Soleil Royal by Heller - an Extensive Modification and Partial Scratch-Build by Hubac’s Historian
- Thread starter Hubac’s Historian
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Everything is great. I can also add that there is also a spoken language... and sometimes the translator cannot understand how to translate, since some words or even sentences can be slang or untranslatable wordplay, but still I like to communicate and read posts here more than on the same Russian forums, where communication is less tolerant, less respectful. I once had a forum, and it was one of the largest in Ukraine, and as the owner I constantly moderated such topics. Here, even if there are some issues, they are always resolved very peacefully. And this is what I like about foreign forums.
Hi Marc, condoleances with your loss and good to hear your father is doing better again.
Dementia is very difficult, know all about it with my father in law who is is the middle of it. Lots of strength for the time to come for you and your family.
Dementia is very difficult, know all about it with my father in law who is is the middle of it. Lots of strength for the time to come for you and your family.
Thank you Maarten and Shota. Yes, dementia is an absolutely awful condition. The person you know and love fades away right before your eyes.
I watched my aunt disintegrate from dementia over several years until she died. It's tragic. My prayers go to your father, HH.
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Here are my sincer condolences .
Thank you very much Kurt and Aurelian! Fortunately, Dad is back at his assisted living and adapting to his new surroundings. I appreciate the support from all.
Hi Marc. I just read about the sad family matters you have been dealing with lately. I would like to express my condolences and wish you much strength.
Hopefully your father will find some balance in his new surroundings. We went through something similar with my mother-in-law and a change of environment isn't always easy.
Regards, Peter
Hopefully your father will find some balance in his new surroundings. We went through something similar with my mother-in-law and a change of environment isn't always easy.
Regards, Peter
Thank you, Peter! My father’s name, by the way.
Dear Marc,
I do love your colourfull and opulent artwork:
And I am astonished about the effects you do bring to light to us showing baroque sheme as a most realistic reconstruction always in close connex of art history!
My SR would certainly look very different.
Thank you very much for your great input!
I do love your colourfull and opulent artwork:
And I am astonished about the effects you do bring to light to us showing baroque sheme as a most realistic reconstruction always in close connex of art history!
My SR would certainly look very different.
Thank you very much for your great input!
Thank you, Heinrick, for the kind words. I’ve certainly done my level-best to make educated guesses with this model. Work does continue, but at such a snail’s pace it is hard to justify posting about it. More to follow, relatively soon.
The greatest things are built at a snail's pace.
Thanks, Kurt - you and me: simpatico! Olympic hurdlers, we are 
It seemed to take me a Dog’s Year, but I finally completed the rigging of the main deck guns. Like so many things that I am now tackling on the project, there was quite a steep learning curve. I will do a few things differently on the upper decks, where the guns are fully visible.
The main deck guns, however, are largely obscured by the connecting gangway, overhead, so I did not feel any strong compulsion to re-do anything. What was important to me were the lay of the breaching ropes and the coiling of the haul-out tackles.
Mine was a multi-step approach. The breaching ropes held their shape pretty well, once the white glue set. I tacked the loops down to the deck with a small amount of gel CA applied with a toothpick. Once that had all set, I brushed them all over a few more times with dilute white glue.
The haul-out tackles were quite challenging to hook to both the bulwarks and carriages. Eventually, I learned that a drop of CA, applied to the eyelets enabled me to set one hook (bulwarks first), and then to the carriage.
My first significant mistake was that my seizings to the hooked single block were twice as long as they should be. In a number of instances, when I drew the tackle taught through both blocks, the ends of the seizing wanted to kink up in the reeves of the double block. I did my best to mitigate this problem by slacking the tackle to whatever degree I could reasonably manage. In truth, these seizings should only be two wraps, maximum.
The other mis-calculation of mine had to do with the scale of the blocks I used (2mm), and the hooks I made (also almost 2mm). My reasoning was that because I had shifted the stock middle battery up to the main deck, I’d be able to set the longer barrels further inboard so that there was a bigger gap space between the carriage eyelets and the bulwarks. That was all true. The scale upgrade of the cannon caliber looks convincingly better on the broadside view:
Nevertheless, what I should have sourced were 1.5mm blocks and figured out a way to make even smaller hooks. I will resolve these issues by the time I do the QD and F’ocsle guns (up-shifted stock main deck guns and their carriages).
