La Couronne Corel/scratch 1:100 First build [COMPLETED BUILD]

Some details were worked on. The plywood channels are going to be replaced with scratch built ones made out of cherry wood. This is being done for two reasons. First, the channels for the foremast and mainmast are being relocated below the upper gun deck, just above the central wale, and just below the gun ports of the upper gun deck. For many early 17th century galleons, the tumble home was greater than ships built just before 1700, so the channels needed to be located lower on the hull in order for the shrouds not to contact the railings or gunwales. The tumble home on the Corel hull shape can allow the channels to be mounted higher, but I think it looks closer to the convention of the time with them in the lower position. It's a feature that distinguishes the vessel as early 17th century. Because moving the channels will require relocating all the shroud and deadeye locations to avoid blocking any guns, the slots for the chain plates will be cut into the channels after the channels are installed on the hull.

The pinnace boat frame supports were detached from the main deck and sanded thinner because they looked overly thick and clunky. The rear support frame for the pinnace was re-positioned a bit farther forward and re-glued to the grating, then four blackened brass eyelets were installed on the frame surrounding the grates, adjacent to the pinnace frames. The eyelets are Caldercraft part number 83505, and are laser etched and very small. Model eyelets tend to be over sized, and these are much closer to scale. Laser etched eyelets are much smaller that any eyelets I make from wire, even with tiny tools. The boat was lashed to the support frames with 0.25mm tan cord supplied with the kit. To make this easier, the the cord was tied to the first eyelet, and then it was passed through the remaining three eyelets. Each eyelet, starting with the one the cord is tied to, installed into drilled holes with CA glue. The line is still loose enough to get the boat under it. The boat is glued to the supports, and the cord loops are passed over the front and rear ends of the boat. The slack in the cord is then removed, pulling it carefully through the eyelets, and the the loose end is secured at the first eyelet. A bit of PVA glue secures the knot. The remaining end of the rope can be glued to the deck, or if you prefer, coiled and glued to the deck.

Instead of breaking off and replacing the over-sized kevels, I decided to simply add the horizontal supports for each kevel individually. Some thin boxwood scrap was cut with scissors, then notches were cut with a small razor saw, and a needle file and small sanding block were used to shape each tiny piece until they were custom fit around the staghorns of each kevel. You have to have steady hands and a delicate touch to make last minute changes like this in tight areas. The parts were positioned in place after a few test fits, and secured with CA glue. The last picture below shows the kevels before staining. To darken the white wood, some pine colored stain was applied with a small brush and the color now matches the staghorns perfectly. If you're going to fix a mistake or add a detail, it needs to blend in.

536 Replace Kit Channels With Cherry Wood.jpg

537 Install Pinnace and Tie Down.jpg

538 Added Horizontal Parts to All Kevels.jpg
 
CRAP! Corel didn't provide cable laid rope for the standing rigging! So, I put and order in to Domanoff's Workshop for both La Couronne and the next model, HMS Sovereign of the Seas. Does anyone beside Domanoff provide cable laid rope? I could build a rope making jig, but for only two models it's just as well to order some. So much for starting work on the shrouds. Oh well. The masts and yards need blocks installed to prepare for running rigging...
 
Hi everyone,

Alexey at Domanoff's Workshop sent me enough cable and ropes in various sizes for La Couronne and HMS Sovereign of the Seas. I ordered these a short while ago and they look really great and will provide an authentic detail for both models.

But, before I can fit and attach the channels on La Couronne and begin working on the shrouds, I needed to finish the upper deck gun port lids and install the 9 pound gun barrels. For all gun on La Couronne, scratch built trucks and gun barrels of the proper sizes were installed on additional decks to replace all the fake half cannons on the model. Making full carriaged guns for all guns looks a lot better than fake half barrels stuck into a piece of wood. You can see the fronts of the carriages on the gun decks. Fake barrels look FAKE and are an ugly shortcut even at this scale. Each gun port lid and cannon was completed using the following steps.

The Gun port lids were finished previously, and the hinges were glue to them. Now they have to be pinned to the hull. Brass pins are bent 90 degrees against a block of wood using small narrow needle nosed pliers. Then they are all blackened. Each door is sanded to fit precisely into each portal as you go, since there are minor variations in the portals made when I cut them by hand. I opted to have all the lids open in order to show off the guns. An Archimedes drill is used to drill three holes, two for the hinge pins and one for the span line (rope that pulls the lid open).

