La Couronne 1637 by Greg Davis - Corel - 1:100 scale

[Greg Davis]

I bought the Corel La Couronne kit in 2011, during one the many Model Expo sales, thinking the sprit-sail rigging was interesting. I still feel that way and am looking forward to having the completed model on a shelf sooner than later!

 

It took until 2020 before I began the kit and within a year was shelved in favor of a number of other ship modeling projects. As part of a reclamation of workspace, I am now going to make a concerted effort to finish the model. At this point almost all of the hull planking is complete; also, all but one of the decks have been installed and planked. This is what model looks like presently:

Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures earlier in the project, but there are a few things that I do recall such as:

 

• The decks are planked with 1/8" x 1/16" basswood instead of the thinner material provided in the kit.
• I do recall that I used a good deal of basswood filler between the bulkheads so the first (lime) planking would create nicer contours. The second layer blue strakes were supplied already colored. Similarly, the stern is planked in pre-colored yellow planks. Going downward through all of the wales, I had planked with strakes that went from stem to stern - inspired by pictures I had seen of dockyard models of ships from this era.
• I then changed my tack and the lower second (mahogany) layer is made from approximately 3" long planks was applied with a three-butt shift. I recall that once the mahogany was in place, I went to my basement to sand the planking smooth and after a short time of work started to have a nosebleed. A check on the internet had me find that this was not an uncommon reaction to mahogany dust. Because it was winter when this happened, I decided to wait until the weather was warm enough to sand outdoors before continuing. It is now several years later and I am about to take it outside for a little more hull sanding and then continuing with the construction process.

 

So, hopefully, starting this build log will keep me going more quickly (or at least steadily) to the finish! My main goal here is to get a nice looking model, one that has the rest of the work well-done, but not too dissimilar to what has already been done; i.e., an even presentation. 

 

 

 

[Greg Davis]

The last deck, the foredeck, has been added and planked. I also finished the blue second hull planking just below this deck. The red painted planks in the fore ground have been prepared for the inner bulwarks - that will go in next.

[Greg Davis]

It's taking a bit longer than expected (but that always seems to be the case) for me to get the inner bulwark planking completed.  The bulk of the planking is in; now I'm mostly left with the smaller fiddly pieces along the upper decks. Probably another 2 days and this phase will be done. I don't expect to be painting anymore, the rest of the ship will be left in the natural wood colors.

[Greg Davis]

Bulwarks completed!

Next couple of tasks will probably be cap rails (straightforward) and forming 10 round gunport openings (not as).  The gunports are centered on the walnut strip that separates the blue planking from the brown planking. I'll probably start with a very small drill with diameter less than the walnut strip and then larger until I can start to pass a round file into the hole ... . 

Edited August 1 by Greg Davis

[Greg Davis]

I've been able to open up the 4 round gunports under the forecastle deck. There couldn't have been much room to work / manage the guns in this area - the spacing is much closer than on the gun and lower decks. Besides these closely spaced ports, there are 4 more more that open to the front - so 8 guns in a small area! 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

There isn't a lot of room as you say, but the frame locations for the model are not accurate to the actual ship's construction, and they crowd the guns even more.  In my build, I used three sizes of guns, closer to what the ship actually had.  The nine pounders on the upper deck are slightly smaller that the 18 pounders on the lower gun deck, and as you can see below, the 6 pound sakers are smaller still, such that they fit better along the forecastle's forward bulk on both upper and lower gun decks.  The saker carriages are scratch built and gun barrels are bought seperately.  I agree that the stained wood appearance is far better than painted wood, and Corel did a great job providing quality stained wood to work with.  Your build is coming along beautifully!  I see you're in Wisconsin.  I'm in Minnesota.  Hi !  🖐️  I finished this model in 2 years 8 months, and it's complete with full rigging and full sails.  If you have any questions or need research information on La Couronne, PM me.

