FULMINANT by HAIIAPHNK - French stern castle

[HAIIAPHNK]

1 hour ago, Hubac's Historian said:

Alex, your log is wholly unique to the site and a pleasure to read, with marvelous works that both inspire and amaze.

 

It is really fascinating to see the progression of your carving skills, through your earlier vessels like L’Ambiteaux, Le Francoise, etc.

 

The detail has always been there, but there is now a lightness and animated quality to the work that is really extraordinary.  It’s such a vague and indeterminant quality to describe or quantify, but you have certainly achieved it.

 

Here would be a fun, never before modeled winged project; Puget’s exuberantly ornamented Le Paris of 1668 (later renamed and redecorated as La Royal Therese):

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I am very happy to have received grateful readers. It is a pleasure to share what is going on in my work. It concerns emotions, thoughts or some difficulties that unexpectedly appear. 
And I'm glad that I can always ask for help when I don't get something right or have questions about theory. I always see support here. It is inspiring. Thank you very much!

You once again give unique images. I have a separate folder on my computer where I collect all your sketches. Thank you. You are a great connoisseur of ship's history. I can't imagine how long it takes to find so many unique photos.

[druxey]

Aleksandr: The name is derived from an American English slang word meaning 'to vomit'. 

 

I absolutely agree with Hubac's comment on the quality of your carving work.

[HAIIAPHNK]

12 minutes ago, druxey said:

Aleksandr: The name is derived from an American English slang word meaning 'to vomit'. 

 

Thank you very much for your patient explanation of meanings in English. Now I can add another word to my vocabulary after “I need your clothes”. Just have to be careful with it. I don't want to accidentally say it in front of my spouse. She might think I'm making weird innuendos about her kitchen. And then I'd have to yell Help me! Somebody help me! 🙂

I hope it's clear that this is just a joke. 

 

I actually adore both my wife and the way she cooks. 

 

Honey, if you read this, read only what's highlighted. You don't need to look at the rest.

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Yes, because this early period in the development of the French navy - before the widespread use of plans - interests me so much, I am constantly searching for contemporary portraits that give an overall sense of line, proportion and decor.

[HAIIAPHNK]

Chapter 13
In which there are few interesting events, so the author makes a joke about toenails. What else is he supposed to do?

Finally something to show! 

Lately I have been working on small details to complement the transom decorations. These works were unremarkable, so there are no photos of the process, only final shots.

But there is still a lot to tell. Life sometimes makes adjustments: because of health problems I had to take a break. When I came back, I found that some glued parts had moved away from the body. The reason was the material itself - the thin elements of the tagua walnut had deformed like chips and had come off, despite the strength of the glue.
This is what some of the slises look like in the billet box.

 

 

And this is what some of these problems look like already on the ship model

 

 

If you work with this material, be aware of its tendency to warp.

I tested different glues before I started, primarily for bone. For tagua walnut, I then quickly chose the second glue - it showed strength on large surfaces. But later it turned out that for small parts and complex carvings it is not suitable, especially if it is not possible to use clamps or weights.

Secondary glue is only good for temporary fixing. I use it to secure the workpiece to the slipway. Once the carving is complete, the piece can be easily removed. But to glue the elements to the hull of the ship, you need a more versatile glue.

Given my previous problems with paint, I started looking for a glue that:

1. Would be suitable for different materials - wood and tagua walnut.
2. Will allow future removal of the decor without damage if repairs or repainting is needed.
3. Will account for possible warping of the walnut due to changes in humidity or time.

In the end, I chose a soft silicone glue. But, as practice has shown, it cannot withstand the stresses that occur in the thin thread elements.

I am now thinking again about changing glue. Perhaps I will return to organic glue, for example, from rabbit's feet - it perfectly holds the bone. But for now, for the sake of easy disassembly, I left the decor on silicone glue.

If you work with tagua nut, be prepared for its unpredictability. And of course, I am open to advice and would appreciate any recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

There is another topic that I wanted to discuss. I have talked about it in the past. It concerns the white color of walnut. 

Tagua walnut is so light that it optically “steals” volume from the figures. Even shadows on it look too soft and details are lost. On photos it is especially noticeable - instead of a clear carved ornament you get either a shapeless white mass or something ghostly-glowing, which makes you want to cover your eyes with the palm of your hand from this glow.

