SOLEIL ROYAL - HELLER 1/100 (side project)

[Rob. T.]

Hi Rob, i wsh you all the best and a very Happy Birthay

Thank you very much mate

 

[Rob. T.]

SR update

Bow deck now fitted and finished. Cannons rigged with 2 different sizes of eyepins due to the small scale size. Cannon balls and carriages fitted, along with the kit details buckets etc.. have added my own after sales barrels.

Mid balconies planked and finished. Have added eyepins for rope railings.

Kit details of buckets etc added to the Main deck below also.

Quarter deck fitted, deck details added along with eyepins to the gratings. Cannons again rigged along with the Cannon balls and carriages and kit details of buckets etc..

I've also made and fitted the Side gallery deck planking, as I cut the Architectural features out to give it a more 3d authentic effect. Quite pleased the way those came out and didn't take much time to do, made from coffee stirrers and some left ove 3mm lime wood planking.

Next up working on the officer quarters housing, I will be planking the insides of thes to give a more authentic look if looking through the bk stern windows.
Not sure I will be able to add much as in the quarters themselves as these being dived into two be a corridor doest leave much room for anything at this scale.

All little bits to be done and more things popping into my head, ideas etc.. it's all time consuming but patience is the key.

 

[Rob. T.]

Forecastle deck, Waist balconies, quarter decks, poop deck, Officer's quarters and Captain's cabin all finished.
Quarter galleries both fitted with planks and stained. These obviously will be fitted nearer completion of the rest of the ships architectural features.

Now starting on the Stern balconies and boats.

 

[WilliamM]

Just looking ahead and wondering if there is a better source for Soleil Royal rigging instructions as the Heller ones are pretty poor.
Does anyone know of better rigging instructions for this ship?

There is a wonderful source that you can check out. It is a book. Anderson published The Art of Rigging in the Age of the Spritsail Topmast. It will be a big help. There are also quite a few books about rigging during this era.

Bill

 

[Rob. T.]

Hull construction work has now finished.
Stern is finished along with all architectural features including the lanterns and some added ones. Boats and cradle are finished as well as the channels and rigging eyepins for the start of the rigging.
I am pretty pleased they way she has turned out, considering I didn't really have a vision of how it would go.

Next up will be working the wood to make the masts and yards so it will stand up to the rigging tension.

 

[Uwek]

My congratulations for reaching this important step
Looking very good

 

[Rob. T.]

My congratulations for reaching this important step
Looking very good

Thank you very much Uwek

 

[Rob. T.]

Small update on my SR, workbench time has been very limited due to work and health, I've managed to improvise and complete the Bowsprit and Foremast from wood. I have also made the yards for the foremast and Bowsprit from wood with relevant eyepins for the footropes and blocks rigged at this point.
Next I will be starting work on the lower Main mast tapering the wood from 10.5mm down to 7.3mm, again all when I have relevant workbench time.

 

[Rob. T.]

Another small update on my SOLEIL ROYAL..

The mainmast is now finished as I have a slightly unorthodox way of rigging model ships compared to most, I am now working on fitting the yards to the Foremast and Bowsprit, while using some of the parallels I had left over from my Endeavour kit.
As I am improvising on the poor Heller rigging instructions I have been dry fitting a few rigging tyes to see how it looked, of which I am pleased with. Once the yards for the foremast and Bowsprit are fitted, and any other rigging I may do, obviously taking into account the Standing rigging is first and foremost, then I will move on to making the yards for the mainmast.

Modelling time is at a minimum just now due to a new job/12hr shifts etc..

 

[kirill4]

Good day,
Dear Rob.T.
Your SR looks very good in general, but why all blocks for running rigging of all sails used of the same size )) ?
On the main yards, fore and main courses at least, top sails sheet blocks must be bigger than any other near by blocks used for leach and bunt lines....
blocks of the top sails and top gallant sails,they all need to be reducing in size proportionaly while we are "climbing up "... ?
All the best !
Kirill

 

[Alan Smith]

Lovely model, I envy you (in a nice way) your eyesight and sure touch with a brush.