 

Edited August 3 by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[Greg Davis]

7 hours ago, DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

There isn't a lot of room as you say, but the frame locations for the model are not accurate to the actual ship's construction, and they crowd the guns even more.  In my build, I used three sizes of guns, closer to what the ship actually had.  The nine pounders on the upper deck are slightly smaller that the 18 pounders on the lower gun deck, and as you can see below, the 6 pound sakers are smaller still, such that they fit better along the forecastle's forward bulk on both upper and lower gun decks.  The saker carriages are scratch built and gun barrels are bought seperately.  I agree that the stained wood appearance is far better than painted wood, and Corel did a great job providing quality stained wood to work with.  Your build is coming along beautifully!  I see you're in Wisconsin.  I'm in Minnesota.  Hi !  🖐️  I finished this model in 2 years 8 months, and it's complete with full rigging and full sails.  If you have any questions or need research information on La Couronne, PM me.

Thank you for sharing your work and the complement on mine. You certainly put a lot more thought and modifications into this part of the ship's kit than I have! I will be using the kit provided barrels for the upper stern guns and the closed ports on the lower deck. In fact, I was having a mindless day when I installed the forecastle deck - now I will have a bit of a tussle getting the 4 guns under the deck nicely positioned. 

 

Good to 'meet' another Midwest modeler at approximately the same latitude! Don't be surprised if I take you up on your offer for more information / questions on this ship.

 

Greg

[Ronald-V]

Great work so far! Love the soft colors you used in combination with the natural wood color. 1:100 isn't easy to work with, but you are doing great with it!  

[Greg Davis]

I've started to form the stern galleries. Quite a bit still to add!

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

In case you are interested, below is the only first hand depiction of La Couronne and the smaller, very similar ship St. Louis I have been able to find, drawn by an observer (attributed to P. Pett) from a hilltop high above the harbor.  The St. Louis is circled.  It is hard to see the features of the vessels, but if you are careful, you can make out a lot of things.  Note the details on La Couronne.  The channels are located below the upper gun deck, like on the Mantua model kit, which is correct for a ship of this time period.  Many of the changes I made in my mdel of La Couronne were based on this sketch.  One I didn't incorporate, but deserves attention, is the stern gallery, which appears to be covered, and not an open balcony like on the Corel model.  Note that only the lower masts are shown (the topmasts and topgallant masts were taken down at the time).  La Couronne's masts were taller than average for a ship of her size.  Take note of the number of gun ports on each deck.  I trust the details on this simple sketch more than any artist's depiction or generic French royal ship engraving, because if the drawer was indeed Peter Pett, he knew what he was looking at, being a ship designer.  If you were to make modifications to your model, these features are worth considering.  Hope this adds to your research.  Hope to meet you one day so we can talk shop!

 

Close up of both ships:

 

The full sketch:

 

Edited August 8 by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[Greg Davis]

18 hours ago, DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

In case you are interested, below is the only first hand depiction of La Couronne and the smaller, very similar ship St. Louis I have been able to find, drawn by an observer (attributed to P. Pett) from a hilltop high above the harbor.  The St. Louis is circled.  It is hard to see the features of the vessels, but if you are careful, you can make out a lot of things.  Note the details on La Couronne.  The channels are located below the upper gun deck, like on the Mantua model kit, which is correct for a ship of this time period.  Many of the changes I made in my mdel of La Couronne were based on this sketch.  One I didn't incorporate, but deserves attention, is the stern gallery, which appears to be covered, and not an open balcony like on the Corel model.  Note that only the lower masts are shown (the topmasts and topgallant masts were taken down at the time).  La Couronne's masts were taller than average for a ship of her size.  Take note of the number of gun ports on each deck.  I trust the details on this simple sketch more than any artist's depiction or generic French royal ship engraving, because if the drawer was indeed Peter Pett, he knew what he was looking at, being a ship designer.  If you were to make modifications to your model, these features are worth considering.  Hope this adds to your research.  Hope to meet you one day so we can talk shop!

Kurt-

 

That is an interesting picture - particularly because it helps me understand a comment in R.C. Anderson's book 'The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spirtsail Topmast, 1600-1720'.

