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HMS Sovereign of the Seas - Bashing DeAgostini Beyond Believable Boundaries

Hey Kurt,

No problem at all, my friend!!, I can wait a year! HahaROTFROTF. But seriously, I’m currently doing some research for a SOTS build, although I want to finish my HMS Terror first. I’m just about to start the rigging phase, and I don’t know if you’ve seen my posts, but I’m pretty frustrated with a rope-making machine I bought in Europe, it turned out to be a total piece of junk and probably I only waste my money. No matter what I try, I can’t get a single rope to come out properly twisted.

In the meantime, I’m studying how I want to approach the SOTS so I can be well, prepared. I don’t have a ton of experience yet, but I definitely don’t think it’s beyond my capabilities.

So, if you’re already putting together a waiting list, feel free to put me at the very end, but if you haven’t started one yet, then I guess I’m number one! Haha.

On a more serious note, I’m an architect by trade, and here in the U.S. I got my General Contractor’s license which is exactly why I’m so fascinated by the work you’re doing. If there’s anything I can help with at all, just let me know, you can count on me.

I’ve actually been thinking about getting a 3D printer for years, going all the way back to 2003 when my son was born and I was still living in Germany. These days, though, I’ve been leaning more toward getting a CNC machine… I just can’t seem to make up my mind! Hehe;).
Kind regards
Jack
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
Damn, you SeaModels! Now I have to buy yet ANOTHER 3-D model from you! ROTF
Click to expand...
Kurt If you see it painted, you're definitely going to buy it—hahaROTFROTF! Have you seen the photo yet? With Gustav's permission, I'm going to post it here so you can make up your mind and buy it from him.ROTFROTF;)

Screenshot 2026-04-18 at 6.01.04 PM.png

Screenshot 2026-04-18 at 6.00.44 PM.png
 
Jacapa412 said:
Hey Kurt,

No problem at all, my friend!!, I can wait a year! HahaROTFROTF. But seriously, I’m currently doing some research for a SOTS build, although I want to finish my HMS Terror first. I’m just about to start the rigging phase, and I don’t know if you’ve seen my posts, but I’m pretty frustrated with a rope-making machine I bought in Europe, it turned out to be a total piece of junk and probably I only waste my money. No matter what I try, I can’t get a single rope to come out properly twisted.

In the meantime, I’m studying how I want to approach the SOTS so I can be well, prepared. I don’t have a ton of experience yet, but I definitely don’t think it’s beyond my capabilities.

So, if you’re already putting together a waiting list, feel free to put me at the very end, but if you haven’t started one yet, then I guess I’m number one! Haha.

On a more serious note, I’m an architect by trade, and here in the U.S. I got my General Contractor’s license which is exactly why I’m so fascinated by the work you’re doing. If there’s anything I can help with at all, just let me know, you can count on me.

I’ve actually been thinking about getting a 3D printer for years, going all the way back to 2003 when my son was born and I was still living in Germany. These days, though, I’ve been leaning more toward getting a CNC machine… I just can’t seem to make up my mind! Hehe;).
Kind regards
Jack

Kurt If you see it painted, you're definitely going to buy it—hahaROTFROTF! Have you seen the photo yet? With Gustav's permission, I'm going to post it here so you can make up your mind and buy it from him.ROTFROTF;)

View attachment 593235

View attachment 593236
Click to expand...
I just bought it 10 seconds ago. I just had to get it before the internet ran out of bytes.

1776550040880.png

I placed it in with the other decorations, and stretched the figure to adjust it so it fits the profile in Payne's engraving. Looks GREAT!
1776553489084.png
 
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DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
I just bought it 10 seconds ago. I just had to get it before the internet ran out of bytes.

View attachment 593237

I placed it in with the other decorations, and stretched the figure to adjust it so it fits the profile in Payne's engraving. Looks GREAT!
View attachment 593250
Click to expand...
Excellent!!! Just a quick comment: be careful when stretching them, because look how the hand from the first guy got distorted!, I think sometimes you need to tweak them a bit; I'm not sure how that program handles that kind of adjustment, but overall, it looks spectacular.
 
Jacapa412 said:
Excellent!!! Just a quick comment: be careful when stretching them, because look how the hand from the first guy got distorted!, I think sometimes you need to tweak them a bit; I'm not sure how that program handles that kind of adjustment, but overall, it looks spectacular.
Click to expand...
Yes, the details so get stretched, so I go over the model and do small fixes afteward. No problem.
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
The breech ropes for the remaining guns for the lower gun deck are finished. More gun tackles need to be assembled... lots more. The tedium continues.

