La Renommee 1744 by ChrisLBren - 1/48 - 2025

[Some Idea]

6 minutes ago, druxey said:

Looking very good, Chris.

 

My solution is a bit late now: In order to avoid barked knuckles when fairing the inside of the hull, I fair the fore and aft frames before adding the midship ones. This gives lots of access and elbow room.  Ah well, next time, perhaps....

I learnt my lesson the hard way - I'll do it this way next time as this makes better sense.

 

Chris don't be put off by my comments it's just the shape of the hull at the stem and stern that seemed to take its toll on my knuckles.  The process is enjoyable as you see the interior take its true shape.  

[ChrisLBren]

Not at all Mark !  Druxey I did do a bit of pre fairing on both bow and stern but there's still an enormous time consuming job ahead of me.  With this hulls extreme tumblehome it makes things even more tricky.  

 

I really want to try to use my gooseneck scraper to do a lot of the heavy lifting here - I dont have a ton of experience with this tool but the finish looks better than sanding and with less dust.  

[BradNSW]

A wide variety of small scrapers with different radii are extremely helpful!

 

I bought these and cut them down so they would fit inside the hull:

Cabinet Scrapers Set of 4

 

Above are just a few.  Hit them with the burnishing rod often and they take off material nice, quick and smooth!

Edited November 18 by BradNSW
spelling

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks Brad - I also bought a tool that arrives today that a French Modeler uses successful to aide in this process along with my scrapers.  I will post some photos here once it arrives.   

[druxey]

I've also used small rasps and gouges....

[ChrisLBren]

After two weeks of hard work - here are the results.  Learning to sharpen and using the card scrapers proved invaluable as this hull was very tricky to shape with its tumblehome. I did use a proxxon angle grinder very sparingly for a few high spots - not recommended for the faint of heart.

[Some Idea]

Fantastic work Chris

[Mike Y]

Impressive! You managed to preserve that smooth "corner" in the transition between the flat bottom and angled sides, creating a very beautiful line It would have been too easy to loose it during the fairing process!

[druxey]

Well accomplished, Chris!

[tmj]

"Beautiful!"

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks for the kind words - can't recommend learning to sharpen and use scrapers enough - they truly are a game changer.

[Mike Y]

The intrigue is on - how exactly are you sharpening them? 😊

I tried the Veritas burnisher/sharpener, but had little success with it..

[druxey]

The burnisher needs to be pressed down hard as you run it along the scraper and at a slight angle, Mike. This raises the burr.

[tmj]

Mike, take a look at this. There are a lot of videos out there about sharpening scrapers, but this is my favorite. A little more work than a lot of the methods shown, but I prefer doing it this way.  

 

 

[ChrisLBren]

Quick update - keelson is added.  Next up interior planking of the hold.

[tmj]

Truly a work of art, in progress! 

[druxey]

Sweet! That looks very nice indeed, Chris.

[ChrisLBren]

Happy Holidays,

A bit of an update - I have decided my approach with La Renommee - I will be completely planking the starboard side of the ship while the port side will remain un planked to show hull construction. I will not be cutting any openings in the hull as I feel it disrupts the beauty of the lines of this frigate.

I have begun planking and nailing the starboard side of the hold following this approach and have left out for now that glazing bead strake next to the keelson.

Next up is installing the diagonal reinforcement planks or Goebbert system that was used in French ships of that era. I have attached a picture of the plans and one can see notches cut into the horizontal ceiling plank and floor plank. After careful consideration I will not be adding this detail and instead install them flush at an angle without the notches.

In other finished models I have noticed this is really hard to execute cleanly as you need to cut the notches in situation. Imperfect joints will drive me crazy and I would rather save myself the frustration here.

[Some Idea]

Hi Chris this really is lovely work by you and I think I would probably leave the notches out too.  It's a tiny detail and I can foresee planks splitting etc trying to achieve it.  Like you I was unsure about cutting openings into the hull especially when you have such nice frames.  However I'm glad that I did because I would have lost so much detail to look at if I had not have done this.  It's personal choice but it's much easier to do it now than later.  Oh and when you drop something into the hull in about 3 years time and the ship is much more built up its so much easier to retrieve too 😂  I know this through many a shaking session trying to get that small bit out!  Great build keep the updates coming. 

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks Mark !  I just installed the horizontal planks which act as the ceiling to the diagonals and it will be challenging enough to get proper tight angled joints.  Its a large area to cover, compare the actual to the plans