ZHL Royal Caroline

Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Messages
289
Points
228

Hi Group,

It's been a while since I posted anything. That's not to say I haven't been doing anything worth posting. Let's just say I've entered a new phase of my life as a model shipbuilder and business owner. I now consider myself "semi-retired." What that means is that after 17 years in business and over 31 years building model ships, I'm no longer developing new products for my business. In all those years, I've developed quite a few practicums for both new modelers and experienced modelers, and I've written 24 high quality, color printed books on two subjects -- a generic set of 12 books on building model ship kits in general and a set of 12 books on scratch building model ships. I'll continue to offer my products on my website till the day I die, but now I'm building for myself.

For quite some time, I've admired the Royal Caroline POB model sold on ZHL as well as eBay. With the encouragement from my wife (who is an equal business partner as well), I took the dive and purchased the kit recently and have started building it. My work has been slow because after framing up the bulkheads, I decided to modify the aft area to open it up for detailing of both of the great cabins as others in this forum have done as well. I've also decided to take these details to the next level by loosely interpreting the floor shown in the kit's plans and creating somewhat of my own version of the two floors.

So that being said, I will start this build log with the completion of the forward great cabin area. It appears to me that the kit plans are an interpretation of the original admiralty drawings. Some areas of the plans are easy to make out while other areas are not so easy. That's why I say that my build is based on my interpretation and availability of images and drawings available for download on the internet. I found one particular website that allows a "sample" of its images to be downloaded for free, and it is those images that I used to create what I call the "rug" shown on the kit plans. But first things first.

Here are a couple of photos of my framed hull. As you can see, I have opened up the aft room of the great cabin so that I can detail it as well.

IMG_0774.jpg

By opening up this area of the model, I also had to make some changes to the stern transom part of the model. Here is a photo of the modified stern transom at this stage of construction. It has been reinforced to help stabilize it since the kit parts were trimmed down to allow for full detail inside.

IMG_0775.jpg

Now for the forward great cabin floor. The kit plans clearly show a sunburst floor in both cabin areas. Due to the details of the remaining area of these floors, my interpretation is that the remaining visible part of these floors is not inlaid wood but some sort of rug which would have been a bit easier to detail in the actual ship than a wooden floor due to the availability of colors in such materials used for looming a rug compared to inlaying in wood. It also means that when a new king took the throne, the rug could have been more easily swapped out for something more suitable based on the new king's personal taste.

Since I plan to use longer strips of wood for the main deck planking because the wood strips provided in the kit are quite short and out of scale (planking in these ships usually averaged 25 feet to 30 feet in length) I decided to use the smaller teak wood strips to make my sunburst floor. On top of that sunburst teak wood floor, I placed (which will eventually be glued) the rug image I created using Adobe Photoshop. I later switched from Photoshop to Affinity Photo because it was much easier to create the sunburst pattern with Affinity than it was with Photoshop. here is a photo of my first printout of the rug.

IMG_0777.jpg

I took this photo in natural daylight and the rug image is simply sitting on top of the sunburst floor. This print does not however, show the true colors of the rug so I made one modification to the drawing and took a new photo under incandescent lighting with my iphone and autocorrection of the lighting. Here is a photo of the slightly modified rug drawing.

IMG_0779.jpg

The colors in this photo are more true (in my opinion) to my actual drawing of the rug. Notice that I changed the King's emblem in the center by making the letters gold in color rather than blue. Based on my research, King George II reigned during the time period of the Royal Caroline (1749) so these initials are one of many different sets during his reign.

To create the sunburst pattern of wood, I first created the drawing of such a sunburst in Affinity Photo and put that drawing (which was in black and white) in a layer at the bottom of the layer chain of images. The remaining layers of the drawing contained the various elements of the rug. I then lowered the opacity of the rug elements and printed a scale copy of the drawing on regular bond paper.