 

[WilliamM]

SOLEIL ROYAL : Heller 1/100 (side project cont'd)
Small update

Side Galleries painted just to add a weathered wash. It's took the best part of 3 days to finish this to the best of my abilities. There will probably be still the odd bit here and there that maybe touch up, as with detailed painting like this you always notice something later on.

Apologies for the photo, the blue in the photo looks lighter than it actually is, it's actually more of a mid blue (Humbrol matt 25) to be exact.

Next up will be the wash then the painting of either the stern or the side Hull architecture/Gun ports/railings.

View attachment 386963

View attachment 386964

View attachment 386965

View attachment 386966

View attachment 386967

The best of your abilities is outstanding!

Bill

 

[WilliamM]

Just looking ahead and wondering if there is a better source for Soleil Royal rigging instructions as the Heller ones are pretty poor.
Does anyone know of better rigging instructions for this ship?

I would start with the book by Anderson Rigging in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast then go from there. There are numerous other books on French rigging practices.

Bill

 

[Rob. T.]

Hi Everyone

Well after an unprecedented lay-off from modelling regards to circumstances outwith my control which has been documented here, I am slowly getting it bk together, again many many heartfelt thanks to everyone that has shown me so much kindness and compassion over the last 4 months.

I have been managing only 30 mins or so every now and again, up until these last few days where I have managed to put more hrs in.
I have now finished all the Wooden masts and yards on my Soleil Royal, these are all dry fitted to the ship at present while I decide on which definite rigging course I will be taking, as the kit instructions are not the best. I however will be using them and 2x Museum de la Marine plans for the La Couronne which is relatively of the same time period, so hopefully this will give be as good an interpretation as possible.

It's been a hell of a last few months but feel like I am getting the hunger bk. Its obviously a different set up now as I am in a another house so just trying to make the best of it until I can overhaul things a bit.

As I say next up will be the standing rigging which will take longer than normal as I start a new job on Monday so this of course is going to take up a lot of my time regards to it being in a slightly different field but that I have relevant work experience that is beneficial in relation to this.

Thanks again everyone for your kind support.

Rob.

 

[Rob. T.]

Small update

I've started the Standing rigging and some of the running rigging for the Bowsprit also started scratch building the collar to hold the rigging for the Crows feet.
Steady as she goes.....

 

[Rob. T.]

These Crowsfeet are going to take a bit of Improvisation. These are supposed to be 12 individual holes, but with shorts in the plastic, they more or less ended up with 4 x 3 large holes both for the Foremast and Mainmast.

 

[dockattner]

Rob, I have a little laugh every time I visit this build report. Not because of your work (which is exceptional), but because of the title. In no universe can the Soleil Royal be considered a 'side project' .

 

[Rob. T.]

Rob, I have a little laugh every time I visit this build report. Not because of your work (which is exceptional), but because of the title. In no universe can the Soleil Royal be considered a 'side project' .

Hi dockattner

Yes well, I did start with all good intentions of building 2 kits at the same time. 1 wooden and 1 plastic(Soleil Royal heavily improvised) but obviously when it became apparent that I did not have the space to do this, I had already started this kit and the build log, and was unable to change the title, so it's just stuck as it is, but the idea was there at the time for the Wooden kit to take precedence over the SR in terms of building time.
The wooden kit I still have and is unstarted although it will definitely get done at some point.

All the best
Robert

 

[Rob. T.]

Most of the standing rigging done now, just a couple of bits I'll need to improvise on regards to the poor Heller instructions where there is no exact tie off point for these.
I have also improvised on the double blocks adding hooks at the end which was a little tricky even using my dremel drilling between the 2 hole small holes with about 1mm to spare.
Lifts and most of interior running rigging done, just really the running rigging for the bowlines of the sails, but obviously this will be done at a later date when I've made the sails.
The pegs are merely to stop the thread tangling until they are ready to be tied off to the sails.
Just started rigging the wooden 7mm triangular deadeyes I bought in to improvise the kit sometime ago.
Slowly coming together the way I usually work from inside to out.

 

[James Frost]

Stunning work Sir, Salute. It is work of this caliber that makes Ships of Scale the Flagship of the model ship builders World.
I have this same kit and I will use your knowledge to build mine. Wow!!! This really looks good. Thank you for your dedication and for sharing such talent.