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ZHL San Felipe 1690

Hi, I am following your construction with great interest.

Congratulations on your 38th wedding anniversary!

WOW, what a great explanation and outstanding work!
I have a question, if you don't mind, on the quarterdeck, how do you plan to be able to position the cannon with the opening so close to the deck compared to the other locations?
Thank you!
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Can I just say a huge THANK YOU for all your time measuring and explaining and uploading all this information. Your work today in helping us out will make all the difference for those of us struggling to understand how to build this kit. For me, it makes the difference between lining it up on my work bench and hiding it away in order to pretend I never bought it. Thank you again!
 
Hello. I'm new to this site. I'm from Russia, so I apologize in advance for my English, but Google Translate is helping me. If anything, I apologize for the mistakes, but this post on this site is a bit unusual for me, especially for the first time.I want to share my build of this rather popular kit from China. I turned 62 in August, and this set was a kind of birthday present from my wife and daughter. In my youth, I was interested in ship modeling, but as I got older, I had less and less time for it. I haven't done this in twenty years, so I decided to try again. I came across this website when I was looking for information about this model. I'm putting it together now, and this is what it looks like. But first things first.
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I ordered a kit from China through a Russian marketplace. It cost 185 dollars with delivery at the current exchange rate. They were delivered to our Upper Volga region quite quickly, in a little less than a month. Immediately, I purchased pink pear and sapele boards for the exterior cladding, as well as a white pear for the deck, which cost me another $70.
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For the barkhouts, I sawed dark walnut planks from my reserves.
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I have experience building models from scratch, not from kits. Such instructions turned out to be of little use to me, especially since they were very schematic and in Chinese. The drawing served as a kind of "bible for assembly.And, of course, I had to prepare a new workbench first; I had never built sailboat models of this scale before. The frame was assembled with almost no hitches, but we had to raise the beam line at the stern a little; the Chinese made a small mistake in some details, which greatly affects the design of the stern galleries.
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I also made linden bosses for the bow and filled the deck with linden slats for installing half-pillows, and painted everything black.
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There were no problems with the roughing. However, I still haven't decided on the type of wood. It's a pity that it's not a lime tree, but unlike us, there doesn't seem to be much of it in China. The material that came in the kit is a bit fragile, but it's easy to work with — the main thing is not to sand it to holes.But before proceeding with the black plating, it is necessary to install the finishing trim and doors on both bulkheads. Otherwise, you won't be able to get to them later.
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Then I started laying the deck deck, but before that I marked out a place in the hull for gun ports and slats. I took all the dimensions from the drawing; the template from the set was not used, as it slightly does not match the original.
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I also pre-installed the gun port racks on the upper deck.
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For the flooring, I used light pear planks with a thickness of 1 mm and a length of 4 mm. The length of the board was 100 mm, although 120 mm would be more accurate. I laid them in three boards with a pitch of 25 mm. I pre-modeled the sheets and unpacked the joints, and then laid them. Birch toothpicks were used as dowels, and thin black drawing paper was used for joints.
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I think that's enough for today. To be continued. If you have any questions, ask, and I'll try to answer them in as much detail as possible.





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Where did you get the materials for the stern windows.
 
Hi, I am following your construction with great interest.

Congratulations on your 38th wedding anniversary!

WOW, what a great explanation and outstanding work!
I have a question, if you don't mind, on the quarterdeck, how do you plan to be able to position the cannon with the opening so close to the deck compared to the other locations?
Thank you!
View attachment 557093
On the quarterdeck, as well as on the foredeck, there are culverins, not guns. As you may have noticed, they have slightly different barrels and carriages. The problem here is something else. The barrels in this set are too long and perhaps not quite in scale. I've postponed this question for later, but either I'll have to re-sharpen the barrels, or I'll have to cast them myself. In addition, I will make the carriages from a different material. I have some very thick mahogany blocks in stock.
photo_2025-11-16_08-41-56 (2).jpgphoto_2025-11-16_08-41-56.jpgphoto_2025-11-16_08-41-55 (2).jpg
 
I've got quite a mess going here but it looks like it's workable. I still have to glueing mess to clean up.
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My question is to @Etwas_63 Have I demolished back far enough? I have the lower platform glued at the angle dictated by parts 16. I previously shortened the lower platform by approximately 4mm to get it to aling properly with the next two platforms in a straight line at the stern. I also placed about a 2mm shim under this lower platform at the front for support while keeping the part 16 angle provided.
Any suggestions are dearly appreciated.
Ted
 
I've got quite a mess going here but it looks like it's workable. I still have to glueing mess to clean up.
View attachment 557444View attachment 557445View attachment 557446
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My question is to @Etwas_63 Have I demolished back far enough? I have the lower platform glued at the angle dictated by parts 16. I previously shortened the lower platform by approximately 4mm to get it to aling properly with the next two platforms in a straight line at the stern. I also placed about a 2mm shim under this lower platform at the front for support while keeping the part 16 angle provided.
Any suggestions are dearly appreciated.
Ted
I think we need to raise it by two more millimeters. If you look at the drawing, there is no such steep rise, this detail is almost parallel to the deck line and the barhouts.
photo_2025-11-16_23-19-46.jpg
 
