Heller Royal Louis *WIP 11/21*

Nice start to the build enemeink. Your deck looks good with the weathering done . How do plan to do the outside of the hull?

cheers,

Julian

man how time flies, at this rate i might be done by christmas, though i doubt it.

Just thought that I would show some of the progress that was made over the last couple of weeks. nothing stellar but it's getting there. I decided that it was time to test my patients and how well i can work with small parts. i decided to replace the plastic pieces that are supposed to be the dead eyes with actual dead eyes. I bought these from model-expo. they are 2.5mm and made of walnut. i just need to add the last layer of guns to the deck. these ones are pretty small compared to the others. Thanks for looking

Love to see that someone else has tackled this kit.  Your build is so clean and precise.  I have been building on this kit off and on for about 10 years.  Rigging in this scale can be challanging because Heller's plastic for the masts and spars is not the stongest and requires a lot of patience when rigging the shrouds and ratlines because the mast will flex which means a lot of tensioning and adjusting.   Still beats trying to use the jig though.

I did wonder why they only included half the complement of guns on one side.

I have pics at my photo account website.  Again great build, might inspire me to finish mine. 

Scott

searat12 wrote:

Looking good ( I really like your treatment of the decks!!)!  I have one of these in a (very!) delayed state of build, but decided to do a different paint scheme from that suggested (too dull!).  I went for a black and light yellow version........... I know a lot of people have trashed this model before, but as this is the third time I have built it, I can say I get fonder of it every time!

Thanks searat! I'm hoping that after I weather the hull it will bring out the yellow and darken the brown a little. I've been trying to keep wit the paints that came with the kit but i haven't been that impressed with them on tone and color quality. I don't see why people would trash this kit. so far the only issue that i've had is that i had to file down the two upper deck pannels so they would fit properly. but that's not enough to discourage me.

scottrc wrote:

Love to see that someone else has tackled this kit.  Your build is so clean and precise.  I have been building on this kit off and on for about 10 years.  Rigging in this scale can be challanging because Heller's plastic for the masts and spars is not the stongest and requires a lot of patience when rigging the shrouds and ratlines because the mast will flex which means a lot of tensioning and adjusting.   Still beats trying to use the jig though. I did wonder why they only included half the complement of guns on one side. I have pics at my photo account website.  Again great build, might inspire me to finish mine.  Scott

Thanks Scott! 

yeah i thought that it was funny that they didn't include enough guns to fill the ship. i also didn't like the 2 piece barrels. but that's a pretty small complaint. i've been thinking about changing out the plastic masts and replacing them with wood dowls becuase of this. but i'm thinking that I might save that one for my next build (Old Ironsides) I remember seeing you Royal Louis posted not to long ago in reference to making paper sails. it jogged my memory when i went and look at your collection. very impressive

Thank you for the compliment.

Maybe someday we can post our finished models together.  It is pretty uncommon to see these models in completed form.

 Best regards, look forward to seeing your fine progress.

Scott

just a small update today. there is a set of stairs that are pretty funky on the poop deck. looks like i need to build a railing becuase there is nothing in the kit. just an open hole. have a good weekend everybody!

So here's another one of those details that Heller could have incorporated into the mold on the hull. but instead i have 48 tiny pieces that need to go above the gun ports. i had to make a small tool out of a tooth pick and some masking tape to pick up the pieces and set them to the hull with out getting glue everywhere.

also when i was starting to prep the railings i found that one of the rails was missing some molded parts. so i sanded the piece smooth to prepare the area for the scratch built parts.

i took a tooth pick and cut it in half. set it next to the pieces that i was copying and drew the lines. (i didn't have my micrometer for this so i winged it)

I then put the piece in my drill and used it as a lathe for turn the piece and my knife. worked ok.

and voila!! ankinda ugly scratch built piece

works on this has been pretty slow. i added some closed gun ports it took me about an hour and a half to add the gammoning a sieze it all together. good times. also the figure head was added. this gold paint is awesome but if it's handled to much it starts to wear off. that will stop once i get the weathering finished and a coat of clear added. enjoy!

Looking good there enemeink, love the contrast between the grey/purple and the gold.

Julian

Grem56 wrote:

Looking good there enemeink, love the contrast between the grey/purple and the gold. Julian

thanks Julian, it's actually supposed to be brown. i used the paints that came with this kit (humbrol # 98 "chocolate") to cut down on some of the costs, though it's not 100% correct.

I have been gone from the forum with a diabetes-related problem, but am returning.  I really like your work but am somewhat puzzled by the darkness of the decks.  They are certainly beautiful, but wooden decks tend to bleach a greyish color over time and use. I do not mean to imply a criticism, but rather am asking a question.

