Painting on the headrails continues. I’ve been through a round of re-touches and I’ve applied the distress wash. If I may so so, they look pretty good. The wash does a world of wonders. Pics to follow after gilding and grey-washing of the horses.
I have also been busy drafting the third and final tier of stern lights. This was interesting, for me, as I had to remind myself of a few important design considerations.
Firstly, I had increased the camber of the middle-tier of lights because the arc of the lower tier would have appeared too flat (in a shorter arc segment), if I had remained consistent. It seemed like an additional increase in camber, for the top tier would not pay dividends, so I maintained the middle arc of camber.
I believe this will frame a nice upward sweep to the tafferal frieze for Apollo and his chariot. What I am aiming for is best expressed by the magnificent work of Olivier Gatine on his magnificent La Belle:
There is an elegance of line, IMO, that really elevates this model above any other attempt I have seen of this subject - and there have been many really good ones. He really captures something, here.
I can only dare to dream and attempt to emulate the finer points of his craft. Here is where my upper tier stands for now. I have to apply this drawing to a card template so that I can really see it on the model:
The drawing is a bit muddled from previous camber lines that were flatter, and subsequently fixed under hairspray.
As I have always said - this model is an amalgamation of compromises, and my process has yielded a few less desirable inconsistencies. Because I have had to draw each level of the stern, as the model has become a concretely measurable thing, there is not always perfect continuity of line:
I missed my opportunity to make fine adjustments in that middle tier of drafting. Here, it is readily apparent that the pilasters don’t line up very well from one level to the next. Fortunately. the balcony rails help to soothe the visual dissonance. The Four Seasons figures are also giving me a big assist, here, in obscuring these alignment problems.
Comme-ci, comme-ca. It is all still a vast upgrade over the stock kit.