I've got quite a mess going here but it looks like it's workable. I still have to glueing mess to clean up.
View attachment 557444View attachment 557445View attachment 557446
View attachment 557447
My question is to @Etwas_63 Have I demolished back far enough? I have the lower platform glued at the angle dictated by parts 16. I previously shortened the lower platform by approximately 4mm to get it to aling properly with the next two platforms in a straight line at the stern. I also placed about a 2mm shim under this lower platform at the front for support while keeping the part 16 angle provided.
Any suggestions are dearly appreciated.
Ted
And yes, part 18 is too low, inserted almost all the way into the groove. I also made a mistake, but I managed to peel it off and install it on the same level as part 11b. In principle, you can not tear it off, but simply glue a few slats on top to the 11b level. The deck of the lower gallery will then fall on top of it.
 
And yes, part 18 is too low, inserted almost all the way into the groove. I also made a mistake, but I managed to peel it off and install it on the same level as part 11b. In principle, you can not tear it off, but simply glue a few slats on top to the 11b level. The deck of the lower gallery will then fall on top of it.
How much should I raise it. I don't want to be a pest. You are the only person who successfully completed this we are in contact with. Is the angle correct? Should I shim up bot the front and back of the lower platform
 
Ok, I'm going to raise the front of the lower platform to the lower deck level.
I cut four IMG20251117153508.jpgIMG20251117153508.jpgblocks to temporarily gauge the second deck elevation at 35mm and then glue it. This will have the first two platforms parallel. Last, I will do the same for the upper platform.
What I'm not sure about is the distance between the decks. 35mm or if it 35mm including the platform thickness.
 

Thanks for the details on this build. I am also building the ZHL SAN Felipe. I’m working on the last bit of planking on the hull. Got half the decks left to plank and the 2nd layer on the sides. Than onto the deck.
I tried to find your build log but don't see it on the list. I would love to see your photos for at least a reality check and plans interpretation.
 
culverins, not guns
Culverins are guns and looked nothing like in the photo in post #25 above. They are the equivalent to18 pounders. Typically they were made of brass in the early 17th century. They were normally made of iron after 1625 but some were still around until about 1660 and finally gone by about the turn of the century. Also, the carriages had four trucks in 1690, not two. The use of two on naval ships went away about 1600. The Spanish carriages carried about the same height as the British so the ports are in the wrong place on the QD. Late 17th early 18th centuries Spanish cannon pattern drawing is below.
Allan
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I tried to find your build log but don't see it on the list. I would love to see your photos for at least a reality check and plans interpretation.
I have not started a build log on my SAN Felipe build.

Apart from yesterday I have not done any work on it for the past 5 months.

A couple days ago I purchased a detailed sander. Keen to try it out. So I did some sanding on the hull.

I’ve got 3 builds going. Did have 4, completed one. And I still have a new one in the box I have not started yet.

I will get back onto my san Felipe build very soon and start a build log on it.

I’m only working of the plans as my kit did not arrive with any printed instruction or CD I’ve asked if I can have a copy of the English instructions with no success.

Right now I’m working on the Sovereign of the seas. Almost completed the hull.

If the original poster here don’t mind I post an image here of my SAN Felipe build,
 
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Culverins are guns and looked nothing like in the photo in post #25 above. They are the equivalent to18 pounders. Typically they were made of brass in the early 17th century. They were normally made of iron after 1625 but some were still around until about 1660 and finally gone by about the turn of the century. Also, the carriages had four trucks in 1690, not two. The use of two on naval ships went away about 1600. The Spanish carriages carried about the same height as the British so the ports are in the wrong place on the QD. Late 17th early 18th centuries Spanish cannon pattern drawing is below.
Allan
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As far as I understand, the Chinese meant this type of culverin, I'm copying a set from a European manufacturer. So everything is within the bounds of what is allowed.
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I have not started a build log on my SAN Felipe build.

Apart from yesterday I have not done any work on it for the past 5 months.

A couple days ago I purchased a detailed sander. Keen to try it out. So I did some sanding on the hull.

I’ve got 3 builds going. Did have 4, completed one. And I still have a new one in the box I have not started yet.

I will get back onto my san Felipe build very soon and start a build log on it.

I’m only working of the plans as my kit did not arrive with any printed instruction or CD I’ve asked if I can have a copy of the English instructions with no success.

Right now I’m working on the Sovereign of the seas. Almost completed the hull.

If the original poster here don’t mind I post an image here of my SAN Felipe build,
my computer died and I haven't been able to access the dvd provided
When I get another I will burn you a copywhat did you get for a sander. I'm in the market too.
 
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