Spanish Galleon 1607 by PvG Aussie - Imai Kagaku - 1/100 - PLASTIC

[PvG Aussie]

"Flagship of the Golden Fleet that bore home fabled treasures of the New World."

This kit was originally released in 1979.

 

[Ferrus Manus]

Great job starting on this project! I have done one myself. If you would like any kind of advice on construction, visit @kirill4 and try your best to make your model look like that. 

I look forward to seeing your progress! 

[PvG Aussie]

Greetings to everyone on the start of this new build.

 

I've spent the last three days doing my research and have to start by acknowledging the wonderful work done by @kirill4 and @Ferrus Manus regarding their versions of this same model. After seeing their work, I can see why I was able to buy this kit at a very reasonable price. Obviously, the previous owner was frightened off by the work of these two, in particular the 'grand master' Kirill!

 

Having said that I would like to quote Kirilli when he wrote, "I think it makes sense to carefully study the techniques of colleagues, those works that you like and use them in your practice." With his and Ferrus' permission I plan to do just that. At least to a limited extent.

 

Their experience suggests that I should consider:

• the intricate painting of patterns on the hull,
• cloth sails,
• my own shrouds and ratlines 😓, and
• make my own flags.

 

I hope I can create a great model which even partly reflects some of the excellent work done before.

 

I will start with the simple task of priming parts in preparation for the challenging paint jobs.

Cheers,

 

Ps. Thanks to Ferrus for yesterday's offer of help.

Edited June 29 by PvG Aussie

[Louie da fly]

Hi Peter. Looking forward to seeing your progress. 

 

Steven

[kirill4]

Good day,

Dear Peter,

Wish You all the Best and interesting works , findings and positive emotions during building this model!

This kit , by my opinion, offers very wide range of posibilities , how it could be assembled!:)))

When I began my version, I was a few years under impression of this work, one of our german colleques

https://www.wettringer-modellbauforum.de/forum/index.php?page=Thread&postID=600158&highlight=Galleon#post600158

Wish You All the Best!

Kirill

 

Edited June 29 by kirill4

[Ferrus Manus]

You can make silkspan sails look realistic for this model, and it would be more scale-accurate than cloth at 1/100. However, it would take some effort. I suggest using an actual tutorial instead of looking at how I do mine, as I recognize mine could be better. I wish I had done my own shrouds and ratlines for mine. Maybe I'll do this same model again someday.

Edited June 29 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

Another piece of advice is to decide early on which "version" of the kit you intend to replicate. If you do a version of the galleon from the Spanish Armada, it will look significantly different than a galleon from 1607. This will affect the paint job and parts of the rigging. The primary sources you intend to use will also be different. I personally prefer the "1607" version better, but the choice is yours. 

 

Outside of obvious design differences driven by a difference in the intended look of the model, if Kirill has done something significantly different than I have, you should probably default to his techniques. For example, the painting of lines, the use of rope coils, etc. 

Edited June 29 by Ferrus Manus

[PvG Aussie]

Hi Ferrus, I think I will stick with the 1607 version. That way I can't waver too far from the instructions and appearance of the box. 

Thanks, Peter.

[kirill4]

Good day,

Dear Peter,

Consider replacement ,in advance, if necessary, some of "critical" parts of spars - I replaced bowsprit for wooden stick( for artist brush handle of suitable size)...

the rest of spars ( masts and yards)in my kit ( it was chinese kit in my case) were of suitable hardness and I left them w/o replacement.

All the best!

Kirill

[PvG Aussie]

Thank you Kirill for your suggestions. I'll make a note of this and reconsider when I get to that part of my build.

Cheers,

Peter     🙂

[Baker]

Good luck,  this will be great to follow. 

[PvG Aussie]

Greetings all,

It has been a few days since my last post, and I am pleased to have made some real progress.

After priming just about everything with SMS Surfacer Black, I started on the two sides of the hull. I am happy with the result.

Above the water level I applied SMS Premium Dark Earth and wiped it with thinner in order to increase contrast and the appearance of texture. The Red, yellow, blues and whites, were as you expected, applied with patience and great care. Below the watermark, I applied Tamiya XF-8 Dark Iron and then weathered it with SMS RAAF Dark Slate, which gave it a dirty, algae look. (Research suggested that these hulls were covered with tar and pitch for protection.)

 

I still need to add some panel lining to the port holes, and also colour to the 'side boards' that sit either side of the coloured sections. (Sorry but my shipping terminology is not so crash hot!)

 

These are the paints and washes I used.

 

According to the instructions, the next step is to consider adding the decks and stern section. That won't be happening until I have them painted and weathered!

See you then,

Cheers,

[Ferrus Manus]

Wonderful paint job! However, from sources such as Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom, you will find that the Spanish had given up the fancy paint jobs by 1607. That being said, it is your model, and you should choose whatever looks best to you. 

Edited July 2 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

8 hours ago, PvG Aussie said:

'side boards'

These are called wales. 

