• Win a Free Custom Engraved Brass Coin!!!
    As a way to introduce our brass coins to the community, we will raffle off a free coin during the month of August. Follow link ABOVE for instructions for entering.
  • SUBSCRIBE TO SHIPS IN SCALE TODAY!

    The beloved Ships in Scale Magazine is back and charting a new course for 2026!
    Discover new skills, new techniques, and new inspirations in every issue.

    NOTE THAT OUR NEXT ISSUE WILL BE MARCH/APRIL 2026

Royal Louis - Mamoli

A short update today. I made up and fitted the bracing at the bow, I don't know what it's called. It was made from 2mm strip, I found it quite difficult to bend and twist into the correct shape, lots of soaking, lots of heat and lots of swearing got it done. When complete it will have cast decorative moulding along its length.



161.jpg


162.jpg
 
Ken said:
A short update today. I made up and fitted the bracing at the bow, I don't know what it's called. It was made from 2mm strip, I found it quite difficult to bend and twist into the correct shape, lots of soaking, lots of heat and lots of swearing got it done. When complete it will have cast decorative moulding along its length.



View attachment 586058


View attachment 586059
Click to expand...
Looks really good. It was a very brave decision changing the shade of the staining but it has certainly come out OK.

Dom
 
DomCee said:
Looks really good. It was a very brave decision changing the shade of the staining but it has certainly come out OK.

Dom
Click to expand...
Hi Dom. If I’d thought about it I probably wouldn’t have gone ahead, it was one of those gut feeling decisions where you do it on the spur of the moment, I always had the option of painting the hull if it had gone pear shaped.
 
Here's todays update on the build. There are two chicken coups on the quarter deck, I think that the captain must like his eggs, he was French after all. The instructions were quite explicit and easy to follow, but the upright bars being only 1x1mm were very fiddly to make up, ( blunt fingers ).

163.jpg


164.jpg


165.jpg


166.jpg
 
Hello and thanks for visiting my build log. I’ve done quite a bit since my last post and it’s coming along nicely.

After re staining the hull a darker colour the wales and strakes looked too pale, the ebony stain looked washed out and didn’t give the contrast that I wanted. Not being happy with it I sanded them back and re stained a very dark oak, this time the stain was much more dense giving me the stand out contrast that I was after.

Next I made up the quarter deck skylight. The kit provided plastic windows for this but they were far from satisfactory and didn’t look good, even on the box art they looked poor so I made up my own simple version and glazed using a clear white glue. It looks pretty basic but at least it’s neat.

I then made up and painted the rails. These are made up over a plan then fitted complete to the model so it was necessary to double check that the hull sides were perfect as once made they couldn’t be adjusted, they would be a fixed very rigid structure made up from just over three hundred pieces. I sealed and sanded them prior to installing then when in place painted them.

You will have noticed that red is going to be the predominant colour, I never meant this model to be a true scale replica but just a sort of ornament for display so I’m going a bit over the top to give it more of a pop. I think the photos show the progress pretty well



167.jpg


168.jpg


169.jpg


170.jpg


171.jpg


172.jpg


173.jpg


174.jpg


175.jpg


176.jpg


177.jpg


178.jpg
 
Aside from the green or blue colored glass used in deck prisms, I never understood why models didn't use mica or clear plastic material for windows as opposed to the opaque bright sky blue or black, or dark, translucent colors for simulated window panes. In like fashion, dark red is typically used for ship's stern lanterns. Why not use authentic colors or clear from actually ships to simulate glass? To me, this kills impression of realism in the model.
 
Hello again. Another update but first I’ll comment on the kit. This went into production in the 1980s, so quite an old kit, mine is about 30yrs old. The plans are hand drawn, no CAD here, there are a large amount of cast parts, these reflect the tech of the era yet to me the kit is much better than many on the market today, better woods, better plans and instructions and quite a satisfying build if you work on it, a well thought through project.

There is I know a lot of red, it looks overwhelming on the screen, much too bright, but in reality it’s much duller, I think the sun makes it look more vibrant than it really is. I think that I would describe it as a red occre similar to Caldercrafts red, I’ve now adjusted my camera to show the true colour.

I have now completed the stairs, foredeck and quarter deck rails and the belfrys, much of which was cast and as I mentioned for its time very well done. It’s taking on a fair amount of detail and is starting to look quite good



179.jpg


180.jpg


181.jpg


182.jpg


183.jpg


184.jpg


185.jpg
 
WojtasS said:
These colors look wonderful with the grass. They complement each other perfectly. Grass as a background is a unique and great choice.
Click to expand...
Hi Watjas. Thanks for your kind comment. I have an image in my head of how I would like this to look, it’s pretty close to the colours that I had in mind and I think that they work. We all build differently, I prefer the appearance rather than accuracy, so far, so good.
 
Ken said:
Hi Watjas. Thanks for your kind comment. I have an image in my head of how I would like this to look, it’s pretty close to the colours that I had in mind and I think that they work. We all build differently, I prefer the appearance rather than accuracy, so far, so good.
Click to expand...
All approaches are valid unless someone makes a cardinal mistake and refuses to fix it due to the artistic approach, but let's not start another discussion that can't be resolved. Don't worry, the red looks very nice and besides that weird chimney kit provides you have one of the cleanest RL builds
 
Ken said:
Hello again. Another update but first I’ll comment on the kit. This went into production in the 1980s, so quite an old kit, mine is about 30yrs old. The plans are hand drawn, no CAD here, there are a large amount of cast parts, these reflect the tech of the era yet to me the kit is much better than many on the market today, better woods, better plans and instructions and quite a satisfying build if you work on it, a well thought through project.

There is I know a lot of red, it looks overwhelming on the screen, much too bright, but in reality it’s much duller, I think the sun makes it look more vibrant than it really is. I think that I would describe it as a red occre similar to Caldercrafts red, I’ve now adjusted my camera to show the true colour.

I have now completed the stairs, foredeck and quarter deck rails and the belfrys, much of which was cast and as I mentioned for its time very well done. It’s taking on a fair amount of detail and is starting to look quite good



View attachment 588868


View attachment 588869


View attachment 588870


View attachment 588871


View attachment 588872


View attachment 588873


View attachment 588874
Click to expand...
Hi Ken,

The colours do look much better with a more contrast against the darker wales. Fully agree about the wood and general quality of some of the modern kits. Most of my kits are "vintage" and the instructions and plans were poor at best. Fortunately, I don't mind deciphering old plans and researching the ships construction and rigging, it actually adds to the interest of building the model. The downside is that it can be quite time consuming and I have spent more time doing that than building!

Dom
 
DomCee said:
Hi Ken,

The colours do look much better with a more contrast against the darker wales. Fully agree about the wood and general quality of some of the modern kits. Most of my kits are "vintage" and the instructions and plans were poor at best. Fortunately, I don't mind deciphering old plans and researching the ships construction and rigging, it actually adds to the interest of building the model. The downside is that it can be quite time consuming and I have spent more time doing that than building!

Dom
Click to expand...
Hi Dom. I couldn't agree with you more. I get most of my kits from EBay and they are mostly quite old. Last year when I decided to start up again I bought a new kit from a well known manufacturer, I was most dissapointed with it. There were no plans, the instruction were only online, the wood was just plain white, the keel and bulkheads were only 3mm thick, very insubstantial, it was single planked with no way to recess the ports. this looked like a cheap kit but it was anything but, there was no way that this would be an enjoyable build. I put it straight on Ebay and will not buy another of their kits again. That was when my wife bought me the Royal Louis to keep me building.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top