In some ways, both ships in your picture have aspects of the Corel model! I have a few ANCRE books related to French ships around this time period and am disappointed that La Couronne is barley mentioned. Since the ANCRE books are very well researched I have begun to wonder if there is very little knowledge available for La Couronne and what is available does not have collaborating evidence. However, in this particular case, I very much like the lines and decorations of the model so I am more than willing to complete the model and view it as a representative of the time period - even if many details (and possibly the name) are conjectural. In particular, I am looking forward to having a go at rigging a ship from this time period. But mine will be sail-less - there is no way I am going to try to duplicate the impressive rigging, and sail making, that you did in your model. I read your build log on Ships of Scale today - magnificent! I too would like it if there is time we would meet up to talk shop.

 

Greg

[GrandpaPhil]

AAMM has a set of plans of La Couronne.

https://boutique.aamm.fr/plan-couronne?search=couronne

 

The only flaw is that they are very small scale.

I bought a set for myself a couple years ago.

 

They may be a useful resource for you.

Edited August 9 by GrandpaPhil

[Greg Davis]

3 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

AAMM has a set of plans of La Couronne.

https://boutique.aamm.fr/plan-couronne?search=couronne

 

The only flaw is that they are very small scale.

I bought a set for myself a couple years ago.

 

They may be a useful resource for you.

Thanks! I have one of their monographs - Le Phenix - that is quite nice, so I expect the one on La Couronne is equally well done. If I were at the start of this project and/or was more advanced in my modeling sense when I did begin it, then I would certainly procure the AAMM monograph for guidance. But now that I am so far into the construction, I think I am going to take a pass on the monograph and stay close to the kit instructions for the rest of the hull. I will probably make a few corrections / enhancements when getting to the masting and rigging and perhaps at that point I will rethink the value of getting the AAMM monograph. But even there, I may not need to given the wealth of period information in several ANCRE monographs I have.

 

Actually I am quite fascinated by the Le Phenix monograph and (someday) hope to use the AAMM monograph together with the ANCRE publications 'Album de Colbert', 'The Three-Decker of the Chevaler De Tourville - 1680', and 'The Ships of the Sun King' to build a 1:48 scale framed model of Le Phenix. 

[GrandpaPhil]

17th Century ships are some of my favorites.

 

I am looking forward to seeing your build of La Couronne come together.

 

I would like to build mine a few builds down the road.

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

On 8/8/2024 at 7:25 PM, Greg Davis said:

Kurt-

 

That is an interesting picture - particularly because it helps me understand a comment in R.C. Anderson's book 'The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spirtsail Topmast, 1600-1720'.

In some ways, both ships in your picture have aspects of the Corel model! I have a few ANCRE books related to French ships around this time period and am disappointed that La Couronne is barley mentioned. Since the ANCRE books are very well researched I have begun to wonder if there is very little knowledge available for La Couronne and what is available does not have collaborating evidence. However, in this particular case, I very much like the lines and decorations of the model so I am more than willing to complete the model and view it as a representative of the time period - even if many details (and possibly the name) are conjectural. In particular, I am looking forward to having a go at rigging a ship from this time period. But mine will be sail-less - there is no way I am going to try to duplicate the impressive rigging, and sail making, that you did in your model. I read your build log on Ships of Scale today - magnificent! I too would like it if there is time we would meet up to talk shop.

 

