New kit from Occre 09/21/2025

[rtwpsom2]

I just don't understand how you can justify Occre and Artesania Latina kits anymore. This one just seems so..... I don't know... outdated? unrefined? low quality? low effort? phoned in? You know, I don't want to denigrate MSW in any way, but if they aren't growing and changing with the times they are supporting low effort tripe like this kit. More power to them if they really like challenges, they will definitely grow as modelers if they want to make a good model from this kit. But I tell you what, I am building my Chinese full rib kit and I am just grinning from ear to ear the whole time and I really think they are missing some of the best parts of this hobby. I feel so sorry for them.

Hi folks,
it is the Le Soleil Royal...... It costs 1.800 euros.

FU**

NO.

 

[GIG1810]

Hi folks,

I can well understand your criticism and to be honest, unfortunately I don't understand OcCre. As you know, I bought the Black Swan as a kit, even though it cost me a lot of money. I was very disappointed when I held the parcel in my hand and looked inside the box. Everything was so rough and unkind and not true to scale. It really wasn't my ambition, even though the Black Swan is my first wooden ship. That's why I decided to convert the Black Swan. Nevertheless, these kits naturally also have an appeal for those who find them just as beautiful as they are depicted. And that's a good thing. After all, as the saying goes: "To each his own" ...

You can always argue about taste. Not about quality! The price is absolutely exorbitant!!!

 

[AiDi]

I just don't understand how you can justify Occre and Artesania Latina kits anymore

Well AL kits are way better than this. Santissima Trinidad was very good, Victory was also ok, something different with all the internal fittings. I am still trying to work on OcCres Soleil from DeAgostini, but I'm rebuilding it completly and I came to the point where I wanted to burn it three times already...

At least they didn't put sail on crossjack yard this time

 

[ubjs]

My idea of starting to build wooden model ships was that I would learn how they looked and were built. I have been tinkering with model railways for 50 years and there models are criticized harshly if any detail is wrong etc.
When I bought a number of model boat kits, I started reading this forum and found to my great surprise that most of what I bought had large scale errors when it comes to details
I think that a very big reason for the large number of errors in boat kits is the ignorance of those who buy them.

Maybe I should start by buying a plastic kit, is the scale accuracy better there when it comes to ships?
In that case, perhaps the first tip for new shipbuilders should be to start with a plastic kit to get an understanding of how details should look?

 

[Short John Bronze]

Had this e-mail from OcCre. Le Soleil Royale

 

[Hubac’s Historian]

I didn’t see this release when it came out, but was just directed here to take a look.

In my opinion - at, say, a $500-$800 US$ price point - sure, okay. If a person were merely interested in a large ornament for their living room, and not too hung up on accuracy of form, scale or detail, then I would say “go for it!” It would be fun to assemble, and who doesn’t like the visual interest of “exposed framing.”

For what they’re asking though, it is criminal. There is no potential with this kit, to make the sort of post-market modifications as Nigel has with the AL kit. The reason for that is that the frame shapes are all wrong, to begin with.

I keep a file of screen shots of Nigel’s SR for inspiration because in correcting the scale length of the model, and very accurately correcting the wale and top sheer, he has transformed a very disappointing offering into a true scale model.

What AL at least bothered to do was create accurate bulkhead forms, and they put some real care and attention into designing accurate bow and stern ornamentation. Almost no manufacturer gets the sweep of the headrails, for example, correctly.



If you have the time, the talent and the resources to upgrade materials, you can build something truly representative of the epoch:






As an out-of-box endeavor, Altaya’s L’Ambiteaux builds into a fairly good representation of a French First Rate from the 1680’s. Again, though, with time, talent and resources, one can catapult this kit to the realm of a true scale model, as Marc Yeu is doing:




So, I would encourage people to pass hard on this Occre version. At that exorbitant price, there just isn’t any foundation, there, to turn it into something better than the sum of its parts.

 

[oldflyer]

In another world --- the Best (sadly -- unfinished) Soleil Royale is arguably from; Michel Saunier.
It is, of course, scratch built. Stunning example

 

[Short John Bronze]

I have just watched the video of Le Soleil Royale that OcCre sent me. A bit big for my available display space. I like OcCre kits but on a model such as this - presumably with a high price tag - why can't they do something better with hemming the sails? Amati do a very tight hem in dark thread which would visually pass as a bolt rope. The OcCre ones look as though they were run through a cheap sewing machine with limited hem options.

 

[Alexisgm97]

For my rather inexperienced eye and me not being extremely worried about the historical inaccuracies some of you have mentioned, it looks astonishing and with great detail, at least in the well-presented video. The finish quality is museum-worthy, and the nice golden touch of the brass decoration makes it very rich and powerful, and it is indeed what catches the eye the most

On the other hand, I strongly believe that if Occre used more affordable but still high-quality wood, as in their other kits, and made a double hull, they could have saved a lot of money (and time) for the modeller. It is true that the "admiralty" style has not been done by any company, and the limited edition that makes it scarce may be a plus (for some). But they could have launched a historically accurate model (as their words) with great brass-plated fittings to a relatively "outdated" market (Mantua/Panart) and surely below the dizzying 1000€ figure that would have been a breeze of fresh air and lots of modellers would have bought it as a first, or even compared to their already finished Mantua/Panart ones without having to spend such an amount of money.

That would have been my take as a company trying to launch a "renovated" and good but well-known kit while also trying to make it affordable to the modeller and profitable for the company.

It is true that having two limited editions in your catalogue gives prestige and a sense of exclusivity, but I think that what I explained would have made everyone happy.