Royal William by pirozzi - FINISHED - Euromodels - 1/70

[marktiedens]

Very nice - looks like you`re on the home stretch!

 

Mark

[pirozzi]

Finally finished the standing rigging for the mainmast. All that is left are the corner lines for the main course sail. They will be added at the very end of the build.

 

Currently working on the stern lanterns and the lower shrouds and backstays for the mizzen mast.

 

Vince P. 

[pirozzi]

The stern lanterns are constructed and mounted. I used some 0.8mm brass wire for the side brackets. The main supports came with the kit. I painted the lanterns so it looks like candle light in the windows.

Next up is to finish the mizzen shrouds and backstays.

 

Vince P. 

[pirozzi]

Finally finished the mizzen rigging and the poop deck flag. I have tied my last clove hitch on this baby. Other that the lower corner lines on the fore and main course, the rigging is essentially completed. That was a major project. The amount of rigging thread used, even though I am not wasteful, was at least 4 times what was supplied. It seems most kits short you on the rigging thread.

Next up is to construct and place the open gunport lids and the guns. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A couple of months and she will be completed.

Vince P.
 

[Kevin]

outstanding

[J11]

Masterpiece!!

[pirozzi]

Working on constructing the gunport doors. Made from scratch of course. There are 4 gun decks and each deck has different sized gunports.
I did not use the door hinges supplied in the kit because they are chunky and only one size is provided. Different sizes are needed for the various sizes of gunports on the 4 decks.

Hull preparation
1. I used small eyebolts and pieces of 1mm brass wire which were blackened, to make the hinges on the hull above each gunport.

2. The rain gutters are placed on those ports that require them. I bought these and blackened them as well.

Door construction
I start out on each deck with measuring the opening of the gunport in the hull.

1. A piece of 2mm thick walnut plywood is cut to size and painted dark red to match the inside of the bulwarks.

2. Planking strips are placed over the plywood to match the outside of the hull and trimmed to the correct size for the ports.

3. Hinge plates are glued to the outside of the doors and cut down eye bolts are placed for the pull open ropes. Smaller ports have 1 and larger ones have 2.

4. Pull closed ropes are attached to an eyebolt on the underside of each door. ( This is a feature that is left out of most models because of either scale size or the fact that they can't be seen easily.)

Door placement
1. The pull open ropes are attached to the hull above each port.

2. The doors are hung in the open position and the pull open ropes are secured to the eyebolts on the doors.

3. Once all of the doors are placed on each deck starting from the top, the false guns and blackened and mounted in each port.

Vince P.  

 

[pirozzi]

All of the gunports and guns are finished. I also added the spears to the transom figures.

 

Next up is to construct and fish the anchors, complete the course rigging lines and touch her up.

 

She will then be completed! Maybe 2 more weeks at most. I will have 5-1/2 years into her. 😁

 

Vince P. 

[zappto]

This is amazing trip you made, ship is looking gorgeous! I really like the sails!

[chris watton]

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 11:12 PM, pirozzi said:

Hi All,

I found this great book, thanks to a new member here, Mark from Virginia USA. It is illustrated with actual drawings and paintings from the 1600's by the builders of  war ships of the period of the mid to late 17th century. Also photos of various museum models.  Since I am building the Royal William and Prince coming next, I thought it would be a good addition to my reference library. Not only is it a great book, but it has diagrams of rigging plans as well. I am building the RW with full rigged sails and the plans leave out some of the tiny details. I have been going back and forth to several sources trying to figure the running rigging out. This book has a complete diagram for rigging sails on a ship like the RW. In ten minutes it answered all the questions I had. It also has fabulous closeup photos of the decorations for the RW and the Prince and many other ships of the period.

 

I got a used copy in almost new condition from Amazon for $149 US.

 

Thanks Mark! 

 

Vince P. 

This was one of the very first books I bought when I started getting into modelling again in the early 1990's, and it is still one of my favourites. Both an absolute pleasure to look at and read.

 

Another book relating the same era that is very good is 'The Restoration Warship', mostly relating to the 70 gun Lenox.

[pirozzi]

I am working on the anchor rigging. I added a feature that is often missing and is not included on the plans. When an anchor is suspended on the block and hook from the cathead, there would be nothing to prevent it from slipping off the hook and dropping into the water. A safety feature was used called a "Cathead Blocker". It consisted of a half cleat and sheave assembly mounted on the aft side of the cathead. I made the half cleat from 2x3mm walnut and the sheave from a 3mm deadeye. A heavy rope was passed through the cathead and secured with a knot and then fished through the anchor ring and back up through the sheave and tied off to a cleat on the rail. If the anchor became dislodged, this rope would hold it up.

Vince P.

 

[pirozzi]

The work on the anchors is done.

The only things left are the sheet and tack lines for the fore and main courses and the mounting cradle. She will then be completed. Maybe another week at most. 😁

 

Vince P. 

[pirozzi]

She is finally finished!  😅 The most difficult and challenging project I have ever attempted. I think she turned out great, even with the many mistakes I made along the way. Some I corrected and others I couldn't. If you look really close you may see some. Almost 5 years in the making and so much fun. I know I improved my skills level immensely because of the difficulty involved. Euromodel definitely produces a quality kit. With the way they set it up, the builder can take the level of detail as far as they like. I believe I could attempt a scratch build now if I desired to do so.
The cost to complete this model including the price of the kit was well over $4000, and that does not include any labor.

I have to give credit to Peter Coward, Keith Julier, Mark T. and the many authors of the numerous text books I used for references along the way.

I will take many detailed photos and post them in the gallery soon.

As soon as I clean up and update my workshop I will start on my next project . It will be the Prince which was the original ship that was rebuilt into the Royal William. It also looks to be a big challenge as well.

Vince P.

[J11]

She's magnificent, congratulations for a job well done. 

[marktiedens]

Beautiful job,Vince!     All those sails really make it stand out.  I know what you mean by difficult - I don`t know if I could have done mine without Pete`s help & advice.  By the way,I also have the Constructo Prince sitting in my closet.  It`s not the greatest as far as accuracy,but could be made presentable with a bit of research & scratching. Thanks much for the compliment!

 

Mark

[piratepete007]

The Royal William completed by both Vince and Mark T have been exceptional builds to follow but the stand-out is the perseverance, dedication and skill that each of these two builders displayed over quite a period of time. For me, it has been a wonderful opportunity to follow their work and to write, re-write, re-write... about this ship construction and I must thank them for the wonderful opportunities that they in turn gave me.

 

Look forward to future builds from you two.

 

Pete

[Kevin]

I have followed this build from the start, lovely to see her finished,

 

Well done

 

LOL - NEXT

[petervisser]

Congratulations Vince on a magnificent model. She's beautiful. Time to splice the ole mainbrace!

Peter

[gjdale]

Congratulations on completing a truly fine model Vince. You can be justifiably very proud of your achievement.

[ccoyle]

Fabulous, Vince! And she compliments the bobblehead on the window sill nicely. 😉

[diablo0007]

Congratulations Vince, it looks amazing
i love euromodel kits and you made it Fabulous 
great job 

[pirozzi]

30 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Fabulous, Vince! And she compliments the bobblehead on the window sill nicely. 😉

You noticed that.  Forgot to move Uncle  Si.  😂

Edited June 29, 2019 by pirozzi
Spell correct.

[Zarkon]

What a wonderful build!! She looks excellent! I can't wait to see your next build!!!

 

Jeff

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Excellent work!