Greg

Here are a few clear pictures of the Navire Royale from Fornier's Hydrographie.  You can translate the French, which provides some basic information about the features.  It depicts a typical warship commissioned by the French, built by the Dutch.  Many aspects of La Couronne are found in this design, however La Couronne was built by the French, and was larger than those bought from the Dutch.  La Couronne only saw eight years of service, and despite no complaints about her capability at sea, she was stripped of her guns and later scrapped, the reasons why are lost to history.  Her construction was known to the English, and provided some of the basis for their King Charles I to build HMS Sovereign of the Seas.  There was an arms race of a sort going on among the European and English monarchs to each create a "great ship" as a royal prestige symbol, even at the cost of almost bankrupting a nation and making a vessel which was overly gunned and heavy to the point of being impractical for the tactics of the time.  These great ships were experimental to a certain degree.  The model I built (below) departed from the Corel plans to a large degree, and incorporated elements from Fornier and the P. Pett sketch I posted earlier, most notably the location of the channels to the correct vertical position, number and location of gun ports, and redesign of the beakhead.  Choosing this ship as my first wooden ship model was inspired by another member on this forum, EJ, whose build log is here.  Many other smaller details were added including internal lighting and LED's in the stern lanterns.  If you want to know any details, I have a complete build log on Ships of Scale forum.  I can also provide rigging diagrams and other research sources on La Couronne.  R.C. Anderson is your bible for rigging this vessel.  I must have read it a dozen times and referred to it many more.  It would be my esteemed pleasure to assist anyone who is building a model of this elegant vessel.

 

Link to Build Log Photos: La Couronne by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

 

For comparison, this engraving is believed by some to be the St. Louis, particularly because of the figurehead:

 

 

Edited August 10 by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[Greg Davis]

10 hours ago, DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

Here are a few clear pictures of the Navire Royale from Fornier's Hydrographie.  You can translate the French, which provides some basic information about the features.  It depicts a typical warship commissioned by the French, built by the Dutch.  Many aspects of La Couronne are found in this design, however La Couronne was built by the French, and was larger than those bought from the Dutch.  La Couronne only saw eight years of service, and despite no complaints about her capability at sea, she was stripped of her guns and later scrapped, the reasons why are lost to history.  Her construction was known to the English, and provided some of the basis for their King Charles I to build HMS Sovereign of the Seas.  There was an arms race of a sort going on among the European and English monarchs to each create a "great ship" as a royal prestige symbol, even at the cost of almost bankrupting a nation and making a vessel which was overly gunned and heavy to the point of being impractical for the tactics of the time.  These great ships were experimental to a certain degree.  The model I built (below) departed from the Corel plans to a large degree, and incorporated elements from Fornier and the P. Pett sketch I posted earlier, most notably the location of the channels to the correct vertical position, number and location of gun ports, and redesign of the beakhead.  Choosing this ship as my first wooden ship model was inspired by another member on this forum, EJ, whose build log is here.  Many other smaller details were added including internal lighting and LED's in the stern lanterns.  If you want to know any details, I have a complete build log on Ships of Scale forum.  I can also provide rigging diagrams and other research sources on La Couronne.  R.C. Anderson is your bible for rigging this vessel.  I must have read it a dozen times and referred to it many more.  It would be my esteemed pleasure to assist anyone who is building a model of this elegant vessel.

 

Link to Build Log Photos: La Couronne by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

 

 

 

For comparison, this engraving is believed by some to be the St. Louis, particularly because of the figurehead:

 

 

 

Kurt -

 

Thanks again for all of the helpful information. I actually spent a good deal of time earlier this week looking at your work on the Ships of Scale forum - great work!

 

Greg 

[Greg Davis]

A bit more progress on the galleries.

[Ian_Grant]

Very clean, neat job! Shaping up to be a great model...

[Greg Davis]

Started some work up front - the stem was added and now I am 'planking' the stem and keel. It should look OK when done, but if I could go back in time to the start of this build I would have replaced the stem / keel structure with solid wood. Quite frankly, I do not understand why many kits haven't been improved / updated to have solid wood showing in these locations instead of plywood. I don't think it would cost the manufacturer / consumer very much to do so and it would be a nice improvement to a lot of kits.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

5 hours ago, Greg Davis said:

Started some work up front - the stem was added and now I am 'planking' the stem and keel. It should look OK when done, but if I could go back in time to the start of this build I would have replaced the stem / keel structure with solid wood. Quite frankly, I do not understand why many kits haven't been improved / updated to have solid wood showing in these locations instead of plywood. I don't think it would cost the manufacturer / consumer very much to do so and it would be a nice improvement to a lot of kits.

