Royal William Euromodel 1:72 by Vince P. -- FINISHED

Most of the standing rigging for the foremast and bowsprit is complete. I added the jib boom which makes the bowsprit much longer. It is interesting that this ship has both a spritsail topmast and a jib boom. The jib boom replaced the spritsail topmast on ships of the period, so this ship must have been constructed right at the time of change. The foremast backstays and shrouds will be done last.

Next up is spars, sails, and running rigging for the bowsprit and spritsail topmast.

Vince P. Ship-1

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Hi All,

I found this great book, thanks to a new member here, Mark from Virginia USA. It is illustrated with actual drawings and paintings from the 1600's by the builders of war ships of the period of the mid to late 17th century. Also photos of various museum models. Since I am building the Royal William and Prince coming next, I thought it would be a good addition to my reference library. Not only is it a great book, but it has diagrams of rigging plans as well. I am building the RW with full rigged sails and the plans leave out some of the tiny details. I have been going back and forth to several sources trying to figure the running rigging out. This book has a complete diagram for rigging sails on a ship like the RW. In ten minutes it answered all the questions I had. It also has fabulous closeup photos of the decorations for the RW and the Prince and many other ships of the period.

I got a used copy in almost new condition from Amazon for $149 US.

Thanks Mark!

Vince P. Ship-1

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Finally completed the standing and running rigging of the foremast and bowsprit. Only things left are the braces and lower shrouds of the foremast which will be done later in the build to allow access to the inside of the decks. This area of the ship has the most complicated and intense rigging considering you are really rigging 2 masts together, so the hardest part is over with. With the sails, as said before, the amount of rigging is much more complicated. I had to accomplish the rigging in layers from the inside out in order to have access when needed. I made a list of all of the lines and prioritized them by numbers and completed each in pairs.

Next up is placing dozens of tiny rope coils to all of the belay points and then moving on to the mainmast.

Vince P. Ship-1

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Hi Snowy,
I have seen models both ways. It would seem to me that the reefing ropes should be on both sides because how would they be able to tie up the furled sails unless they could make a loop around the spar. I just put them on the forward side for effect.

Vince P. Ship-1
 
Finally another post. The mainmast is fully constructed and rigged. There was an enormous amount of work to complete this and that is why it took so long. I can only put in an hour or two here and there. I am partially furling the main course so the decks and their details can be seen on the finished model. Next is to step this mast to the ship and complete the standing rigging and belay all of the running rigging to the decks.

Vince P. Ship-1

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Completed the main mast and stepped it into the ship along with all of the standing and running rigging and the sails. Huge amount of additional rigging for the sails. Still have to complete the lower shrouds and braces. The staysails look to be a different color in the photos, but they are the same. It is just the sunlight in the room that makes them look lighter in color. All of the sails were soaked in tea to give them a yellowish weathered look as would be the case on an actual ship.

Next up is to complete the lower shrouds and rattlings for the foremast since the majority of the rigging to the decks is now completed. The remainder of the staysail running rigging ties off to the foremast shrouds before tying off to the deck.

Vince P. Ship-1

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Finally finished the foremast. All of the standing and running rigging is complete except for the Course sheet, clew, and tack lines. These will be done at the very end of the build to allow easy access to the sides of the hull for what is left.

Next up is to construct the mizzen mast and step it. Then I can finish the main mast rigging. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. A few more months and she will be completed.

Vince P. Ship-1

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OK, this build log is now up to date. I will post more as I proceed with the build. Naturally it will be slower since I have to build before I can post.

I am currently constructing the mizzen mast. More to follow soon.

Vince P. Ship-1
 
Hey mate snowy again love your ship
Was she expensive to buy
Love the captain quarters and all the rear keep up the great work
Hi Snowy,
Yes, she is an expensive kit. I believe I paid over $1400. I also have about another $1000 in enhancements including having the sails made.
This is an expensive hobby for sure. But, most all good hobbies are expensive. As far as I see it, everyone needs a good hobby, and you only live once.
Vince Ship-1
 
Hi All,

I found this great book, thanks to a new member here, Mark from Virginia USA. It is illustrated with actual drawings and paintings from the 1600's by the builders of war ships of the period of the mid to late 17th century. Also photos of various museum models. Since I am building the Royal William and Prince coming next, I thought it would be a good addition to my reference library. Not only is it a great book, but it has diagrams of rigging plans as well. I am building the RW with full rigged sails and the plans leave out some of the tiny details. I have been going back and forth to several sources trying to figure the running rigging out. This book has a complete diagram for rigging sails on a ship like the RW. In ten minutes it answered all the questions I had. It also has fabulous closeup photos of the decorations for the RW and the Prince and many other ships of the period.

I got a used copy in almost new condition from Amazon for $149 US.

Thanks Mark!

Vince P. Ship-1

For everybody interested in this book, please take a look at our Book Review with y click on the title:

Great Ships: The Battle Fleet of King Charles II by Frank L. Fox

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