I decided to change it. But how? With a brush and paint. I decided to try and do a patina. I know that sounds obviously not what the idea looks like in my head. And when I tried telling the customer about this idea, he expectedly said he didn't like the idea. White carving and patina is not the most obvious combination. Admittedly, I myself would have been wary of the idea if I had heard it from someone else.
But then chance intervened. In fact, a lot of time passed between my question and answer. I don't remember exactly what the pause was. Maybe it was days, maybe even a week. And for me, every second of waiting seemed like a century. You can even imagine such a picture: I am sitting in front of the monitor and waiting for an answer. I have already grown a beard, I continue to sit in anticipation, biting my nails with impatience, looking at the clock and seeing that already from the moment of sending the letter has passed Terrible .... FIVE MINUTES!!! And still no reply. I sit again, staring at the screen. My beard is already wrapped around my chest. I'm biting my nails again, already on my toes. And there is still no answer. Now make this wait into days. I've already seen some stars explode around me and others born. Can you imagine exactly how I felt? And all the while I was thinking that the customer wouldn't understand what I was trying to say. And at one point, I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped up, rushed to get my brushes and started to make the right tone for the patina. In fact, you could almost call it a transparent composition. The paint came out with a slight yellow tint, nothing more. I understood that for a white color, you don't need more than that. In the end, I carefully used a thin tip of the brush only in the deepest hollows. For the experiment, I chose a faun's head that I had recently been working on. It was interesting, but it was lost against the background of the rest of the carving.
 And this is what I ended up with.

 

 

 

I think it's gotten better now. Although it's still not so obvious in the photos the difference between before and after. But I'm happy with what I can see for myself.

Finally, I will mention that I went to the hospital right after the patination was finished. By that time I had not heard back from the customer. All this time I was thinking that he may have already written that he was against the idea. And I, without waiting for his opinion, redesigned the whole thing. 

So now I'm waiting for his reaction and preparing for any outcome. Maybe he'll get angry, or maybe he'll come to me, give me a hard time for being AWOL, and take Fulminant away. Then the last thing I'll have time to say in this thread will be a joke about biting my toenails. And who knows, maybe that's what everyone will remember better than all the previous stories about this project!
That would be a scandal. 

 

[Keith Black]

 Aleksandr, I never tire viewing your beautiful work. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. 

[HAIIAPHNK]

22 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Aleksandr, I never tire viewing your beautiful work. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours. 

 

Thank you.

[Hubac's Historian]

Merry Christmas, Aleksandr!

 

That is such a curious thing about the carvings freeing themselves from the glue.  Even if you were using the same type of silicone that one might use to seal a gasket around a sink, it is remarkable that they would work themselves free.  I’d have thought they’s break along weak spots sooner than that.

[Hubac's Historian]

Perhaps the nuts have a high oil concentration?

 

I am certain you will find an alternative.  I think the patination you have chosen is just enough to lend depth to the details.  As always, the work is a joy to behold!

[HAIIAPHNK]

Thank you for your kind words.
I too think this type of material has its own characteristics in the form of oil content inside. And that affects the adhesion. In the stories with paint and with glue, the same peculiarity is at the core. I hope that I will find reliable options so that the walnut decor will not reject the chemical formulations. 
I don't know for sure if the glue gel is a relative for plumbing sealants.It's a small tube that promised me versatility on different surfaces. It may be the same sealant, just in a smaller package and with different marketing promises. Once dry, it remains elastic and soft, and it's very reminiscent of the plumbing options.
Of course, to say that the adhesive can be very easily and repeatedly peeled off without fear would be very bold. Tagua is a very brittle material and likes to break at the most unexpected moments. So far I've been able to get the parts safely out of place. And the glue is easy to remove. 
 

I have already thought about where there is no gold plating immediately glue on organic glue. I really hope it will give a good result. But that's just speculation for now. And it too needs to be tested with time. The next elements of the decor will definitely become a place of experimentation. 
Here, too, there are peculiarities that need to be taken into account. For example, organic glue cannot be stored for a long time.  
And since small parts require quite a drop of glue, it's hard to brew it in such microscopic doses. The only option for convenient work with such glue is to make a large volume of parts, accumulate them separately in boxes. And then glue them all in place at once. This is what I plan to do with the decor on the balcony. But first you need to do an experiment and see if this glue will be a good option or not.

