ZHL San Felipe 1690 - Ted R

Ted Robinson · Wednesday at 3:31 PM

I finished the remainder of the decks. Now moving to complete the stern and start fairing for hull planking.

Ted Robinson · Wednesday at 6:22 PM

I need some help from someone who has built this kit. Detail T.22 on sheet Plan 2 shows the outer portion of the deck double planked outside the stanchions. How far down does this planking go.

My second question is part 47 at the stern. Should I add the windows etc to the part prior to gluing it in place.
I'm really struggling with this build right now and could use a little hand holding to get me done with the stern and on to planking. Any help is appreciated.
Ted.

Geologist1986 · Wednesday at 8:37 PM

Hi Ted, got to tell you, planking the decks prior to installation is a great idea. I planked mine after install and had to resort to tweezers to lay the planks under the 2nd and 3rd decks. Not ideal.

As for your questions:

I double planked down to the top of each deck and no further.

As for the aft windows, I installed them after finishing planking, otherwise I would have had to cut many small pieces of veneer to fit around and in between them.

Ted Robinson · Wednesday at 10:54 PM

jmeywvu said:
Hi Ted, got to tell you, planking the decks prior to installation is a great idea. I planked mine after install and had to resort to tweezers to lay the planks under the 2nd and 3rd decks. Not ideal.

As for your questions:

I double planked down to the top of each deck and no further.

As for the aft windows, I installed them after finishing planking, otherwise I would have had to cut many small pieces of veneer to fit around and in between them.

Thanks for the help. I have something to shoot for

Ted Robinson · Wednesday at 10:55 PM

Ted Robinson said:
Thanks for the help. I have something to shoot for

Do you have a build log. Any progress photos would really help as you know the state of the instructions and plans

Ted Robinson · Friday at 12:06 PM

Just glued the poop deck in place. Starting fairing and evaluating the situation with the cannons and trying to find out what the inheirant error is.

Ted Robinson · Friday at 12:51 PM

This whole subject of marking the cannon to locations and how am I to drill the posts that were installed early on seems problematic to me. Wouldn't it be easier and more accurate to build a series of boxes with the cannon depth and even the hole drilled for painting the cannon built outside the model. Then just mount the boxes to the correct depth and locations. At the same time I can foresee what a pain it might be setting the boxes correctly. Probably using some sort of fixture. It would be nice to see a video or photos of the method used to locate the cannons using the system designed on the kit. I don't recall anything on the subject in any of the build logs I've read. Perhaps it's really simple and my lack of experience is the problem.
Happy modelling
Ted

Geologist1986 · 2026-02-07T07:48:45-0600

Ted Robinson said:
This whole subject of marking the cannon to locations and how am I to drill the posts that were installed early on seems problematic to me. Wouldn't it be easier and more accurate to build a series of boxes with the cannon depth and even the hole drilled for painting the cannon built outside the model. Then just mount the boxes to the correct depth and locations. At the same time I can foresee what a pain it might be setting the boxes correctly. Probably using some sort of fixture. It would be nice to see a video or photos of the method used to locate the cannons using the system designed on the kit. I don't recall anything on the subject in any of the build logs I've read. Perhaps it's really simple and my lack of experience is the problem.
Happy modelling
Ted

Hi Ted, a couple notes from my build on the canons:

- first, make sure the posts the canons mount to are glued very well to the decks. If one falls off after the ship is planked, it'll be a nightmare to reattach.

- I planked starting at the waterline. As I planked up the side of the ship and when I got to the center of a row of canon mounting blocks, I marked in pencil the center of the block on the outside of the plank. That way, when it was fully covered with planks, I knew right where the center of the block was to place the gun port.

- the openings on the template that comes with the kit represents the FINISHED opening of the gun ports. You will need to cut the gun ports slightly wider than the template to accommodate the trim around the gun ports. I think Scott Schilling encountered this on his build log.

- You'll find the template does not line up with the mounting blocks very well. The pencil marks you made will help immensely when you need to move the template a few mm left/right/up/down. Take your time here. You might have to trace them out a few times before the look straight and evenly spaced.

- drilling the holes in the gun ports blocks should be done at a very low torque as not to break the blocks free from the deck. Again, it's a huge pain to reattach these. Ask me how I know

Ted Robinson · 2026-02-07T08:29:37-0600

Ted Robinson said:
This whole subject of marking the cannon to locations and how am I to drill the posts that were installed early on seems problematic to me. Wouldn't it be easier and more accurateplto build a series of boxes with the cannon depth and even the hole drilled for painting the cannon built outside the model. Then just mount the boxes to the correct depth and locations. At the same time I can foresee what a pain it might be setting the boxes correctly. Probably using some sort of fixture. It would be nice to see a video or photos of the method used to locate the cannons using the system designed on the kit. I don't recall anything on the subject in any of the build logs I've read. Perhaps it's really simple and my lack of experience is the problem.
Happy modelling
Ted

Geologist1986 said:
Hi Ted, a couple notes from my build on the canons:

- first, make sure the posts the canons mount to are glued very well to the decks. If one falls off after the ship is planked, it'll be a nightmare to reattach.

- I planked starting at the waterline. As I planked up the side of the ship and when I got to the center of a row of canon mounting blocks, I marked in pencil the center of the block on the outside of the plank. That way, when it was fully covered with planks, I knew right where the center of the block was to place the gun port.

- the openings on the template that comes with the kit represents the FINISHED opening of the gun ports. You will need to cut the gun ports slightly wider than the template to accommodate the trim around the gun ports. I think Scott Schilling encountered this on his build log.

- You'll find the template does not line up with the mounting blocks very well. The pencil marks you made will help immensely when you need to move the template a few mm left/right/up/down. Take your time here. You might have to trace them out a few times before the look straight and evenly spaced.

- drilling the holes in the gun ports blocks should be done at a very low torque as not to break the blocks free from the deck. Again, it's a huge pain to reattach these. Ask me how I know

I think the suggestion to mark the centers as I plank is brilliant. It removes any ambiguity from folding the pattern in two directions at once. Im reglueing everything first

Phillipsart · 2026-02-07T16:28:33-0600

You’re making some great progress on the SAN Felipe. I’m building the same and have mostly completed the hull. The masts are also mostly completed. My build is currently on hold as I wait for a new rope walk to arrive. I’m going to make my own ropes. I also purchased better quality pulleys for my build.

I find a lot of errors in the plans that you have to watch out for.

The 1690 SAN Felipe does not exist. This kit is a representation of a Spanish warship in that period. Which gives you some freedom.

I think the ship is out of proportion if you go by the plans. For example the masts are way too short for a ship of this side. So I’ve increased the size of the masts and sourced my own doweling and made them thicker. This gives it a real wow factor.

Ted Robinson · 2026-02-08T15:39:34-0600

I think I'm losing it mentally. I can no longer find where parts 45 and 48 get installed. Found it before I'm sure. Part 48 is shaped like 11d.