 

...because plywood is CHEAP.  That's it.  It's the same reason kit blocks look like cubes with two holes in them.  It's all about keeping the price down as far as possible to encourage sales.  Blocks, rigging line, and sometimes the final planking wood are typically replaced when building a kit in order to correct for lack of details, and when these parts are replaced, it definitely shows.

Edited August 15 by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[Greg Davis]

Still it seems there might be a good option for kit manufacturers and/or after-market opportunity here to sell upgrade packages - replacement keel structures / planking material / blocks / rigging material for specific kits. Analogous to PE upgrades for plastic models. I would guess that builders of a kit such as La Couronne would dish a couple of hundred for a set of upgrades in one box - the right number of higher quality blocks, ample amount of good rigging line, better wood package, etc. - without having to look around and sourcing everything individually. 

[Pfälzer]

Hello lovelies,
At this point, I have to take a quick look.
You need to change your perspective a little. I thought the same thing when I opened my first box from one of these manufacturers. I cursed, cursed, cursed. Fortunately, I had a kit of better manufacture beforehand, and had plenty of material left over to be able to rebuild pretty much anything.
As a result, I bought it again from a cheap supplier because of the price. I just had to buy high-quality material for about 50 euros to get the same end result.
The next approach, it encourages your creativity and also means that everyone has a unique piece at home. It would be boring if everyone bought the same update package.

It's just a train of thought, maybe the next one will be from a better manufacturer, who knows.
Make something of it, I can't take care of everything.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[Greg Davis]

The stem and keel are now completely 'planked'. 

As expected, the result is OK; but I'm still going with Corel could have included solid would for these features! It certainly can be done as an example, Constructo has found a way to do so and for the most part their kits are less expensive. 

 

Time to start adding deck and interior details - then onto the part I'm most looking forward to: the masting and rigging :).

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Very nice.  I had to veneer over my keel too, similar to what you did, since I didn't know the pattern of stem assembly parts at the time.  My next ship has a keel cut from maple hardwood.  It's easy to trace the plywood parts onto good hardwood, or better yet, make a custom stem made with typical parts that make up the stem (apron, stemson, gripe, etc.) and keel parts.  The keel is made up of three to five segments, stretching from the stem assembly all the way back to the rudder.  For La Couronne, the seams between the veneer overlays can make a reasonable simulation of the multiple parts that make up the stem, keel and sternpost.  Since you already used the veneer method on your keel, you can opt to make hardwood replacement parts of the keel on your next model as a future upgrade.  You'll need a bandsaw and will have to sand and file the parts so the edges at the seams fit nicely, then stain or paint them before or after they are attached to the hull.

 

Typical parts for an 18th century English stem assembly:

 

My current model of HMS Sovereign ofr the Seas under construction: The original plywood stem with penciled seams on top, and the maple hardwood replacement parts cut and fitted below.

Stained and assembled stem and keel.  The final planking has not yet been applied.  This gives you some idea what a stained hardwood stem assembly looks like with one coat of stain. 

Bow after painting and weathering the hull bottom's white stuff.  The final planking seams can still be seen, which was the desired effect.

 

 

 

 

 

Another modeler's stem assembly.  The pattern of the parts varies between each ship.

Edited August 18 by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

On 8/15/2024 at 11:17 AM, Greg Davis said:

Still it seems there might be a good option for kit manufacturers and/or after-market opportunity here to sell upgrade packages - replacement keel structures / planking material / blocks / rigging material for specific kits. Analogous to PE upgrades for plastic models. I would guess that builders of a kit such as La Couronne would dish a couple of hundred for a set of upgrades in one box - the right number of higher quality blocks, ample amount of good rigging line, better wood package, etc. - without having to look around and sourcing everything individually. 