This whole project is one big experiment. I guess that's the advantage of it.

[druxey]

I agree that the carved work 'sits down' better visually against the background work, as well as defines the details nicely. If it were me , I would present the work as a fait accompli without comment. Should he dislike it, I'm certain you would find another buyer!

 

Frohe Weihnachten, Aleksandr!

 

[HAIIAPHNK]

I try to make jokes in some places. And make the text slightly absurd. There may be problems in this, the translator may not translate my words correctly.

In fact, I can in no way say a single bad word about my customer. He is a very wonderful person, I was very lucky to meet him. 
I can easily tell him about real events without hiding some moments that I don't like. Even on the contrary, he is the one who stops me. I tell him that I want to redo something, and he tries to talk me out of it, writing that he likes everything as it is. For example, I left the problem with the structure of the “ears” (I do not know how to call these details correctly) out of the chat. The place where columns with arches will appear in the future. On this ship these are large vases. When I designed the cornice structure, I lost sight of some of the nuances. It was only later that I saw that it was not going to be a very pretty design. We had a long discussion about what we can do now that a lot has already been done. And a lot will have to be removed, torn off and redone. The customer wanted to leave it as it was already done. But in the end I didn't listen to him and redid it. In the future I will continue the remodeling, remove the cornice completely and redo it. The way I would do it for myself.

I believe that hiding problems is not the best option. He trusts me, and I have to honor that trust. It would be a lot worse if he suddenly saw problems I wouldn't tell him about. I value my reputation. I try to do the project to the best of my ability.

I realize that a lot of things can be left out. There are a lot of things in any job that are problems with the normal workflow. There's no point in telling everyone about it. If you knew how many of these problems go quietly. But I thought the most interesting ones should be shown. For me, this project has a lot of new things in it, things that I have never encountered before. And it may be useful to those who dare to take on similar tasks. More detailed stories are useful to me myself. Sometimes I reread my own posts. Some time will pass and I will forget what exactly I did, what methods I used. I'll flip through these pages and I'll remember. And I will thank myself.
It is interesting to look at photos alone, but I like not the result itself, but the path, the stories, the emotions that arise during the work.

[empathry]

Happy New Year dear Sasha ;

 

Reading (eagerly) your sudomodelism adventures really makes me saving me a subscription to Netflix, whilst your adventures are worth a Netflix serie ! 

 

I am thinking about your glueing problem, and a logical opinion could be that it's not really worth trying to select a glue permitting the quite unprobable occurence of having a modification to do (or a little repairing).     

I have myself some ship models I realized three decades (and more) ago and sometimes, the wood works is such a manner that cracks may appear, but whilst the ship models are protected by glasses, there is no wind, no dust, and no need to clean the model, so that the probability of a little bit of something needing a fixing is quasi nil.

 

Your photos are always excellent ! 

 

I hope for all the people you love the best, and particularly for you a good health !       

[HAIIAPHNK]

Thank you for your kind words. Now I'm sitting here with red ears from embarrassment. I realize you're joking when you compare me to Netflix. But just in case, I still wonder which actor could play me in a movie? I'd like it to be Tom Hanks. I'm ready to sign a contract now. 😄

 

I've always looked with particular envy at the fact that your avatar has a reference to Versailles in the location. One day I might pack my bags and go to France and visit the museums. It's a very longtime dream of mine. And now I've also read about your collection in the glass cases. And my curiosity is just bursting out. Your house must look like this? In my imagination, that's exactly what it must look like.

 

 

 That's it, I'm going to get on with my work. If I can finish this project with Fulminant, I'll have a better chance of getting Tom Hanks to agree to play me in a movie. And then I'll be famous and I'll definitely be able to go to Paris.

 

[Michael Mash]

Hello,

I enjoyed reading your posts and seeing your carving work.

What are your favorite tools for carving Tagua nut?

