builds and Henry’s I know with the completion of the hull and installation of the 3 decks I am past the part of the build where I just follow along with the Heller instructions. Other than adding reinforcements to the deck support and Evergreen pieces around the cannon hatches,  there was not much more bashing. Artistically I had the pleasure of painting the hull the way I liked it, but that did not involve bashing. Marc I know you reconfigured the entire shape of your hull but I did not go there 😳.

 

From this point forward this is going to get fun, frustrating I am sure, and exciting. I learned so incredibly much from you guys during my Victory build. When I compare what I knew before I started it and finished it is like elementary school and college. There is still so much I need to learn. I know I could take what I know so far and the Heller instructions and probably complete an attractive model. I could even use Longridge’s book and rig it exactly like the Victory. Who would know, or care, except me. Now it is time to work on my PhD. The only problem is I don’t know what I don’t know. Only by reading through a number of blogs before each and every step do I see “oh wow, I could or should have done that step that way”!  I know I have said it before, but I do thank you guys for all your help and recommendations. Please keep them coming. 
 

Bill

 

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Bill97

[Bill97]

Is this one of the fit you guys are talking about? This is the port rear UB. It is not perfect but not as bad as I was expecting. Will need  little bit of putty and sanding under three of three of the hatches for the exterior view and and a little along the seam on the interior back to the second window after which it goes under the next deck. Will see how the next 3 pieces look. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Yeah, that isn’t too bad, but with a little patience you can close that gap to zero.  The worst pieces are the forward bulwark pieces, which have to flex quite a bit to even get into position.

[Bill97]

Marc what is your opinion about once I am happy with the four bulwark pieces I go ahead and glue the halves together and fix the seam joint where they meet before starting the painting?  Otherwise once I have them painted and mounted I will need to repair the joint which I think will not be as good. Also I plan to replace the 21 belay pins along the rails with steel pins. Many of mine are already broke off. 

[Hubac's Historian]

Replacing the pins is a great idea.  Yeah, I would go ahead and glue the upper bulwark halves together because you will have the beakhead bulkhead and stern plate in place for you to anchor the bulwarks to.  If I recall correctly, you do need to install the beakhead and stern plate first.

 

On my current version, I didn’t have a stern plate to anchor to, so I had to create a series of gussets that anchored to the deck and thus gave me the correct tumblehome for the aft bulwarks;  this was very tricky, and frankly, a pain.

 

The worst of it, though, was trying to fill/sand/paint the bulwark joint on the model. That was very difficult to do and still end up with a seamless paint touch-up.  Lots of hours spent there!

 

Since you can avoid all of that, you absolutely should.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Hubac's Historian

[Bill97]

Thanks my friend.  

[Bill97]

Marc I checked my instructions and it has me put the beakhead, then the bulwark pairs, then the stern plate. You recommend the beakhead then the stern plate and then the bulkhead pairs.  
 

Is the area of the top on the forward  bulwark shown in the photo where it is recommended I fill in with Evergreen to make a solid rail?

Edited December 2, 2022 by Bill97

[Ian_Grant]

Bill, I would think you'd need to have the beakhead and stern plates attached first to make sure the bulwarks are at the proper angle to fit. If you attach the bulwarks first you have no guide as to the tumblehome and then you could end up with a glued joint at the wrong angle.

 

Just my opinion, as you know I've yet to start my SR.

 

Later edit: Or, add the beakhead to have one fixed end, then glue the bulwarks with the stern plate dry fitted and clamped by rubber bands or whatever. My first recommendation above maybe you could end up with the stern plate at the wrong angle to mate with bulwarks.

 

From playing with my kit pieces they all seem to fit together beautifully.

Edited December 2, 2022 by Ian_Grant