View attachment 263297

Guns set in place just to see how they'll look
View attachment 263298
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Now I understand what you were explaining about building the decks separately; I’d like to do it that way as well, but for that, I need the original blueprints so I can study the cross-sections. To be honest with you, I don’t like the idea of using dummies or blind gun-ports at all. I think I’d also like to have the interior lit up; I’ve seen some finished projects by various modelers, and it truly looks exquisite. In this case, I see that... you constructed the entire deck assemblies so you wouldn't have to use the dummy cannon barrels—is that correct? In my opinion, they look spectacular this way. I'm still making my way through your 2020 posts, and I also noticed the discrepancy you discovered when comparing the kit's original profile template against the actual blueprints. I have to admit the difference is incredible, though I suppose that's to be expected, since these kits are mass-produced for the wholesale market and the manufacturers don't tend to get bogged down in refining every historical detail. I assume you didn't just alter the lines of the futtocks, but the entire keel assembly as well? Correct me if I'm mistaken.
When I grow up, I want to be like you!!!!!ROTFROTFROTFROTF I'm following the thread of your post here to learn some new things! It's going to take me a while, but I'm already browsing through it and taking notes—hahaha!
Cheers my friend!!!
 
Jacapa412 said:
Now I understand what you were explaining about building the decks separately; I’d like to do it that way as well, but for that, I need the original blueprints so I can study the cross-sections. To be honest with you, I don’t like the idea of using dummies or blind gun-ports at all. I think I’d also like to have the interior lit up; I’ve seen some finished projects by various modelers, and it truly looks exquisite. In this case, I see that... you constructed the entire deck assemblies so you wouldn't have to use the dummy cannon barrels—is that correct? In my opinion, they look spectacular this way. I'm still making my way through your 2020 posts, and I also noticed the discrepancy you discovered when comparing the kit's original profile template against the actual blueprints. I have to admit the difference is incredible, though I suppose that's to be expected, since these kits are mass-produced for the wholesale market and the manufacturers don't tend to get bogged down in refining every historical detail. I assume you didn't just alter the lines of the futtocks, but the entire keel assembly as well? Correct me if I'm mistaken.
When I grow up, I want to be like you!!!!!ROTFROTFROTFROTF I'm following the thread of your post here to learn some new things! It's going to take me a while, but I'm already browsing through it and taking notes—hahaha!
Cheers my friend!!!
Click to expand...
False cannon barrels (half barrels) are easy to spot up close, which ruins the immersion for me. Even if you make false decks on the interior, with full, unrigged cannon carriages, you creat the impression of a full interior. La Couronne was modified like this (check out the build log). You don't even need complete decks for the guns to sit on. Buy extra wood, make careful measurements, mark with a pencil where things go relative to the gunports, and build basic interior structures after removing bulkheads and solid frames that get in the way (which can be scary at first). Indirect interior lights, placed in a way that you can not see the LED's directly, add a lot to the model. On HMS Sovereign of the Seas, non-LED's are placed high among the beams and ledges so it's harder to look at them directly, but they all contribute to cast a warm glow of light throughout the interior. They are not bright, but you can peer inside and see things. On HMS Sovereign of the Seas, I started making interior decks just to support full cannon carriages... then things sort of got out of control. . .

The more research you do, the more things you find wrong with kits. In a way, that can spoil the fun, because now you have to make changes to be happy with the model if you are going for realism as opposed to pure artistry, traditional naval model, or other styles.

You already are like me. You're an Inspired Builder learning skills to make beautiful things. All you need is time, tools, and materials, and lose the fear of making mistakes, because MOST of those are correctable, plus you learn more from those than successes. If you rip out something your shouldn't have, put it back with glue and wood (if you can still reach it!). HERE is a list of things I learned on my last build.
 
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Hubac’s Historian said:
You've gotten to be quite efficient at this digital sculpting, Kurt. The work looks incredible!
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Lots of practice helps. I still need to learn advanced 3-D modeling techniques with the tools. I'm still using basic functions. The boolean functions are messy, inaccurate, and damaging, which is pretty sad since one needs to use them a lot. The mech becomes so messy that you have to use a remesh function to clean it up, and that removes some of the finer details.
 
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