Thank You,

Mike

[HAIIAPHNK]

Hello.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading about my creation. I hope there is something useful in it. Or at least interesting. I prefer hand tools more in carving. And I use a set of miniature chisels. In working with tagua walnut, I also use a hand router with different burrs. But I use this type of tool much less. Unfortunately, I can't take a picture of my chisels right now. But you can see and read more about this set in another thread I am also posting on this site. 
It's here:

 

[Michael Mash]

Thank you Alexander.

The information you provided is very helpful.

I will continue to watch your beautiful creations.

Greetings,

Mike

[HAIIAPHNK]

Chapter 14
Where the author makes you peek through windows.

 

 

My previous post ended with this view. I had completed all the decorative elements on the large panel above the balcony. This was the main and most prominent decoration of the ship’s stern, but it was far from the only one. Moreover, for me, this part of the decor was the easiest. It’s practically a flat surface.

 

 

Now, I had to move down, work on the balcony, the first level of windows, and create the side galleries. And that was a much more challenging task. At least because I had to figure out how all these shapes should look. It’s one thing to see them in a drawing, and a completely different thing to turn them into a three-dimensional construction. To adapt the real forms of the model to the image on paper.
But I’m jumping way ahead. All of this was still in the future. At the moment, I had set myself a different goal: to make the windows.

And here’s where I should start showing the stages of work on the window frames, posting photos of my desk covered with blueprints, templates, and patterns. Showing the small slats being cut and turned into window grids (I don’t know what this element is called in English, and I’m not sure a computer translator would pick the right word, so I hope for your ingenuity). But you won’t see any of this because I didn’t photograph any of it. Usually, when we work on a hobby, it’s positive emotions that motivate us to share our work. But I had no positive emotions. I didn’t feel like taking pictures. I kept making attempt after attempt, and I absolutely didn’t like what I was seeing. I really didn’t like it. And these damned windows took so much time and energy from me. I even saw them in my dreams. I clearly remember one of those dreams. In it, I had finally made good windows and was admiring them on the model. But when I woke up and realized it was all just my imagination playing tricks on me, I felt utterly defeated.
I tried many different methods, made countless attempts, and threw a whole pile of scraps into the trash bin. In the end, this is what I came up with.

 

 

 

 

Even here, I saw a lot of things I wasn’t happy with. But this version ended up being the final one. I sent the result to my client. In many cases, his reaction is what puts the final stamp on my projects. I’m next to the model and see the details more closely. I know all the flaws. And I want to do things differently. But he often calms me down, stops me, and writes something positive. That he likes everything and doesn’t want me to redo it. That’s what happened with the windows too. He approved this version of the window frames and suggested moving on.
I simmered with emotions for a while but eventually calmed down and followed his advice. All that was left was to glaze the windows, and I could move forward.

The glass was provided by the client; it arrived along with other useful cargo and the model itself. He had also informed me about it beforehand. He immediately made it clear that he was against using modern materials like plastic or film for the glass. He wanted the glazing to be done with sheets of mica. I’ll spend a bit of time discussing this material. I had encountered mica before. Back then, when I was building my own models and making windows, I also wondered how to make the glass. I don’t remember where exactly I bought the mica sheets. But I do remember that the mica I had then was different from what I saw in the client’s supplies. His mica sheets looked... how should I put it? They looked different. This mica looked ancient, as if it had been made long ago using old methods. The mica I had seen before was smoother. These sheets had far more particles and bubbles between the layers. If a more modern person, like my son, were to look at this mica, he might consider these sheets to be defective or garbage. By the way, that’s an interesting thought. I should show him these sheets and find out if he would say that. For me, it didn’t evoke negative emotions. As I said, I perceived these sheets as ancient. And that somehow made me handle them more carefully, as if they were an ancient mummy or amphora. I wonder if these mica sheets really have a history of their own?

 

 

 

I’ll also mention that among the materials the client provided for the work, I found another type of glass. And this was actual glass—a small case with a whole set of tiny thin glass plates. If I understood correctly, they are used either in microscopes or for microscopes. I think these are slides on which material is applied for examination through optics. But that’s just my guess; I didn’t verify the exact purpose of these plates. I wanted to make two options: one window with mica and another with glass, so the client could compare and choose.
The glass turned out to be very fragile. It shattered eagerly when I tried to work with it, cutting it. I tried cutting the slides to the right size first to glue them into the frames. And I tried gluing them first and then trimming the edges. But in both cases, the glass cracked.

