Sovereign of The Seas 1637 - Heavily modified Mantua kit

Today I started fabricating a doorway for the main gun deck. The photo shows the blank doorway and a piece of Boxwood I have been bending to form the edging around the door. I use a soldering iron with a brass tip to gently coax the Boxwood strip to the shape I want.

8694AD48-8AF8-4DBD-88E5-22F04F306FA8.jpeg

C431F28D-523D-41BF-9176-128F1DC9F944.jpeg

More to follow............

Comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Bill
 
Hi Bill
Am I correct in assuming the door is for the centre of the bulkhead facing us in post#244?I never got as far as planning deck fixtures and this area but did like how Arthur Molle represented this area.Long lost the picture but from memory there as a carving surrounding this door and windows in the two convex areas to either flank.Incidentally from my limited French,his model is now up for sale as he is 87.There was a post on the French forum.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Hi Nigel,

Yes, that is the door that will go in the area you indicated on the main gun deck. There are indications of what this door might have looked like in the Van de Velde sketch, the Payne engraving and the Pett painting as shown in this photo from the Busman book on the Sovereign.

IMG_2538.JPG

In the Van de Velde sketch, the doorway is shown with decorative carving surrounding the frame and cannon ports on either side of the door. In the Payne engraving, the upper part of this doorway with decorative carving can just be seen and the rest of the doorway is obscured by the grating deck, the mast and some seamen. The Pett painting shows an arched decorative top and the detail is not clear below that.

Arthur Molle chose to depict this area differently as the following photo shows.

111.jpe

As you remarked, he has a doorway with windows adjacent to it and the gun ports are shown at a level above the door. His detail in this area is really beautiful and no one can dispute the authenticity as we really do not know what the ship really looked like.

The Culver Model in Preble Hall in Annapolis shows the grating deck and a little of the door treatment.

1427B1EA-E466-4E82-89A8-4A125825D020.jpeg

I will decide how ornate this area will be as I go along and can visualize what I would like it to look like.

PS I have all the Arthur Molle photos of the Sovereign if you want them Nigel.

More to follow............

Conmments and suggestions welcome.

Bill
 
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Great post Bill.Yes Arthur's version is quite spectactular,as you say,no one can dispute it due to lack of evidence,but it does gell with the extravagant decoration everywhere else.Interesting that the second image displays the 'grated' deck covering we discussed earlier.

Please feel free to send me any images you have of Arthur's model,they will be greatly received.Again,something else I lost due to my fried laptop hard drive.Thank you

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Looks fantastic! Hope my build will look a bit like yours. With half of it is will be happy. I made a start but was brought to hospital 2 days ago because of heart and today again with ambulance. Just came home. Hope to do little bit tomorrow. 3 th time in 3 weeks with ambulance. Keep on going with this nice build can learn a lot of it.
 
One very important reference that I obtained was a book by Hendrik Busmann called "Sovereign of the Seas" Die Skulpturen Des Britischen Konigsschiffes von 1637, published in 2002 by Convent, and Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum, Brenerhaven Germany. Busmann did his thesis on the sculptures on the Sovereign and produced this wonderful account in the process. It came complete with three inserts which include the view of the hull from port side from the Payne engraving, the Van de Velde sketch of the port side and the painting from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston of the starboard side which is attributed to Peter Pett.

View attachment 24684

The book is written in German but does provide a wealth of information in photos with closeups of specific areas on the hull. It has proved to be a very important guide for my carving work and needed to be mentioned in this log.


