TRE KRONER 1742 by Beckmann - 3"/8' scale - Transom-Model

[Canute]

Glad I could help. 😄

[TJM]

Hi Matthias,

 

Regarding the cabin details, have you seen this drawing from the Danish archives?

 

I believe it shows the three decker Christianus Sextus from 1733 by Barbé's predecessor Benstrup. 

 

It gives a good hint of what the decor in the cabins were like at the time!

 

EDIT: I just realised that this was the image you posted part of a few posts ago, sorry! And you are probably right that it is the Sophia Magdalena!

 

BR

TJM

Edited December 16, 2024 by TJM

[Beckmann]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for your encouragement, the work is continuing with the interior work on the upper deck, where the paneling of the “Store Kajüt” (great cabin) described above is now in progress. This also involved some initial carving work. I have now decided to build more or less on the original 18th century interior of the Amphion in Stockholm.
I started with the carved garland below the deck beams:
I laser-cut the rather filigree part with supports and screwed it to the table, then the tools can be used freely with both hands.

 

 

Then the flat columns as a structuring element, here of course the capitals as the first major hurdle.

and here they are put together

 

You could also leave the result in wood, which might have been more discreet and more appropriate for a warship, but I went for a pot of gold paint...

 

Best regards,
Matthias

 

Edited December 18, 2024 by Beckmann

[druxey]

Excellent result, Matthias!

[Chuck]

Really nice work.  Well thought out and executed.

 

 

[westwood]

This looks amazing, Matthias.
You are a master carver!

[Beckmann]

Dear fellow modellers,

First of all, I would like to wish you a healthy new year and lots of exciting projects.
I would like to start my contribution with a book recommendation. The history of shipbuilding is usually told from the perspective of the technical development of sailing ships, with artistic aspects playing a more marginal role. In my opinion, the book ‘Das barocke Schiffsheck als Architekturprospekt’ by Jan Piper from 2017 has provided a nice addition here.

It deals with the causes and developments of ship decorations in the French Baroque of the 17th and 18th centuries, which became style-defining in Europe, just as French art, building culture and language were formative throughout Europe during this period.
The book digs quite deep here and is richly illustrated. It is interesting for my project in that the ship of the line TRE KRONER was built by a Frenchman - Laurent Barbé as shipbuilder and the sculptor - Just Wiedewelt had previously spent 10 years in Paris learning at the court of the French kings.
I was a little worried at times that my interior was exaggerated, but what is shown here goes far beyond that. The following photos show models for interior decorations of French ships of the line from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

So I continue as I started. Progress over the Christmas holidays was limited, as there was a lot going on, but I can still show a little here. The side panelling of the captain's cabin is finished and the stern is currently being worked on.

There is also a nice drawing for the stern front in the book mentioned above, which I am using as a guide:

The component is made up of two halves. I have already shown the inner part above, the outer part is painted red and presents the challenge of flat, curved profiles. I wasn't able to bend them flat in the required radii, so I resorted to drawing them in a stucco style. The outer radius is still made in wood and serves as a gauge, the curved profile is then applied in several passes of wood putty.

 

 

I still have to make 2-3 more passes, then it should be precise enough.

I suspect that the artists of the time worked in a very similar way. The decorations were made from modelling wax, so they must have done it in a similar way.

Best regards,
Matthias

 

[Beckmann]

Dear fellow modellers,
Work continues with the window front of the great cabin. The curved profile was finished with wood filler and profiled.

Here you can see the moulded cornice, I finally went over it again with some paint filler to make the surface fine enough.

 

And here is the result.

After the two halves of the window front had been joined together, I installed the part on the model.

One thing that still concerns me is the opening of the windows. The lower sashes were apparently always openable. The original model in the Krigsmuseet indicates this by a slight offset of the lower sashes, which can also be seen in the plans.

Now the big question: Folding or sliding?

The only references I found were a picture of the French liner le Soleil Royal, where details of the superstructure are shown, here the windows are hinged, and a photo from 1944 of the HMS Implacable, which is originally French, here you can also see the hooks on the ceiling, where the hinged windows were hooked on.