 

 

 

 

For some reason, I’m confident I would have eventually found the right way to handle it. But the first photos the client saw led to his clear verdict: no glass, only mica. So I didn’t bother finishing the work with glass. I cleaned up the shards, put the case with the glass back into the supplies, and continued working with mica. What can I say? In my opinion, mica as glazing has its pros and cons. Among its advantages is relatively simple processing. There are nuances—mistakes during cutting are easy to make. But the process isn’t too difficult. Another major plus is that, unlike plastic or film, this material will remain as it is for years to come, which can’t always be said for modern materials. But there are downsides too. As I mentioned earlier, the mica (and now I’m talking specifically about what I had at my disposal) had its natural defects. Additionally, more defects could appear during the cutting and installation process. These include bubbles between layers. As a result, there’s a significant chance that some spots on the windows will show these specks and other flaws. It can look like traces of glue or other careless actions. And here, only you can decide whether this is acceptable for you or not. A modern person who’s used to even dust on the window being unacceptable might grimace and say they’d rather choose plastic. But a history enthusiast might not even notice these features. They might even say that these imperfections prove it’s real mica and that the windows were made exactly as they were centuries ago. And the artifacts on the surface only make the windows more beautiful. So, it’s a pretty ambiguous situation.

[Hubac's Historian]

I understand your impulse toward perfection, but the windows are really excellent.  The mullions follow the horizontal camber of the stern, and the vertical tumblehome of the topsides.

 

One point I am still curious about.  How did you ultimately get the tagua nut carvings to re-adhere to their place settings?

[HAIIAPHNK]

Thanks for the feedback. I couldn't quite read the main point of the glue question accurately, so I may not be answering exactly what you wanted to know. I have mentioned in past posts that some of the tagua parts have come off. In particular, this happened with some of the sunbursts. The thin parts started to buckle and they came off the surface of the base. I have written about this before. And at that time I was just raising the question about glues. After that I glued the parts again. And I did it with the same glue that I used originally. Thought I'd give it another chance. The bulk of the parts are still in place. But there are a couple rays that came off again. So I definitely need to change the glue. 
I tried to look for an answer to the question of what is better to glue the tagua parts with, but I didn't find a definite answer. I got the advice to try two-component glues based on epoxy resins. I was even given an example of such glue. It is Devcon 5 Minute Epoxy or Loctite Epoxy. They also recommended a polyurethane glue, such as Gorilla Glue. 
I also have a variant of organic glue made from rabbit skins. I bought it for gluing parts made of bone. I tried this variant on training pieces of bone. And they glued very securely and firmly. However, in that experiment the parts had a rather large plane of contact. But I still have high hopes for this variant. And first of all I will try this variant. Especially since I already have it in stock. 

And the rest are still to be found and ordered. 
As you can see, I haven't made any more attempts with glue in the meantime and the problems with the parts that were sticking off have not been solved completely. and you can see that just as well from the pictures in this last post. You can see there that the entire panel area is covered in dust. So I haven't touched it for quite some time. You can see the puffy ray as well. 
Part of the reason for this long pause is that my attention has been focused on other issues. And partly I saw a certain logic in it. I was waiting and seeing what would happen to the rest of the parts that I had already re-glued. Would they or the other parts come off? I gave myself time to assess the situation more accurately and if there were any more problem areas, I would re-glue everything at once and not have to dilute a new batch of glue each time. I don't see the logic in that. It's not like I can boil two drops of glue. I would have to make a much larger batch. And it would take a couple drops to glue it together. The rest I'd have to throw away. If I do this over and over again, I'll use up the whole jar of glue. I've decided that when the new new balcony parts come in, I'll glue them all at once. In the meantime, I'm just observing what's already glued.
I hope I was able to explain the whole situation and correctly understand the essence of your question.

 

[HAIIAPHNK]

Chapter 15

 

This chapter, by all the rules of the genre, should have featured a serenade, a passionate lover with a lute, and a shy lady behind a curtain. But none of them will make an appearance. And honestly, that’s for the best.