I glued this drawing to a thin piece of plywood (1/32" thick) to use as my guide. This drawing showed the lines of the sunburst as just black lines. I then laid strips of the kit floor planking one strip at a time trimming each strip to match each strip of the drawing but ending each strip inside the rug pattern. Here is a photo of the floor without the rug on top of it. As you can see, the inner portion of the floor is a rectangle of strips which are basically used to fill in the area under the rug so that it will lay flat on this floor.

IMG_0780.jpg

After sanding this wooden floor, I gave it 4 coats of Minwax Wipe on Polyurethane. The rug image was printed on a Canon inkjet printer using Canon Photo paper with a Matt finish so there's no glossiness in the rug.

I'm now working on the aft floor drawing using Affinity Photo. Due to family commitments and such, I can only work a few hours a day on the model, and I'm not able to work every day of the week, so my progress will be slow. I'll make postings at various construction intervals based on my progress. The next posting will probably be when I finish planking the aft deck area in the sunburst pattern and again when I finish the aft deck area rug. I expect all of that will take about 2 to 4 weeks to accomplish. Then I plan to plank the main deck with 1/16" thick basswood strips that are 5/16" wide. This equates to 24 scale feet which is 9.6" and a scale width of 9.36 inches.

Take care,

Bob Hunt
 
Hallo Bob,
good to see you back working on a model and enjoying the hobby.
Very good model kit you decided to build - I am pretty sure you will find a lot of enjoyment in the project - I will follow with big interest.
 
Bob welcome back!!!! So happy to see you here to share your great knowledge!!! You have many fans at SoS!!!
Thanks Mike. I have lots of plans for this model such as 3D printed furniture. I got the boxwood version and its carvings are really beautiful. I'm also going to be installing all kinds of lighting but not what came in the kit. I bought some special tiny LED's with controllers that allow you to adjust the intensity up and down. The setup is made by Woodland Scenics.

Bob
 
the Lumberyard started as a hobby and went form that to a business and now back to a hobby. Bob and I during the days of "business" like all business there was competition, those days are long gone and I see Bob not as competition but as a brother in arms to make this hobby an enjoyable pastime for everyone to enjoy, it has come full circle and it is time for the both of use to give back to the community all our yeas of experience.
Welcome Bob and I am glad to see this build log.
 
I own every Practicum Bob ever published from Lauck Street Shipyard. If there are any novice builders out there who are looking to start from the basics and learn from the ground up... the proper way to build... in a methodical step by step fashion... Bob's practicums can teach you!! They taught me and many other very talented modelers here on SoS..
 
the Lumberyard started as a hobby and went form that to a business and now back to a hobby. Bob and I during the days of "business" like all business there was competition, those days are long gone and I see Bob not as competition but as a brother in arms to make this hobby an enjoyable pastime for everyone to enjoy, it has come full circle and it is time for the both of use to give back to the community all our yeas of experience.
Welcome Bob and I am glad to see this build log.
Thanks Dave, and I agree with you completely. It's nice to be building something I've wanted to build for a long time with no time constraints or deadlines to meet, just build for the enjoyment of building and demonstrate some of the techniques I've developed over the years in hope that they will help others. I've already been asked if I'm going to write a practicum on this build and the answer is a resounding NO. This build log will be my free practicum to all who visit this forum both now and in the years to come. I do believe it will be my crowning build but if Amati ever comes out with the HMS Victory that Chris Watten developed, I may just have to get that kit and build it as well :)

Thanks for chiming in Dave and stay healthy,

Bob
 
Hi Bob,

Good to see another Royal Caroline build.
I love the kit and it is a good base for a real nice model.
I will follow with interest.
Hi Maarten,

I've followed your build log and it was one of several that inspired me to build this kit myself. I'm especially interested right now on how you brought the stern transom together and how you created the stairwell between the two decks. One thing I've already discovered is that the drawing in the kit plans of the aft great cabin area does not fit my model so I hope I didn't do something wrong when I modified the aft bulkheads. The plans of the forward part fit just fine. I've got a plan on getting the floor to fit but I hope it doesn't create new problems for me when it comes to the outside carvings.