[PvG Aussie]

Ferris, regarding the paint patterns and Vroom's reference, I am happy to go with the 1979 version as it was depicted on the kit display. Surely, they must have had some idea, even though it was made so long ago. Incidentally, one of the shields on the model is my family crest!

Cheers,

[Ferrus Manus]

Wow! Which family crest is that? 

[PvG Aussie]

The red and yellow striped one. It goes back to an ancient duchy from 1190 onward.

P

[PvG Aussie]

I started painting the 'wales' but wasn't happy with the red colour I was using as it seemed a little gaudy. So, I decided to work on the decks.

This proved to be much more rewarding and heaps of fun painting and weathering. The result is very pleasing. 😊

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Edited July 3 by PvG Aussie

[Louie da fly]

7 hours ago, PvG Aussie said:

The red and yellow striped one. It goes back to an ancient duchy from 1190 onward.

Like this - 

or this? - 

You're quite right - these shield devices are quite early - dating back to very early in the development of what we now call heraldry, where the shield device told you who was carrying the shield - and 1190 sounds about right.

 

The first is called bendy [i.e. has diagonal lines - bends - with the top on the left] or [gold/yellow] and gules [red]; the second is the same, but as the top is on the right it's called bendy sinister. The reason for the apparent mirror image in the description is that the the device is read not from the viewpoint of the viewer but that of the person carrying the shield. So the right hand side for the viewer is his left (sinister).

 

Very interesting. What's the family name?

 

Steven

[PvG Aussie]

Steven, our crest was vertical without any 'bend'. Thanks for the interest.

(I've sent a message with the requested name.)  Cheers,

[Louie da fly]

12 hours ago, PvG Aussie said:

Steven, our crest was vertical without any 'bend'.

Then that would be described as paly (in heraldry a vertical band is called a pale - same word as paling, palisade, and even pilaster).

 

Steven

[PvG Aussie]

Greetings,

It doesn't seem like much progress, but when you consider having to paint and then touch-up one colour after another, it's a lot of fun!  Don't forget it's a 1:100 scale model.  🧐

The messy board above the red/yellow is a space for the channel.

 

 

Tomorrow's work will include installing the channels, and possibly putting the two sides, stern and decks together ... at least for a dry fit.

Thanks for the continued interest.  ☺️

Cheers,

[Baker]

🧐  a nice paint job.

😉

[PvG Aussie]

Patrick, thank you for your positive comment and 'like'. Incidentally, is where you live in Oost Vlaanderen, anywhere near where I was born in Eeklo?

Peter

[Baker]

Eeklo is not so far from where we live.

Australia.  You are far away from "home" 😉

 

 

[PvG Aussie]

Patrick, my Dutch parents lived in Eeklo for five years and returned to Nederland when I was 10 days old. At 3 years of age, we moved to Australia. The world is not so big after all.

Cheers,

Peter

[PvG Aussie]

Thanks to those who follow me and 'like' my work.

The more I do, the greater the challenge, and the more the enjoyment! 

I installed the channels, shields and painted the stern (the good lady still needs to be weathered a little).

Until next time,

Cheers,

[PvG Aussie]

Thanks again for the those who follow my progress.

 

I have been stressing out about the shrouds and ratlines. 😩 Do I, or don't I make my own. As the shrouds in the model measure 1mm in diameter, and the ratlines are 0.8mm, they will look like train lines on the ship! The chances of doing hundreds of clove hitches when the vertical gap is only 4mm, is very unlikely. So, I have decided to make my own!

 

I'll use the kit chains and lanyards and have made up a jig for the shrouds and ratlines.

After photocopying the relevant sprew, I cut out the biggest 'ladder' and placed it on a piece of wood, holding it in place with tape. I then traced and extended the shrouds and ratlines. I simply worked out where a single thread would go and drilled holes and placed nails as guides.

 

Two  pieces of wood (in this case 0.9mm x 0.9mm) were used to set the nail height and lift the threaded lines together at a height above the base board.

 

The threading was easy even though I removed the photocopy from below. A final adjustment of some nails and I was ready to glue (CA) the joins. For the shrouds I used Gutterman Polyester 0.15mm and for the ratlines, 0.07mm (unknown brand). These threads are much more suitable for the 1:100 scale of the ship. You be the judge.

 

The good part is that I can reuse the gig again for all the other ladders as they all have the 4mm rise.

We're having a three day holiday and then I'll be back to do some more!

Cheers,

 

Edited July 14 by PvG Aussie

[Louie da fly]

Looking very good, Peter! You've done the right thing in making your own ratlines and I'm sure they'll look a lot better than the ones provided in the kit. Nice jig, by the way.

 

Steven

[Bill Morrison]

On 7/2/2024 at 10:09 PM, PvG Aussie said:

The red and yellow striped one. It goes back to an ancient duchy from 1190 onward.

P

As a retired History professor, I would love to hear the history of your family!

 

Bill