 

After finishing the windows, it was time to focus on the balcony. Finally, I removed something that had been hanging around on the model for way too long. A little backstory: when I built the balcony floor ages ago, I reinforced it with temporary braces and ribs to keep it safe from accidental damage. Back then, I made the temporary structure out of stiff paper.

Now, I’m not sure if there’s a similar expression in English, but in Russian folklore, there’s a saying: “Nothing is more permanent than something temporary.” And this project proved it true yet again. When I crafted those paper supports, I thought they’d only be there for a day or two. It was supposed to be a quick fix until I could replace them with something sturdier made of wood or plywood. But time passed. The paper structure held up remarkably well—nothing tore, nothing collapsed. So I kept postponing the replacement, thinking, “Eh, it works for now.”

Still, it always felt a little embarrassing when those paper supports showed up in photos. I mean, this is a big, elegant ship model. Paper details? Even temporary ones? Come on. I’d cringe at the sight and promise myself, “Tomorrow, I’ll fix this. At least for the sake of the photos.” But tomorrow never came.

So here we are—finally tearing off that paper. It felt like the start of a new era for this model. No more weird paper braces in the pictures! Honestly, it’s worth celebrating. A holiday, even! But what should I call it? Cartondance? LiberPapira? Maybe something fancy like Papirôle with a French twist? I’ll have to think about it.

Of course, as soon as I removed one temporary fix, I started building another. This time from different materials.

 

 

I know, it looks just as primitive and pathetic. But hey, it gets the job done. This new contraption was necessary to bend the balcony railings into the correct radius.

 

 

 

 

 

And gradually, the outlines of the balcony began to take shape. After working on the windows, it was an immense pleasure to cut regular wooden planks for the paneling instead of slicing thin strips of wood as delicate as noodles.

 

Little by little, the balcony started to take shape. After working on the windows, it was such a relief to stop cutting delicate strips for the rain spouts and switch to crafting regular planks for the cladding.

When building ship models, we all face countless decisions: what details to prioritize, what to simplify, and what to ignore. These dilemmas come in many forms. For instance, should you leave a small gap between parts? You could fix it by crafting a new piece, but that takes extra time. Or maybe a strip of wood ends up slightly too short—should you cut a new one or just leave it, knowing the gap will later be hidden under additional layers?

You’ll also encounter the opposite situation. Sometimes you meticulously detail an interior cabin, knowing full well that no one will ever see it once the model is complete. Yet, you do it anyway—for the satisfaction of knowing it’s there.

It’s always a balancing act: where to cut corners and where to go all out, even if no one else will notice. There’s no right answer. Each modeler decides for themselves. That’s what makes this a hobby—it’s about doing what brings you joy.

Why am I spending time writing about such a seemingly trivial topic? Because I want to leave behind a record of this little piece of Fulminant that will never be seen. Maybe I’ll forget about it someday, but at least here, it’s preserved. For example, I carefully crafted the interior cladding of the balcony—complete with supports and wooden planks—just as it should be.

 

 

Now, I’m making everything the way it should be on a proper model. No paper. Everything is serious and meticulously crafted. After all, it’s LiberPapira and Papirôle! Life, however, just smirked at me and said, “No paper, you say? Sure, keep dreaming. I’ll wait for tomorrow.”

And tomorrow came...

 

 

 

Chances are, I’ll end up photographing more temporary fixes—maybe even made of paper—and worrying about how they look. So much for Cartondance!

But in the meantime, progress continues. Rough drafts and sketches are giving way to permanent details—at least the first layer of them. Eventually, these will be built upon with additional layers and finer details.

Going forward, I won’t stray off-topic with stories or jokes about placing a young lady on the balcony and a lovestruck suitor below. Nor will I describe the following photos in detail. Instead, here are just a few images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s pretty much it. Over these last few posts, I’ve briefly described what’s been happening over the past few months. Believe me, even these long-winded posts barely scratch the surface. I could tell so many more stories—some of them worthy of a full comedy script, filled with misunderstandings, mishaps, and unexpected twists.

Some of those stories have already reached their conclusion, while others are still unfolding, and I have no idea how they’ll end. But that’s a topic for another time.