Bill Morrison

searat12 wrote:

What kind of paint did you use for the gold?

humbrol gold. i make sure to shake it a stir it before use. works beatifuly

warshipguy wrote:

I have been gone from the forum with a diabetes-related problem, but am returning.  I really like your work but am somewhat puzzled by the darkness of the decks.  They are certainly beautiful, but wooden decks tend to bleach a greyish color over time and use. I do not mean to imply a criticism, but rather am asking a question. Bill Morrison

Thats true for most naval ships. however as searat has said. the french navy had a pretty nasty reputation for lack of cleanlines. also from some of my experiances on tall ships the decks have looked weathered and dark so i just went with it.

warshipguy wrote:

I have been gone from the forum with a diabetes-related problem, but am returning.  I really like your work but am somewhat puzzled by the darkness of the decks.  They are certainly beautiful, but wooden decks tend to bleach a greyish color over time and use. I do not mean to imply a criticism, but rather am asking a question. Bill Morrison

Well, virtually every wood deck on every real ship I've ever seen has had a decidedly greyish cast.  To some extent that may be due to the use of unauthentic materials.  (The decks of the Surprise in the movie "Master and Commander" sure look like they're made of pressure-treated pine, from someplace like Lowe's.)  But on the basis of such sources as old master paintings I'm inclined to think a greyish look is generally appropriate - especially if the ship being represented has been in service for some time.

Ggatz's use of the word "convention" is dead on target.  There are all sorts of conventions in ship model building - perhaps more than in any other phase of modeling.  And some of them are, to some extent, at odds with strict authenticity.  The exquisite "Board Room" models of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are often (and in my opinion justly) regarded as some of the finest models ever built, but nobody could ever mistake a photo of one of them for a photo of a real ship.  The rich brownish or goldish color of deck planks on many wood ship models, I think, falls in the category of "artistic license." 

One of the first things a ship modeler needs to do when planning a model is to decide just what approach he/she is going to take.  The "realistic" approach may call for choosing colors that are as accurate as research will permit - in planking, decorations, rigging, and everything else.  That's more-or-less the approach I took to my little model of the frigate Hancock, a picture of which is in my avatar.  (More pictures of it:  http://www.hmsvictoryscalemodels.be/JohnTilleyHancock/index.html .) As you can see, its decks are pretty greyish - and that's entirely intentional.  But I don't suggest for an instant that this is the only "legitimate" way to build a ship model.   

jtilley wrote:

Well, virtually every wood deck on every real ship I've ever seen has had a decidedly greyish cast.  To some extent that may be due to the use of unauthentic materials.  (The decks of the Surprise in the movie "Master and Commander" sure look like they're made of pressure-treated pine, from someplace like Lowe's.)  But on the basis of such sources as old master paintings I'm inclined to think a greyish look is generally appropriate - especially if the ship being represented has been in service for some time. Ggatz's use of the word "convention" is dead on target.  There are all sorts of conventions in ship model building - perhaps more than in any other phase of modeling.  And some of them are, to some extent, at odds with strict authenticity.  The exquisite "Board Room" models of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are often (and in my opinion justly) regarded as some of the finest models ever built, but nobody could ever mistake a photo of one of them for a photo of a real ship.  The rich brownish or goldish color of deck planks on many wood ship models, I think, falls in the category of "artistic license."  One of the first things a ship modeler needs to do when planning a model is to decide just what approach he/she is going to take.  The "realistic" approach may call for choosing colors that are as accurate as research will permit - in planking, decorations, rigging, and everything else.  That's more-or-less the approach I took to my little model of the frigate Hancock, a picture of which is in my avatar.  (More pictures of it:  http://www.hmsvictoryscalemodels.be/JohnTilleyHancock/index.html .) As you can see, its decks are pretty greyish - and that's entirely intentional.  But I don't suggest for an instant that this is the only "legitimate" way to build a ship model.

Funny you mention the HMS Surprise. The second picture is from the deck when I took a trip to the San Diego maritime museum. Here's a couple more. I purposely took pictures of the deck for building models.

ggatz wrote:

The bottom picture looks a lot like your model.  You captured the look quite well ..

thanks

Thanks! I suppose my question is answered!

Bill Morrison

searat12 wrote:

Well, ordinarily that's true... But the French were some of filthiest people at sea ever recorded, so having a dark deck is not particularly unrealistic.....!

I too had this notion that French ships were filthy and ill kept but where I got this notion I really can't recall, so what is the basis for this in fact?

Jean  Boudriot in his exhaustive work on the French 74 writes;

Health precautions must be taken in view of the overcrowding, the confined air between decks and pervading humidity.

If the Captain is a conscientious man he will give order every day at 9.00am (at sea) ‘Sweepers' the gundeck being swabbed, holystoned and fumigated. Before that the watch on deck will have washed down with seawater the Foc'sle, Quarterdeck, gangways, Poop, passages, upper works, and the poultry coops, the decks being swabbed dry and sanded.

It is considered absolutely essential to fumigate between decks, which is believed to disinfect the inside of the ship. The sides and deck-heads are rubbed dry with balls of tow, to remove condensation brought on by the breathing of men and animals.

The sheep pens and poultry coops must be cleaned constantly so that excrement does not lie there. Care must be taken to ensure that the men do not urinate over the sills of the gunports, and that the heads and the Quarter galleries are kept scrupulously clean. In harbour the men are not allowed to use the seats of ease in the head, so as not to spoil the ships sides, instead latrine buckets are placed in the heads.

Cleaning the ship is a constant pre-occupation, and the men must be employed every day.

He then goes on to detail the requirements for the personal cleanliness of the men.

So is the idea of Filthy French ships a myth, based perhaps on propaganda, or  anecdotal evidence relating to a few particular situations, historically the French have always accused the British of being filthy.

If the several hundred crew of a French ship are  not employed to some extent in cleaning ship, on a daily basis  what are they doing?

Perhaps searat could reveal his sources for the assertion that the French were some of the filthiest people at sea ever recorded.