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San Felipe (yuanqing)+Pear carvings

Y

yancovitch

Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
132
Points
133

sorry but this is not a build log but rather an occasional update on my progress in kit bashing.....i'm not doing what's right but what pleases me..and i couldn't post the build due to my tearing apart putting together....patching here and there, till i got it right...like sculpting with clay.....being built in my tiny bedroom with the extreme tolerance of my wife....heavy stuff outside....started it around sept 20
i seem to be to lazy to get the correct terminology in these things, so bear with me....or is it bare?
1-i raised the stern and made a bit more sheer on the gun decks opposed to a straight line.....
2- i raised the waterline a bit so it didn't look so top heavy like the heller soleil royal....
3- i created a bit more angle on the transom to accommodate the pear carvings
4- i really wanted to go oh natural with the pear carvings, but the color variation on them was too extreme....the figurehead looked like black walnut.....so gold it is.....i have to check on judea bitumen, which was recommended to me to treat the sculptures....
5-trying to darken the hull with polyshade stain....much work to do there.....couldn't afford pearwood strips....was already too costly for me....
6- the stern galleries were compacted and shaped differently...the main decorative panel was too fat, so i broke it up with a simple gold decoration at the bottom........
that's it for now.....

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merci guys.....the wood in the kit wasn't bad but came out blotchy...will probably take a week of fiddling around to make the hull planking acceptable.....it was too light and the decking was dark...just the opposite of what i wanted...so i ordered some maple planking.......and am using polyshades urethane to somehow darken the hull...i don't like stains, but i'm stuck here, and wish to avoid buying pearwood to re-cover the siding......
gads, this is a long ship.....reminds me of the uss convederacy........
 
well.........................i was gonna delete this post, but what the heck........
1---i'm too old to build....too many mistakes or too much impatience or incompetence.....eg...forgot to paint gun supports etc. before planking....but i drilled out a spray paint nozzle and stuck in a wd-40 tube....and it works...better than poking around with a brush just gotta watch the drips when removing.......i'm sure i'll at least get my money back that i spent, if it is purchased one day.....
2......06mm planking.....never again......can't use white glue due to warping....and contact cement is tricky....trying to build with minimum ca glue....wife allergic......planking totally unforgiving....everything must be perfect before applying....good luck with that.......i just couldn't afford to purchase pearwood etc....
3......this is a poor patchwork build....what does this look like.....let's try this...naa...tear it apart and lets try that...etc etc...you might say, a fun exploratory experience, and a really challenge for my aging brain.....but i figure it will look good enough to the less experienced folk......the galleries, which i modified and shortened, were impossible....too many angles for my again, poor aging brain.......so, it's back to ''close enough for jazz''.........
4......ordered the stanchions from cornwall model boats......they ran out so i have to wait till january whey they get next delivery from their supplier.....i preferred more of them than less....there will be so so much touching up to do....but i enjoy that......and i won't use stained polyshades urethane anymore....only natural, with clear coating or nothing......can't repair mistakes and match the colors etc......................oh i will try some micro kristal klear on the windows....maybe will, maybe won't work.....i tried microscope slides, but they got dirty and couldn't clean .........
5......what?...there's more???..........naaaaaa....enough for now...we'll see what else i can butcher....hmmmm...having fun though....and that's all that counts.....and all this in a 15x20 bedroom with limited tools, so i can't beat myself too hard....blessings to all...till next year........



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very kind........and i would advise anyone thinking about buying the pear carvings to think first, as they are not the same size and shape as the originals.....a lot has to be done to make them fit......if i had known this ahead of time i would have just opted for the plastic ones and saved a lot of money...the overall affect wouldn't be a heck of a lot different.....but it's nice to have the detail and an example of what those machines can do.......oh.......i opted for the fewer columns instead of the many on the lower deck ....because i had built the galleries smaller, the windows were blocked too much...
 
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just a comparison..... mine, with the kit version...stantions re=spaced......that modified rear end was probably the hardest thing i ever had to build difficult to notice that much difference, but there is quite a bit....one thing interesting....carvings with sharp and deep detail, don't shop up very well, and much of it looks quite dark, which is not as obvious in photo.....lots of touchup still to do, but will wait till everything installed....

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Hi,
I love that you adapted it to your own taste. I love this ship made by this manufacturer and it's the first time I've seen a built log (occasional update as you said) with the carving.
There seems to be some added difficulty, but I think it looks so much better. I would like to see many more photos, including the front section and details of the upper deck if you can.
I think having painted the third row of cannons in blue is really more elegant and it brings out the decorations around the openings beautifully.
Keep up the good work, the result is very nice and keep sharing your progress.
This is so appreciated, thank you! :)
 
thanks chris.....ha....i notices a few posts of this model without the pear carvings, and they suddenly stopped...no explanation.....weird......
haven't done much on the deck yet...been working on a stand.......the kit has both good qualities and bad, and there may be two versions...zhl, and yuanqing, who may be the original producer.......the zhl one may be modified somewhat i don't knowi tried purchasing from them but had trouble with payment, so i got it from aliexpress.....
lots of info on the online plans, but important things are missing.....like a cut offs or cross sections, showing the scale heights of the internal decks etc..... other people have opted for getting their own planking...and the rigging and blocks are terrible ....but if you purchase these and other things extra the cost would be similar to purchasing a kit from europe...........one thing nice...the masts and yards are pre tapered.....
will post shots as i go along......anyways...till next time...cheers.............vc
 
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one has to have a sense of humor and be able to forgive oneself easily' when building this kit.....here's another mistake or not a mistake i made :)...i know the instructions mentioned the width difference in size, but not the vertical......so assumed it was ok.....in other words...don't assume....recheck everything.......so guess what......i just made the cannon carriages squat.....yep...it's a first....squat carriages.......bur what the heck....this ship is a fantasy creation anyways, so why not....i couldn't thing of anything eltz to do...ooh ooh...correction ...my wife made that suggestion :)

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yancovitch said:
just a comparison..... mine, with the kit version...stantions re=spaced......that modified rear end was probably the hardest thing i ever had to build difficult to notice that much difference, but there is quite a bit....one thing interesting....carvings with sharp and deep detail, don't shop up very well, and much of it looks quite dark, which is not as obvious in photo.....lots of touchup still to do, but will wait till everything installed....

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The changes you made are a VAST improvement! The increase in detail is very noticeable. Well done!
 
The carvings are so much more elegant and detailed. And for the bow, do you have any photos?
 
just working on this now......i used the rails of the kit and also that decorative part below...no idea what it's called....because they were easier to install and to me, that bottom thingy looked better.....the wooden ones you had to steam very hot, and bend, and i just couldn't line up the rails properly....didn't loos much if anything......that's one heavy figurehead :) ......oh...put a stand together yesterday..modified candle holders......floor tile on base...........big job.....vc

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Hi Vic,

Big progress, she will be a beautifull ship in the end.

And btw about your squad carriages, the original Vasa has different heights of carriages to fit the gun ports, so don't worry :-)
 
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