For now, I’ve shared the latest updates. As you can see from the photos, even the finished parts aren’t truly final yet. That’s what I’m working on now.

At every step, I find myself wondering: Did I make the right choice? Does this solution work, or did I mess up? Does the model resemble the drawings? How do I balance Berain’s designs with the actual construction and my own vision?

These are the questions on my mind, and I’ll address them in the next post.

[druxey]

Very nicely reworked. Having only the stern of the model is very convenient for tipping it up on end to work on! Papierverschwunden!

[HAIIAPHNK]

Thank you. 
Yes, the vertical positioning of the model has its advantages. First of all, it saves a lot of space. I adapted an ordinary clothes rack for such a vertical slipway. It was left by my son after he moved to a separate apartment and his room became a testing ground for me, where I do my modeling now. For a classic horizontal slipway I have to look for a lot more space. When I work with the stern in this condition I have the opportunity to put my wrists on the hull and so my hands are not on the weight, which is also very convenient. But as in many situations and here too along with pluses there are also minuses. For example, the vertical positioning of the ship breaks the correct perception. I have noticed several times that the eye gets used to this view, but when you turn the model in the correct position, it turns out that you made mistakes somewhere. Well and as it is a rack for clothes on it weighs and different clothes. And my heavy bags with camera equipment are stacked at the bottom. All this is needed as ballast, so that a heavy model does not topple the whole rack. It doesn't interfere with the work in any way, but when shooting, you can see fabrics or things in the background. And it makes the shots a bit dirty. And here is more than enough and shambles, which is visible on my table. Those are the downsides.

[HAIIAPHNK]

Now let’s talk about the unclear points.
It’s difficult to separate the questions into distinct parts here. Each individual nuance smoothly transitions into another. I’ll try to describe at least some of the most important questions at this point.

To start, I’ll once again present two types of stern decorations that can be seen in Beren’s drawings.

 

 

 

 

The first thing I’d like to discuss is the lower-tier windows of the side gallery. If you look at the drawing, you can see how much they differ from all the others. Especially the window on the far corner, where it meets the stern transom. This window looks very large and elongated. It reminds me of limousine windows, as if it’s been stretched too much.

 

 

And this is where I faced a dilemma. Should I stick to Beren’s historical drawing, or should I make some adjustments? On the one hand, the answer seems obvious. I have the primary source, and I should follow it. But on the other hand, Beren only sketched a general concept. This drawing isn’t a rigid blueprint. In actual shipyard practice, modifications were often made later. So, I can’t say I don’t have the right to make adjustments. For example, I can point to Budrio, who made corrections to the decorations for Ambitious in his monograph, and that was considered acceptable. So, what should I do? That corner window, in my opinion, looks very unattractive. I think it could be replaced with two narrower windows instead. What do you think?

The second question is a natural continuation of this topic but with a slightly different focus. What should all the side gallery windows look like? Are they even real windows? After reviewing several other models, I’ve concluded that the upper-tier window is definitely a false window. Similarly, the lower-tier windows should also be false. The only difference is that the upper false window is directly attached to the ship’s hull. Meanwhile, the lower windows are solid wooden panels on the officer’s toilet compartment. Only in the central segment could there be a small glazed window mounted in the upper part of the shield with the false window. Something like this:

 

 

Is my reasoning correct? Am I right in thinking that all the windows here should be false?

 

 

Moving on. Now let’s look at the model from the stern view. Here’s what I’ve achieved so far. In the empty space, the very windows I discussed earlier will eventually be placed.

 

 

I could make this section flat, with the slope following the red line. Or I could make it curved so that the plane matches the yellow line. Which option do you think is better? A gentle curve is more elegant, especially if I choose the false window option. In that case, nothing would interfere with assembling the shields with a curve. But was this done in cases where glass windows were mandatory? On the one hand, a curved structure would be much more complex to make, and a flat glass window would be easier to install. On the other hand, glass panes would certainly have been installed as small pieces, and making a window frame with slight bends isn’t too difficult either. So, technically, a window could also have had a wavy shape. Or is it definite that this wasn’t done?