A hole is drilled through the lid for the rope which will double as the span line, used to haul the lid open, and the lanyard used to pull the lid closed. Normally, each of the lines would be secure to the lid with an iron eyelet, but at 1:100 scale such eyelets would be too small to see anyhow.

After inserting the pins in the hinges and gluing the end of the span line in the hole in the hull, the opposite end of the line is stiffened with CA glue and fed through the lid. A needle hose pliers is used to insert the each hinge pin half way into the holes above the portal. A small amount of CA glue is applied to the exposed area of each pin, then both pins are carefully and evenly pushed with the pliers the rest of the way into the hull. If you break a hinge off the lid, just glue it back on. It happens.

Feed the span line through the lid and add a bit of CA glue to the line above the lid. Raise the lid up to final open position and draw the span line taut, pulling the glue through the hole in the lid to secure it from moving. Trim the remaining line, now the lanyard to length, and glue the bitter end to the inside of the top of the portal. Glue is applied to the inner surface of the port with a tool made from a piece of stiff wire bent 90 degrees at the tip. Poke the end of the line into glue and leave the lanyard with a small amount of slack in it.

Glue the gun barrel onto the truck. Caps for the gun barrel trunnions are far to small to even be seen at this scale, so don't bother with them. Caps are simulated with paint in guns visible from above on the bridge deck.

After all the upper gun deck guns and lids were finished, the scratch built channels for the fore mast were contoured to the shape of the hull and test fit. Tread tied to the mast was used to check if any of the shrouds will interfere with the forecastle railings. The channels for the fore mast and main mast will be placed below gun ports of the upper gun deck and above the ports on the lower gun deck contrary to the Corel model design plans and in the fashion of many 17th century galleons. The lowest 18 pound guns and lids were also installed near the stern.

539 Bend Brass Pins for Gun Port Lid Hinges.jpg

540 Blacken Hinge Pins.jpg

541 Trum Lid to Fit Each Gun Portral .jpg

541 Hand Drill Holes Outboard of Hinges for the Hinge Pins.jpg

542 Lid Rope Glued to Hull.jpg

543 Insert Pins Most of the Way In Then Apply Glue.jpg

544 Push Pins in and Add Glue to Lid Rope.jpg

545 Lid Rope Glued to Lid.jpg

546 Cut Lid Rope to Length.jpg

547 Glue End of Rope to Inside of Portal.jpg

548 Glue Cannon Barrel to Truck.jpg

549 Completed 9 Pound Gun Installation.jpg

549 Install All Upper Deck Gun Port Lids.jpg

550 Closeup of Port Lid Hinges.jpg

551 Lowest 18 Pound Gun Port Complete.jpg

552 Test Fit Stbd Fwd Channel and Check Shroud Clearance.jpg

553 Upper Desk Guns Finished.jpg
 
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Great work KurtThumbsup
I have had a quick search regarding pin racks.This is a bit of a minefield and some info is contradictory.The debate isn't so much as to when belaying pins came into existence(although I can't find this out either)but when they started appearing in racks as such.This article does mention the subject and also highlights the issue of determining when they came into use http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/95593.aspx
Sots running rigging was tied off directly to the rails around the top of her hull and various bitts and cleats

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Great work KurtThumbsup
I have had a quick search regarding pin racks.This is a bit of a minefield and some info is contradictory.The debate isn't so much as to when belaying pins came into existence(although I can't find this out either)but when they started appearing in racks as such.This article does mention the subject and also highlights the issue of determining when they came into use http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/95593.aspx
Sots running rigging was tied off directly to the rails around the top of her hull and various bitts and cleats

Kind Regards

Nigel

Thanks for the helpful information, Nigel!

Kurt
 
Three of the lower deck cannons and lids were completed on each side because they would be too difficult to install once the channels are in place. Seams for the timbers that make up the channels for the foremast were simply penciled in on both sides of each channel and varnished over to lock in the markings. The forward channels were glued to the hull atop the wale. The location of the shrouds for the foremast and their deadeyes and chain wales can now be determined, which will present a design challenge so as not to block any of the gun ports. Notches for the lower deadeyes will be cut, and other fittings like brackets on the channels will then be fitted.