Unfortunately, there are NO kits which do not need some parts and materials upgrades such as the ones I mentioned earlier.  Even the Caldercraft HMS Victory has crappy blocks.  Kit bashing allows you to add better parts and details to make an exceptionally nice model with reaserach work only focusing on those details, so you don't have to research and develop the whole model from scratch.  It's the fastest way to achieve exceptionally great results.  When you get more experience from a few models, try your hand at scratch building if you have the tools, materials, and skills to do that.  I am still in the kits bashing phase of learning this hobby.  You have to choose how much more money in replacements to dump into a model, whatever you are most comfortable with.  The more you build, the better the results.  It's a journey.

[Greg Davis]

6 hours ago, DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

Unfortunately, there are NO kits which do not need some parts and materials upgrades such as the ones I mentioned earlier.  Even the Caldercraft HMS Victory has crappy blocks.  Kit bashing allows you to add better parts and details to make an exceptionally nice model with reaserach work only focusing on those details, so you don't have to research and develop the whole model from scratch.  It's the fastest way to achieve exceptionally great results.  When you get more experience from a few models, try your hand at scratch building if you have the tools, materials, and skills to do that.  I am still in the kits bashing phase of learning this hobby.  You have to choose how much more money in replacements to dump into a model, whatever you are most comfortable with.  The more you build, the better the results.  It's a journey.

I do have a well equipped model shop and enjoy scratch building as well! Here are a few pictures of a 1:36 scale model of a 1750's French dredger I built from ANCRE plans a couple of years ago. It was made from cherry that I milled specifically for the project. All the 'bolts' are copper wire, and the remaining metal work (including the scoops) are brass.

 

[Hubac's Historian]

Your build is very clean, and the planking is exceptional.  Kurt makes an excellent point about the representation of stem construction, but I think what you have done is much less jarring than some of what I've seen out there.  I look forward to your continued progress.

[Greg Davis]

Did a bit more work up front - added some of the head rails. The upper ones are actually L-shaped. The recess is for a good deal of grating. Unfortunately, the appropriate amount of grating was not included in the kit. I didn't feel like making any so I went ahead and ordered enough to finish the project. It should get here in a day or two. Started work on, and attached, the front cupolas. They will get lights at the same time the stern ones do; i.e., not today!

Between the blue planking, fore and aft, the bulwarks are to be raised with wood containing a decorative triangular motif. The kit includes numerous bits of wood with notches that when matched properly form the triangular openings. Unfortunately the supplied pieces are not well formed having rough / chipped edges and inconsistent heights. The amount of work that would be needed to get a reasonable outcome from these pieces is definitely not worth the time and effort. I will be making this section of bulwark in a slightly different fashion instead. To get started, I've milled some 2mm x 2mm Castello boxwood. The bulwarks will then be made in three layers - first a 2x2 strip, next a line of trapezoids about a centimeter wide and sides that will form the triangular shape, finally another 2x2 strip will top it off. Once this is all in place another walnut rail is to be added.

Unfortunately, soon after ordering the grating material I found that there were other missing parts from the kit - notably a number of castings that I was planning on using. So a request went off to Model Expo (where I had purchased the kit) and they claim to have forwarded the request to Corel with the expectation that the parts will be sent to me in 4 - 6 weeks. I hope this actually happens! Else some additional work I wasn't planning on.

[Hubac's Historian]

What castings are you in need of?  A modeling friend, along the way, had acquired a set of castings for what I believe is the Corel kit.  I know it is definitely La Couronne.  He passed them to me, as he knows I love the French ships.  I’m pretty sure I still have them somewhere.  They were fairly substantial bronze castings.  They’re yours for the asking, if I can find them.

[Greg Davis]

11 hours ago, Hubac's Historian said:

What castings are you in need of?  A modeling friend, along the way, had acquired a set of castings for what I believe is the Corel kit.  I know it is definitely La Couronne.  He passed them to me, as he knows I love the French ships.  I’m pretty sure I still have them somewhere.  They were fairly substantial bronze castings.  They’re yours for the asking, if I can find them.

This is a wonderful offer!

 

The castings I am most looking for are the 14 closed gunports (roughly 1cm wide) as well as the (8 cm) ship's boat. The capstan is also missing, but that I can recreate if necessary.

 

If you do find them, we can arrange shipping etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Greg