There’s also an intermediate option that combines both approaches. The vertical columns could have a curve, while the shields or glass windows remain flat and unbent. Which of these options seems more correct to you?

Please, let’s reflect on this together. I’d really like to hear other opinions. I deliberately didn’t provide additional examples to leave as much freedom as possible in your answers.

[empathry]

Hello HAIIAPHNK !

 

The progress of your work is really beautiful and meticulous ; it's indeed first-rate work that we can admire here, and this is a tribute to “real” handwork, which we see less and less often, so much is it driven out by laser pre-cut kits and computer-made sculptures. 

 

Now, let's try to answer your important question about the side windows : 

 

(a) first of all, there's a naval military constraint to consider : a warship is built to receive cannonballs (during combat), so it's not encouraged to put too many "real" windows on the sides (because it structurally reduces the ship's strenght).

 

(b) On the other hand, there's the aesthetic example of "real" side windows as drawn by Hergé (in The Secret of the Unicorn), which makes us fantasize aesthetically about beautiful side openings ...

 

How do you choose between these two trends (a) or (b) ? ? ?

 

Should we absolutely respect the notion of naval engineering structure and limit "true" side windows, or can we somehow dream, a little bit, and imagine a more pretty side profile of the castle, by putting in beautiful “true” windows (instead of "false" windows) ... and which ones to be chosen ?

 

That's here the crucial question to be discussed ! 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:17 PM by empathry

[empathry]

The original drawing of the Unicorn, imagined by Gérard Liger-Belair for his friend Hergé.

[Hubac's Historian]

With regard to the two main issues you have raised, here, I submit the following for your consideration.

 

When I was first considering this, presumed to be Jean Berain, design for the 1689 quarter galleries of Soleil Royal, there were aspects of the drawing that seemed like artifacts of an earlier time.  If I were to interpret the drawing literally, it would result in a cramped and muddled looking structure:

This profusion of five false windows in the lower gallery tier have more in common with the construction practices of the early 1670’s.  The windows, themselves, are one thing, but where it really gets cramped is the area below with all of it’s pilasters and panels.  The way this is drawn is unpleasingly asymmetrical to my eye.

 

Alternatively, I reduced the number of windows on the lower tier to three and arranged them along a central axis that runs straight through the crowned upper finishing, and the grape-clustered lower finishing.  The triangulation of the 3:2:1 window arrangement better supports the essentially diamond shaped quarter galleries in a more harmonious way.  The pilaster and panel arrangement is also much more coherent:

This light re-design has the added advantage of being much more consistent with the construction practice of these times of the latter 1680’s.

 

With the exception of the quarter deck level (Admiral’s quarters) - the single window in the amortisement - all other quarter gallery windows would be false, with perhaps a small, hinged center window within the window, for ventilation while using the toilet.

 

It is my belief that all of these lower tier false lights would have been removable panels, behind which there could be an additional cannon port.  You see this at the main deck and middle deck levels of Tanneron’s model:

photos, courtesy of Yoann Guillemenet.

 

 

 

 

Edited 18 hours ago by Hubac's Historian

[empathry]

Thank you Hubac's Historian for this reminder about the Soleil Royal, which I shall endeavor to complete, as there have been 2 Soleil Royal ... and even 3 ! Let me tell you their interesting stories !

 

The “historic” first Soleil Royal (N° 1) was built in 1669 and remained unused (non-operational) for 14 years, from 1671 to 1685, when it was literally left to “rot” along the quays of La Penfeld.  Its completion and total reconstruction (restoration) has been undertaken in 1688, including the entire decorations of the rear castle ; let’s name it “Soleil Royal 1 bis”.

 

An interesting further information ; this restauration was held under the supervision of the famous Louis Hubac.

 

Thereafter, it (N° 1 bis) was burnt at the Battle of La Hougue in June 1692.

 

Then, angered by this loss, king Louis XIV decided to rename another 1^st line vessel, originally called the “Foudroyant”, to “Soleil Royal”.

 

As for the Tanneron magnificent model, it dates 1840 and, according to Claude Lemineur's study, it seems highly likely that this model was mainly based on the “Soleil Royal 1 bis” (refitted in 1688), the new drawings for which were carefully been preserved in Lorient.