One thing I'm going to skip is all those treenails! You did a great job on adding those but I'm afraid I won't live long enough to complete the model if I go for the treenailing! Besides, it would simply drive me crazy drilling all those holes and inserting all those treenails. Good job though.

Take care,

Bob
 
Hi Kurt,

Yes and no. Yes, my practicums are still available on CD, but no, they are not nor have they ever been available online as a download. There are too many files in a single practicum and dependencies that just make it difficult to provide them as a download. But you can purchase them on my website at https://www.lauckstreetshipyard.com. They all come on CD's except my Detailed Guides that are printed in full color and spiral bound on 8-1/2 x 11 glossy paper.

Take care,

Bob
 
Hi Kurt,

Yes and no. Yes, my practicums are still available on CD, but no, they are not nor have they ever been available online as a download. There are too many files in a single practicum and dependencies that just make it difficult to provide them as a download. But you can purchase them on my website at https://www.lauckstreetshipyard.com. They all come on CD's except my Detailed Guides that are printed in full color and spiral bound on 8-1/2 x 11 glossy paper.

Take care,

Bob
Hey Bob: Good to see that you are working on the Royal Caroline. I look forward to your build log.
Kent
Thanks Kent. I may be slow in building it because of available time each day but I will persevere!

Take care,

Bob
 
Awesome! I have the printed booklets that Bob mentions...I use them as subject point references...especially the set for scratch building. Bob does such superb modeling...
Hey Jim,

Hope we can get together soon. That 3D printer is collecting dust :) . Just one more sunburst floor to make. I got a bad crick in my neck by working on that first one for too many hours at a time!

Take care,

Bob
 
Hi Maarten,

I've followed your build log and it was one of several that inspired me to build this kit myself. I'm especially interested right now on how you brought the stern transom together and how you created the stairwell between the two decks. One thing I've already discovered is that the drawing in the kit plans of the aft great cabin area does not fit my model so I hope I didn't do something wrong when I modified the aft bulkheads. The plans of the forward part fit just fine. I've got a plan on getting the floor to fit but I hope it doesn't create new problems for me when it comes to the outside carvings.

One thing I'm going to skip is all those treenails! You did a great job on adding those but I'm afraid I won't live long enough to complete the model if I go for the treenailing! Besides, it would simply drive me crazy drilling all those holes and inserting all those treenails. Good job though.

Take care,

Bob
Hi Bob,

I more or less started like you did by preparing the the frames for the additional space and to add the additional deck, exactly like you did. You only need to remove the rear notch of the false keel which is there to fit the upper transom. You have to remove it as you otherwise cant fit the rudder as it will pass through the cabin.

Then I fitted the outside planking and the upper transome. The transome I bend with steam into shape to fit it without tension.
When the structure of the planking and transom is finished I removed all the inside framing and doubled the planking from inside out towards deck beam height, the inside planking carries the deck beams.
In the rear of the cabin I created a bench below the cabin windows, connecting the SB and PS hull and so increasing the strength of the structure.
In the sides the PS and SB toilets are creating additional strenght. As last the casing around the rudder strengthen the upper transome. All was build with plywood and later covered with planks and wall paper.
Because of the sandwich structure the total construction is extremely ridged.

As the kit and drawing dimensions are not the same you have to be creative to find solutions for a lot of issues, bit that is the fun of this build.

The height in my rear cabin is therefore slightly less the in the main cabin and only one step down instead of the two or three as in the drawing.

I also raised the side above the main wales, especially on the rear, this also raises the stern gallery and the space in the rear cabin. The amount of the raise is created by the height of the planks. In the model they have midship 3 planks between the lower and upper wales and on the stern 2. I have fitted 3 planks from bow to stern with only a slight of tapering of the planks at the bow. Again also to improve the lines as to my opinion the upper and lower wales should be parallel.

One more advise, I doubled the flat tuck to give it a slightly bollow appearence and to reduce the size of the rear stern post which did not look ok to me in the kit. This brings out the lines of the hull much better and creates a better fit of the lower with the upper transome.

Hope it helps.
 
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