However, the two situations are not entirely comparable, as the windows of the TRE KRONER are organised differently and each consist of an upper fixed glazing and a lower opening sash. This is the classic sliding window division.

Does anyone here know any more details?

 

Best regards,
Matthias

 

Edited January 22 by Beckmann

[Keith Black]

 Matthias, beautiful work. The only thing against sliding windows I can think of is the possible binding of the sash. A hinged window would eliminate possible binding? 

[druxey]

Lovely work and an interesting technique for producing curved moldings. Matthias. 

 

I suspect that the grooves for the sashes became slightly deeper in the upper section so that the sashes would not bind.

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, druxey said:

I suspect that the grooves for the sashes became slightly deeper in the upper section so that the sashes would not bind.

 David, I don't/can't disagree because I don't know. But with deeper grooves wouldn't the window rattle? Also, wouldn't a sliding sash in a stable nonmoving house react differently than on a tossed about ship in a wet environment? IMHO hinged windows would seem to be more suitable aboard ship.   

[Beckmann]

8 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 David, I don't/can't disagree because I don't know. But with deeper grooves wouldn't the window rattle? Also, wouldn't a sliding sash in a stable nonmoving house react differently than on a tossed about ship in a wet environment? IMHO hinged windows would seem to be more suitable aboard ship.   

Hi Keith,

there are some examples of sliding windows, like Victory and Trincomalee. See the pictures below. Also a drawing from Blaise Olivier.

It was obviously not unusual to install these windows on ships.

Matthias

[druxey]

When I wrote 'deeper' I meant in depth, not width. The sash would be tight laterally, but the depth of the grooves would remain parallel.

 

I'm sure that in damp conditions the sashes would have been sticky! I've seen images of ships with raised 'sashes', but they could equally well have been hinged deadlights.

[Beckmann]

Dear fellow modellers,

today I would like to continue the topic of the transom and its elements here.

 

Here you can see a comparison of the drawing and the finished wax model. The dimensions are fairly accurate, although the design of the medallion in the centre of the transom is slightly different. The formation of the edges and the exact depiction of the medaillon content are more precise in the drawing than in the model.

 

A closer look reveals the following:

In the centre of the medallion are the mirrored initials of the Danish King Christian VI. A double chain runs around this monogram, representing the bearer chains of the Order of the Eledanten (outside) and the Order of the Dannebro (inside).
The arrangement of the chains can be clearly seen on this epitaph:

 

Incidentally, the Danish kings still wear these very chains today when making public appearances.

 

 

And here is an example of the mirrored initalia of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway (1699-1746).

 

 

Incidentally, several Christians chose this exact arrangement, from Christian IV to IX.

 

I have drawn this arrangement and brought it into the correct proportions for the model:

 

 

The next step is to carve the medallion from boxwood:

 

 

The coat of arms medallion will now first be integrated into the rear prospect and the adjacent baroque ornamental panelling added on.

 

 

Due to the scale, I will print out the chains on transparent paper and glue them on, the surrounding frame ovals and the initials will be added later. The model now looks like this:

 

 

However, I won't finally fit the component until the quartergalleries have been completed, te keep the accessibility for these works.

Best regards,
Matthias

 

Edited February 13 by Beckmann

[Chuck]

Just beautiful.  Really wonderful.

 

Chuck

[Beckmann]

Thank you Chuck!
To round off this article, I have now completed the medallion.
The surrounding frieze with the double chain was printed on transparent paper and glued onto the medallion.

The initials and the oval frame, as well as the foliage, were laser-cut from 1 mm thick plywood. The ends of the initials C are 0.4 mm thick. This is the thinnest that this technology can produce. At 0.3 mm, the part consists only of laser carbon and disintegrates.

The parts for the medallion were then gold-plated and the foliage stained green and carefully glued into position.

The transom is now ready for assembly, but will remain in the box for the time being until the quarter galleries are finished.

Best regards
Matthias

Edited February 14 by Beckmann

[druxey]

A terrific result! Quite jewel-like.

[Hubac's Historian]

Spectacular!

[TJM]

Fantastic! 👏