Once the tackles had set, I tacked the running end down to the deck with a small spot of CA. I then came back and saturated the visible section of line with dilute white glue, in order to give it a more convincingly slack appearance. Once that was all set, I nipped away the excess line and did any carriage touchups that were necessary, as well as a dab of dullcoat, wherever CA glue was visible.
For the coils, themselves, I adapted a Tom Lauria technique that I found on YouTube. Because these were not to be suspended from pinrails, it wasn’t necessary for me to make rope hanks the way that Lauria illustrates. Instead, I could make a running series of coils.
I began by marking out uniform 1/2” spacing for coils that would measure just slightly bigger than 5/16”:
Scotch tape prevents the glue from sticking. I found that the ends of toothpicks that I rubbed with beeswax made perfect peg formers.
I made three wraps around each peg stack and wove in and out from one stack to the next. The pegs released easily enough, and I set them aside for the next batch:
I had simply scotch-taped the beginning and end of the line until the glue had set. It was probably overboard, but I brushed over each coil four passes with the dilute solution.
When I removed the coil cluster I found that there was glue flash along the bottom of each coil. I spent a little time cutting most of that away with a sharp Exacto.
Right out of the former, the coils are pretty stiff and segmented looking. First, I tried soaking them in rubbing alcohol, but they did not really seem to soften or become pliable. I was not a Chemistry major.
On the next batch of coils, after separating each coil, I merely had to dip them in water for a few seconds to soften them. Now, I could squash the coils flat on a paper plate with my fingertip. The result was what I think are slightly irregular and more natural looking coils:
Once they had dried, I used a small dot of CA at each cut end, and then trimmed those ends close to the coil. I suppose I could have tacked the coils down to the deck with gel CA, but I chose, instead, to do multiple washes of thinned white glue. My rationale was that I knew I could easily clean away any stray white glue:
On the port side, you can see the tackles before coils. Here you can see the fully cleaned-up effect:
In my view, coils on a ship would be tidy, but not perfectly round and symmetrical. I am pleased with the effect.
Next, I will have to map out all necessary cleats, blocks and belay points for the main deck, before I can shift up to the f’ocsle deck. I will probably put a small carving kit together to take to work with me, so that I can chip away at the Africa carving. I’ve had a long time for those shapes to gestate in my mind, so I think I can approach that with more confidence, now.
I continue to work my way through this book:
Unequivocally, this is the best treatment I have found of the architectural development and allegorical framework of French sterns. It is chock-full of fascinating insights such as the following:
I also continue to immerse myself in the earlier works of Charles LeBrun and Puget, so that I can better understand how to construct an ornamental program in their style for SR 1670:
I have had a number of significant realizations as that puzzle clicks together in my mind’s eye. While I’m not physically modeling as much as I would like to, at least I continue to improve my understanding of this earlier time.
Thank you all for looking in!
Best,
Marc
The main deck guns, however, are largely obscured by the connecting gangway, overhead, so I did not feel any strong compulsion to re-do anything. What was important to me were the lay of the breaching ropes and the coiling of the haul-out tackles.
Mine was a multi-step approach. The breaching ropes held their shape pretty well, once the white glue set. I tacked the loops down to the deck with a small amount of gel CA applied with a toothpick. Once that had all set, I brushed them all over a few more times with dilute white glue.
The haul-out tackles were quite challenging to hook to both the bulwarks and carriages. Eventually, I learned that a drop of CA, applied to the eyelets enabled me to set one hook (bulwarks first), and then to the carriage.
My first significant mistake was that my seizings to the hooked single block were twice as long as they should be. In a number of instances, when I drew the tackle taught through both blocks, the ends of the seizing wanted to kink up in the reeves of the double block. I did my best to mitigate this problem by slacking the tackle to whatever degree I could reasonably manage. In truth, these seizings should only be two wraps, maximum.
The other mis-calculation of mine had to do with the scale of the blocks I used (2mm), and the hooks I made (also almost 2mm). My reasoning was that because I had shifted the stock middle battery up to the main deck, I’d be able to set the longer barrels further inboard so that there was a bigger gap space between the carriage eyelets and the bulwarks. That was all true. The scale upgrade of the cannon caliber looks convincingly better on the broadside view:
Nevertheless, what I should have sourced were 1.5mm blocks and figured out a way to make even smaller hooks. I will resolve these issues by the time I do the QD and F’ocsle guns (up-shifted stock main deck guns and their carriages).