More to follow...........
Just want to mention the latest Book Review of the Hendrik Busmann book "Sovereign of the Seas" Die Skulpturen Des Britischen Konigsschiffes von 1637, which was mentioned by Bill

 
Your skills are mad. I have read thru your thread a couple of times to glean all my limited skills are able to emulate. I have subscribed for the DeAgostini 1:84 SOS. I received the 1st pack today. I will not start until I receive a few more packs and after I complete another kit I am working on now, HMS Terror. I not only like period vessels, but those with History as well. Looking forward to more of this most excellent build.
Rick
 
Hi Rick, I have purchased the SOS through DeAgostini. I should point out that the "timber "strips/planks are made from bamboo, each strip has the "knot" on it at various positions along the strip, the knot refers to the "join" section in the bamboo tube. Although bamboo is a lovely 'wood' to work with those knots to pose a problem particularly when a bend in the strip needs to be made over or very near one of them. The strip will break there also the strip will have a kink in it at that point.
My suggestion is that you sort out your strips as you get them, those with the knot near one end and those with it in the middle, etc. the reason, you will have to cut that knot off or out and those that are straight and those that are not. Now, those strips that are bent at the knot will come in useful where they can be placed at a curve on the hull, I will PM some pictures to you to give you an idea.
I've just noticed that I have contradicted myself in the two paragraphs (about the knots) my strips are tapered towards the bow and I have used the knot there on some strips the did break I either discarded the strip if broken through or used CA glue and a lot of sanding to cover the break.
 
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Hi Rick, I have purchased the SOS through DeAgostini. I should point out that the "timber "strips/planks are made from bamboo, each strip has the "knot" on it at various positions along the strip, the knot refers to the "join" section in the bamboo tube. Although bamboo is a lovely 'wood' to work with those knots to pose a problem particularly when a bend in the strip needs to be made over or very near one of them. The strip will break there also the strip will have a kink in it at that point.
My suggestion is that you sort out your strips as you get them, those with the knot near one end and those with it in the middle, etc. the reason, you will have to cut that knot off or out and those that are straight and those that are not. Now, those strips that are bent at the knot will come in useful where they can be placed at a curve on the hull, I will PM some pictures to you to give you an idea.
I've just noticed that I have contradicted myself in the two paragraphs (about the knots) my strips are tapered towards the bow and I have used the knot there on some strips the did break I either discarded the strip if broken through or used CA glue and a lot of sanding to cover the break.
Thank you Eric, I shall remember those words of advice. I have used Bamboo before for small things. But I admit, never to plank a hull. I wonder given the property of Bamboo and the versatility of this wood. A hull covered in this wood, would be extremely durable and last for many, many years. Does heat and or wetting help in anyway these areas? I have read where some had issue with one side being rounded. I will follow your advice and try it. If too difficult too work with, I will replace w/something else. I still have stashed away quite a nice supply from Hobby Mill. Again thank you, please feel free to advice any time my friend.
Cheers Rick
 
The rounded edge does come in 'handy' i.e. you don't have to bevel the edges when fitting the planks, BUT, it means more filler. They do give you way extra strips. Also with this "kit" you get the option to paint the hull or second plank it with the almost white and almost paper thin strips. I have opted to paint my hull (when I get that far!) The metal pieces, when you get them, do fit together very well. Any questions just post or PM me.
 
Hi Nigel,

Yes, that is the door that will go in the area you indicated on the main gun deck. There are indications of what this door might have looked like in the Van de Velde sketch, the Payne engraving and the Pett painting as shown in this photo from the Busman book on the Sovereign.

View attachment 84356

In the Van de Velde sketch, the doorway is shown with decorative carving surrounding the frame and cannon ports on either side of the door. In the Payne engraving, the upper part of this doorway with decorative carving can just be seen and the rest of the doorway is obscured by the grating deck, the mast and some seamen. The Pett painting shows an arched decorative top and the detail is not clear below that.

Arthur Molle chose to depict this area differently as the following photo shows.

View attachment 84357

As you remarked, he has a doorway with windows adjacent to it and the gun ports are shown at a level above the door. His detail in this area is really beautiful and no one can dispute the authenticity as we really do not know what the ship really looked like.

The Culver Model in Preble Hall in Annapolis shows the grating deck and a little of the door treatment.

View attachment 84358

I will decide how ornate this area will be as I go along and can visualize what I would like it to look like.

PS I have all the Arthur Molle photos of the Sovereign if you want them Nigel.

More to follow............

Conmments and suggestions welcome.

Bill
I'm absolutely speechless, this is amazing, unbelievable, that's a work of a true artist
 
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