Longlegs55 builds ZHL Soleil Royal

Thanks, Paulb, just had a quick look but need some sleep. will check again tomorrow.
Questions:- 1, any consensus on whether or not the strange culverins are correct? and 2, is there any agreement on the actual colour of the canons
Any advice greatly received
 
According to one passage I read, the cannons were made of bronze. Bronze is lighter than iron, but is also much more expensive. But I guess money was no object for Louis IV! I opted to bend the ends of the upper cannons and display them as they are. Make sure to use heat gun if you bend them. Kurt @DARIVS ARCHITECTVS didn't like them much and didn't believe they were realistic. I think @paulb and Alexey @Mr.Deep decided to buy new 8 pounders, if I remember correctly. Alexey had some material telling which guns were where. I didn't have the extra bucks to buy all new guns, and my daughter wouldn't know the difference, so I went with the kit guns.
 
Thanks Vfordyce for your info once again.

i am in the same boat that the "at any cost" is way out of my price range so I too will be sticking with what I have. Strangely the mantua version has the same strange "curly" guns whereas the artesania kit has more standard ones.

I like to be a bit odd so i'll stick with the curly ones.

Thanks again for your insight, I'm sure it won't be the last time I ask
 
Longlegs55 said:
Thanks Vfordyce for your info once again.

i am in the same boat that the "at any cost" is way out of my price range so I too will be sticking with what I have. Strangely the mantua version has the same strange "curly" guns whereas the artesania kit has more standard ones.

I like to be a bit odd so i'll stick with the curly ones.

Thanks again for your insight, I'm sure it won't be the last time I ask
Click to expand...
My pleasure. And don’t forget the heat gun and heavy gloves! You’ll need them on the swoops up front, the transom supports in the rear, and maybe the chunky pewter pieces on the sides. I set mine at 600 degrees for about 5-10 seconds. You’ll get the feel of it.
 
sorry Vfordyce missed your question. Not really expensive, think it was about 60gbp. manufactured by hobbyzone, think based in Poland but i got mine from hobbies.co.uk. Hobbyzone.pl has them for 299 polish zlotie
 
So, i was going to post some pictures of my first half planked deck until i glanced at the instructions which have a little red arrow pointing at the planking in front of bulkhead 4 saying "do not plank this bit" which is planked in the picture!!!

So instead of pictures I have spent the last 3 hours carefully removing all the decking I had laid with a scalpel so that I could save as much as possible.

Never mind, tomorrow is another day!
 
Oh, my goodness! You definitely can’t go by the pictures. They were either of an earlier version or of a prototype. They don’t always go with the instructions and they use different parts, substituting resin parts for metal.
 
Sorry I have been absent for a few days. I'll health I'm afraid. This will become a recurring theme so apologies in advance.

Anyway, the build. I have temporarily pinned all decks in and padded out the bow and made all those repetitive dummy cannon boxes.

Next I will begin the first planking.

On a side note for anyone thinking of building this kit, although the instruction DVD is as much use as a chocolate tea pot, there is no way I can criticise the quality and accuracy of the laser cut wood parts, they are excellent. Just remember to send off the surface "laser burn" when trying to stick together!!IMG_20230316_123410.jpgIMG_20230316_123447.jpg
 
Longlegs55 said:
Sorry I have been absent for a few days. I'll health I'm afraid. This will become a recurring theme so apologies in advance.

Anyway, the build. I have temporarily pinned all decks in and padded out the bow and made all those repetitive dummy cannon boxes.

Next I will begin the first planking.

On a side note for anyone thinking of building this kit, although the instruction DVD is as much use as a chocolate tea pot, there is no way I can criticise the quality and accuracy of the laser cut wood parts, they are excellent. Just remember to send off the surface "laser burn" when trying to stick together!!View attachment 363235View attachment 363236
Click to expand...
A chocolate tea pot. That’s pretty good. Just remember, you’ve got friends here who’ve been there, done that. Please feel free to contact us with questions regarding instructions.
 
thanks Vfordyce.
on that note, the gun port linings, are they meant to sit flush with 56, 57 etc with the second planking butted up to the outer edge? only way i can see that the gun port doors will fit properly but then the doors themselves would sit proud of the hull if closed, by 1.5 mm. am I correct in my thinking?
 
I believe they are recessed the depth of the covers. I placed a thin rectangle of veneer on the insides of the covers. When they shut, they would have a tight fit so the water couldn’t get in. I’ll go back and see if I can find any illustrations.
 
thanks Vfordyce, i thought this would be the case as it was on caldercraft Victory. thanks for the prompt reply!
 
So, finally I have been able to make a little progress.
After much cannibalisation of the bulkheads, I have finally managed to fit the gunports.
I have also planked the small front deck and followed others advice and used cocktail sticks blackened on one end for the fixings.
Only small problem I have discovered is that my wife doesn't seem to know the alphabet, F follows D and E doesn't exist.

AT least sheet E, gun carriages, is missing from my kit. Bugger!
Anyway emailed Max and just waiting for a reply.

First planking begins in earnest next week!IMG_20230401_132320.jpgIMG_20230401_132332.jpg
 
Longlegs55 said:
So, finally I have been able to make a little progress.
After much cannibalisation of the bulkheads, I have finally managed to fit the gunports.
I have also planked the small front deck and followed others advice and used cocktail sticks blackened on one end for the fixings.
Only small problem I have discovered is that my wife doesn't seem to know the alphabet, F follows D and E doesn't exist.

AT least sheet E, gun carriages, is missing from my kit. Bugger!
Anyway emailed Max and just waiting for a reply.

First planking begins in earnest next week!View attachment 366496View attachment 366498
Click to expand...
Hope your wife doesn't find out you used all the fancy toothpicks!

Impressive progress thus far! I'll pull up a chair.
 
can we talk cannons.

Is there any consensus on the colours?
carriages red or natural, i've seen both and barrels black or brass? Again ive seen both.

Personally I was leaning towards brass barrels and natural carriages but I could be swayed in any direction.

All comments greatly appreciated. More questions will come I am sure.
 
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