Once the tackles had set, I tacked the running end down to the deck with a small spot of CA. I then came back and saturated the visible section of line with dilute white glue, in order to give it a more convincingly slack appearance. Once that was all set, I nipped away the excess line and did any carriage touchups that were necessary, as well as a dab of dullcoat, wherever CA glue was visible.
For the coils, themselves, I adapted a Tom Lauria technique that I found on YouTube. Because these were not to be suspended from pinrails, it wasn’t necessary for me to make rope hanks the way that Lauria illustrates. Instead, I could make a running series of coils.
I began by marking out uniform 1/2” spacing for coils that would measure just slightly bigger than 5/16”:
Scotch tape prevents the glue from sticking. I found that the ends of toothpicks that I rubbed with beeswax made perfect peg formers.
I made three wraps around each peg stack and wove in and out from one stack to the next. The pegs released easily enough, and I set them aside for the next batch:
I had simply scotch-taped the beginning and end of the line until the glue had set. It was probably overboard, but I brushed over each coil four passes with the dilute solution.
When I removed the coil cluster I found that there was glue flash along the bottom of each coil. I spent a little time cutting most of that away with a sharp Exacto.
Right out of the former, the coils are pretty stiff and segmented looking. First, I tried soaking them in rubbing alcohol, but they did not really seem to soften or become pliable. I was not a Chemistry major.
On the next batch of coils, after separating each coil, I merely had to dip them in water for a few seconds to soften them. Now, I could squash the coils flat on a paper plate with my fingertip. The result was what I think are slightly irregular and more natural looking coils:
Once they had dried, I used a small dot of CA at each cut end, and then trimmed those ends close to the coil. I suppose I could have tacked the coils down to the deck with gel CA, but I chose, instead, to do multiple washes of thinned white glue. My rationale was that I knew I could easily clean away any stray white glue:
On the port side, you can see the tackles before coils. Here you can see the fully cleaned-up effect:
In my view, coils on a ship would be tidy, but not perfectly round and symmetrical. I am pleased with the effect.
Next, I will have to map out all necessary cleats, blocks and belay points for the main deck, before I can shift up to the f’ocsle deck. I will probably put a small carving kit together to take to work with me, so that I can chip away at the Africa carving. I’ve had a long time for those shapes to gestate in my mind, so I think I can approach that with more confidence, now.
I continue to work my way through this book:
Unequivocally, this is the best treatment I have found of the architectural development and allegorical framework of French sterns. It is chock-full of fascinating insights such as the following:
I also continue to immerse myself in the earlier works of Charles LeBrun and Puget, so that I can better understand how to construct an ornamental program in their style for SR 1670:
I have had a number of significant realizations as that puzzle clicks together in my mind’s eye. While I’m not physically modeling as much as I would like to, at least I continue to improve my understanding of this earlier time.
Thank you all for looking in!
Best,
Marc
Very convincing, Marc. For the scale this is an extraordinarily fine (pun intended) presentation. My respect.
I can see from your photo how it got the name Scotch tape.
Wow Marc, your efforts spread over a long period have surely paid off. And you still see possibilities to improve for the upper decks. Amazing.
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
It is good when we learn form one task how to improve on the next version of the same tasking, such as cannon ropes.
Your loops of rope hanks could also be used on the belaying pins for downhall ropes from the sails and spars.
Your loops of rope hanks could also be used on the belaying pins for downhall ropes from the sails and spars.
I’m a little late on the up-take, Namabiiru, but catching this now
Absolutely true that SCOTCH tape makes everything go smoother - up to a point, of course.
Great to see an update Marc.
Very intricate work with an excellent result.
Rightly or wrongly, I choose to omit the hooks on smaller scales, just too small an area to cram everything in. Yes I know Dafi is a master at just how small you can go, but not for me, certainly not at 1/100.
I did purchase his hooks and will use them on Soleil Royal but I have so much more room between fixing points at that scale
Very intricate work with an excellent result.
Rightly or wrongly, I choose to omit the hooks on smaller scales, just too small an area to cram everything in. Yes I know Dafi is a master at just how small you can go, but not for me, certainly not at 1/100.
I did purchase his hooks and will use them on Soleil Royal but I have so much more room between fixing points at that scale