556 Draw Seam Lines on Channels and Varnish.jpg

557 Attach Stbd Fore Channel.jpg

558 Attach Port Fore Channel.jpg

559 Port Fore Channel.jpg
 
The main and mizzen channels were copied in major dimensions from the kit parts in cherry wood, and attached to the hull with CA glued. Before coating them with spray varnish, a thin mechanical pencil was used to draw the lines separating the planks that make up each channel to simulate the seams. More details added = better model. Since the shroud locations were not altered from the original kit design, the notches for the mizzen channel kit parts were transferred to the new parts. The shrouds for the main and fore masts will be relocated to new positions based on the new cannon port layout to avoid interference.

664 Copy Kit Main Channels in Cherry Wood.jpg

665 Port Main Channel Attached.jpg

666 Stbd Channel Attached.jpg

667 Main and Fore Channels.jpg

668 Copy Kit Mizzen Channels in Cherry Wood.jpg

669 Stbd Mizzen Channel Attached.jpg

670 Port Mizzen Channel Attached.jpg

671 All Channels Installed.jpg
 
Thanks for the Etsy suggestions. I got the same fleur de lies for the gun port doors on Soleil Royal!

Etsy also had small lion face brass stampings, but they were FAR more expensive than the fleur de lies. They would look good on the gun port doors for HMS Sovereign of the Seas. Hopefully they will go on sale someday so I can save some money. There are lots of decoration treasures on Etsy, but it's hard to know what to put in the search engine line to find what you're looking for.

These are $10.00 US for only two of them:
il_794xN.1177142927_po2m.jpg

Here is a less expensive option for lion faces. These earrings on Amazon.com are $7.99 for a set of two, so you get more for your money:

Amazon.com Lion Earrings

Capture.JPG

GOOD PARTS ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM!
 
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I like lots the way you have done your Channel.
Personally as for the fighting platform I never use what is supply in a kit always replaces them. But your solution is elegant, nice looking and easier.

And yes a lots of thing are available for decoration sometime better of what is offer in a kit;)
 
I like lots the way you have done your Channel.
Personally as for the fighting platform I never use what is supply in a kit always replaces them. But your solution is elegant, nice looking and easier.

And yes a lots of thing are available for decoration sometime better of what is offer in a kit;)

Thumbsup
Sometimes the parts in the kit are satisfactory. Some of the fittings and most of the wood was used in La Couronne. Where a kits typically falls short is detail. Replacing all the materials in a kit is hugely expensive, so a balance has to be struck to keep costs low. It also depends on your skill level, knowledge of wooden ship construction, how much you want to spend on tools, books, and materials, how much research you want to do to correct kit features that are known to be inauthentic, and how much patience you have. All of these contribute to the final appearance of the model, and they vary widely from person to person. If you put your best effort into the project, the results will always make you happy. :D

Attached is an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of all the material costs for the kit, tools, research books and extra materials used to build La Couronne. The total cost of the entire ship project is currently $2293.64. :eek: So far, the cost of DeAgostini's HMS Sovereign of the Seas is $1574.04, and I haven't even started construction yet!
 

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Thumbsup
Sometimes the parts in the kit are satisfactory. Some of the fittings and most of the wood was used in La Couronne. Where a kits typically falls short is detail. Replacing all the materials in a kit is hugely expensive, so a balance has to be truck to keep costs low. It also depends on your skill level, knowledge of wooden ship construction, how much you want to spend on tools, books, and materials, how much research you want to do to correct kit features that are known to be inauthentic, and how much patience you have. All of these contribute to the final appearance of the model, and they vary widely from person to person. If you put your best effort into the project, the results will always make you happy. :D

Attached is an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of all the material costs for the kit, tools, research books and extra materials used to build La Couronne. The total cost of the entire ship project is currently $2293.64. :eek: So far, the cost of DeAgostini's HMS Sovereign of the Seas is $1574.04, and I haven't even started construction yet!
So you can see that the prices for the top of the bill Chinese POF kits is not that high allthough the first investment is on the higher end.
 
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