La Belle - Caf Model 1:48 by Thomas Marocke [COMPLETED BUILD]

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The next two head timbers were created and with epoxy resin installed.

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The hull becomes narrower again towards the top and the rails would have to be bent inwards at a slight angle from the vertical.

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The rails would not fit without bending.

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To prevent this and also because of better bonding, the decorative strips were adjusted as needed.

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Ready mounted rails, glued with wood glue.

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The "La Belle" is slowly getting prettier. :D :D :D

Best regards
Thomas
 
Perfect as always !!! Fantastic job.

Are you going to stain the anchor rope to make it look more dirty ? And what diameter is the rope ? Ship was 1:50 , correct ?

Asking because I have to do mine for Pegasus.

Best
Daniel
 
You nailed it Thomas! I'm dreading this part of construction, probably the most difficult one in ship model. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thomas Marocke said:
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The next two head timbers were created and with epoxy resin installed.

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The hull becomes narrower again towards the top and the rails would have to be bent inwards at a slight angle from the vertical.

View attachment 228150

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The rails would not fit without bending.

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To prevent this and also because of better bonding, the decorative strips were adjusted as needed.

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Ready mounted rails, glued with wood glue.

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The "La Belle" is slowly getting prettier. :D :D :D

Best regards
Thomas
Click to expand...
Dear Thomas
She looks beautiful :DThumbsup
 
Hi Gennaro!

Yes, it takes al long time to create the head timbers. They are drawn in the monograph, but with each change in the slope of the rails to the figurehead, their shapes also change. Almost everything on the model is curved in some way, hence the beautiful shapes of a sailing ship. But especially on the bow, it's hard to measure components or stop at a specific shape and make them with machines. Here, unfortunately, you come only with patience, feeling and a lot of manual work to the goal.
I was lucky and had to make only one head timber new, because it was too low. I was glad that not still had to be elaborately carved.

You can do it. It's just time consuming and you have to approach the shapes slowly.

Good luck!
Thomas
 
Hi Daniel!

The anchor rope is only a demonstration rope with 1,3 mm diameter. It will be exchanged for a darker rope with the correct diameter. I still have to order this.
The calculation of the diameter is quite simple according to "Mondfeld" = "For each foot of the ship's width half an inch circumference of the rope".

For the La Belle the calculation would be like this:

14 pieds (foot) hull width x 32,48 cm (1 french pied = 32,48 cm) = 4,55 meter hull width. This line is not needed for calculating - unless you have the hull width in meters and want to convert it to French pied. Attention: the english foot is only 30,48 cm.

14 pieds x 1,27 cm (1 Inch = 2,54 cm, 1/2 Inch = 1,27 cm) = 17,78 cm circumference of anchor rope.
17,78 cm circumference divided by 3,14 (Pi) = 5,66 cm diameter.
Diameter divided by scale (1:48) = 0,12 cm anchor rope.

Best regards
Thomas
 
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Many modelers already take into account the folds for the gunport-lids when planking. I was not sure whether the gunport-lids were mounted horizontally or vertically, so I first built the planks flush. In the "Ancre"-plan, the lids are mounted horizontally, but after finding some hinges on the "La Belle", they were certainly mounted vertically.

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View of a Port-lid (traced) from the "The seventy-four gun ship", Vol. 2 by Jean Boudriot, pages 172-174.
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Port-lids of HMS Victory.

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There are many ways of depicting the gunports. The simplest are no folds and others show folds on all four sides of the opening. (Photo with test piece and carving knife, whether I can do it at all).

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Especially for the "La Belle" a ruler for straight cuts.

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And a result. 100 pieces of it I did not want to carve like that.

Best regards
Thomas
 
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Thomas Marocke said:
Many modelers already take into account the folds for the gunport-lids when planking. I was not sure whether the gunport-lids were mounted horizontally or vertically, so I first built the planks flush. In the "Ancre"-plan, the lids are mounted horizontally, but after finding some hinges on the "La Belle", they were certainly mounted vertically.

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View of a Port-lid (traced) from the "The seventy-four gun ship", Vol. 2 by Jean Boudriot, pages 172-174.
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Port-lids of HMS Victory.

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There are many ways of depicting the gunports. The simplest are no folds and others show folds on all four sides of the opening. (Photo with test piece and carving knife, whether I can do it at all).

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Especially for the "La Belle" a ruler for straight cuts.

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And a result. 100 pieces of it I did not want to carve like that.

Best regards
Thomas
Click to expand...
I'm wondering why they put gun port lids on open deck in the first place - I've never seen them on English ships. Water line too close to gun ports? Excellent work as always.
 
Hi Gennaro!

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That's what happens when you don't finish drawings. Some gun ports have a second pipe next to the water line. I don't know the purpose of this.

Gun port lids were developed by the French in the 16th century. Many small ships ("Mayflower") had them. There are contemporary drawings with lids left or right or top hinged. Some drawings even show mixed designs. Larger frigates like "La Renommée", "La Belle Poule" or "Hermione" had none. Boudriot as a specialist drew the "La Belle" with side lids. Artifacts of the finding of the original disproved his representation.

And so we build according to today's knowledge and as well as we can!
Thomas
 
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I want to recreate something "simple" for once !?!?!?

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The scuppers. For this purpose, the scuppers were traced on a foil.

SANY1192.JPG The foil can now placed on other drawings.

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No ribs, deck beams or knees should be drilled through.

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After all errors are eliminated, the drill points can be traced on the outside of the hull.

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Behind the foil a white sheet of paper for the photo.

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The foil is pierced at the points.

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Now the outside holes can be pre-drilled.

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A measuring compass for 9 Euros. The ends for measuring have been filed to a point and additionally polished so that they do not scratch the wood.

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Now can be determined outside on the punctures in the wood the inner bore. It is drilled from two sides and the holes should meet and not come out somewhere uncontrolled. Now a small drilling aid is made, which prevents me from damaging the deck.

With best regards
Thomas
 
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It's time for the rear decorations.

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Here are the supplied components of the kit. The beautiful carvings of CAf I realy want to install. However, they still require a lot of rework until they fit.

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The first newly made pear wood components assembled. The railing and decoration rails.

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The rails were milled or shaped with the drawing iron.

Best regards
Thomas
 
Hi Daniel!

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There are small contour cutter for model making. They are suitable for stand boards of the model, but are still much too large for the small strips.

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There are scraper blades (drawing iron) for this work. You can buy them or make them yourself. By pulling the blade over the wood several times, the selected contour is slowly created. With small components that are difficult to hold a complicated business. For small parts, I pre-mill the contour and then finish the shape with the blade.

Best regards
Thomas
 
Thomas Marocke said:
Hi Daniel!

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There are small contour cutter for model making. They are suitable for stand boards of the model, but are still much too large for the small strips.

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There are scraper blades (drawing iron) for this work. You can buy them or make them yourself. By pulling the blade over the wood several times, the selected contour is slowly created. With small components that are difficult to hold a complicated business. For small parts, I pre-mill the contour and then finish the shape with the blade.

Best regards
Thomas
Click to expand...
Thank you Thomas for your detailed answer and the pictures. I have the Artesania latina scrappers. I never heard them being called drawing iron. There are so many things for me to learn on this hobby.

What brand and size are the contour bits you posted on the first picture ?

As always, thank you for your detailed answers and teaching.

Daniel
 
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