Heller Soleil Royal (WIP)

Thanks, you guys...I'm glad you like the *tutorial* approach...I realize the way I do things may not be the same way everyone would choose to do them, but I think it helps the model builders at large by showing step-by-step some of the techniques I chose.  Hopefully others will learn from what I do, and either A)use the same methods, or B) get ideas from my methods to develop something else; or C) decide that my methods are whack, and go their own way!  lol  :)

Yeah, funny thing about seeing the flaws in close-up pictures...When I first starting doing the goldwork on the bulwarks, I had bought a couple of acrylic gold paint markers....I thought they were great, but they turned out to be pretty crummy, actually.  The color wasn't even, wasn't bright, and easily rubbed off when I applied the oil overcoating....so I had to go back over much of it with Tamiya Gold Leaf paint and a brush, which I found much more controlled, and gave a much better effect.  Evidently, I need to go over some other areas that missed with the Tamiya paint!

John, thanks for the advice.  One thing I need to mention is that the Blacken-It does indeed flake off, especially when the Brass strops are so grotesquely bent out of shape while installing them to the deadeyes...lots of the *blackening* flakes off.  Maybe a good thing would be to install them onto the deadeyes, and then dip the preassembled parts into the Blacken-It.  I didn't try that, but I don't know if the product would have any adverse effect on the walnut deadeyes.  Either way, I may try to touch them up with some flat black paint if it bugs me enough.

Also, bending the eyebolts up is a good idea...I didn't think of it before, and now that I have a number of my lower deadeyes installed, it's unlikely that I'll go back and change them now....but nevertheless, good advice, and something to remember for next time (!) or for someone else building a ship with similar eyebolts in the hull.

I'm hoping to get some more progress made this week, but it's a busy time...just finishing up the holidays, and now we're heading out to Maui for vacation in a few days!  Woo-Hoo!

Dave

very informative dave , thank's for the tutorial , love seeing any of your lesson's .

Yep a great tutorial for people like me who tend to ruin kits, assuming I ever get the other half of the hull and actually start mine(all boxed back up as I have no faith in Heller) you should do a dummies guide to rigging, what you have done there is an idiots guid, and thanks for taking the time.

Great tutorial David, for not a is written on installing strops, chainplates, and deadeyes on plastic models.  And the part about needing to touch up the gold leaf is priceless, because when I take pictures of my work, I too seem to see everything I missed that my eyes cannot.  Kinda get the same feeling of late with looking in the mirror and telling myself what a fit young dude I still seem to be, then I take a selfie and see a middle aged fat dude.  

Looks excellent, Dave. I'm glad to hear that those things work.

If I may, I'll offer two very small suggestions. One - after you dip the strops in the blackener, and after they're dry, give them a quick spritz of Dullcoat. Otherwise the black may start flaking off in a few days. No the biggest of problems, but one easily avoided.

Two - consider bending the eyebolts on the hull upward, so they form a straight line with the chain plates. To my eye, at least, that would be a significant improvement. But not worth doing if there's a risk of busting the eyebolts.

Oh - and if you give the threads forming the chain plates a coat of black acrylic paint mixed with white glue, the strands of threads will just about disappear. Again, no big deal, but easily done. (Don't worry if the mix of paint and glue looks grey when it's wet. The glue will go transparent as it dries, and the black paint will be all that shows.)

Those are very minor points. As I've said so many times before, this is going to be a terrific model.

At last, my deadeye strops arrived!  It's no wonder Ages of Sail has trouble keeping their inventory managed, they sent me way too many parts...I received 2 packages from them yesterday, one was a full replacement of my original order, and one was 5 10-packs of the 7mm deadeye strops (they only owed me 4 packs of 5mm...but now I have plenty of spares, I guess...under normal circumstances I would offer to send them back their stuff, but after all the waiting and disappointment, I'm keeping it)...

Anyway, I'm glad to be back on track and able to proceed.  I took a bunch of photos of the prep and install of the lower deadeye/chainplate assembly in the way that I'm doing it.  It's a similar take on how the Heller instructions indicate, except I'm using wooden deadeyes stropped with brass, and I'm using brass eyebolts into the hull, instead of the plastic kit eyebolts (which I'm afraid would fail under even slight shroud tension later).  The thing is, I'm using black rigging line as faux chain plate material.  I'm sure there are those who prefer using different material for chainplates, but this works for me.

Here goes:

First, the strops are cut from the sprue with little side cutters

Then I put them all into a little acrylic dish/bathtub

Fill the dish with Blacken-It to cover the parts, and let them soak for a bit....I went for about 5 minutes with these, stirring frequently to make sure all surfaces get treated.  Then remove the parts and let dry on a paper towel..

Here are the deadeyes, walnut 7mm from Model Expo

This is where it starts to get fun.  Take one of the strops, and stretch it width-ways (?) so you can get one of the inner angles to fit into the groove of the deadeye (note:  You really do have to bend the p**s out of them to get them into the groove!  But they go back to correct shape pretty easily)...

Using pliers, I squeezed the lower *becket* area of the strop to pull everything back into shape.

Using the pliers again, I add a slight bend to the strop bottom, so that it helps lead the chainplate in a natural direction toward the hull without making the deadeye angle away from it.

Now for installing:  I wanted to be able to use rigging line for it, and I also wanted to make sure the knot was kept pretty much hidden after it was assembled...here's my solution:  I took about 4.5 inches of line, and ran one end through the lower (from the outside and through to the hull) deadeye *becket* (below the channel), the made an overhand (?) knot toward the end of it (behind the *becket*).

Taking the other end of the line, I ran it under and through the eyebolt in the hull below the deadeye.

Next I took that end and ran it through the overhand knot of the first piece of line I ran through the *becket*...basically making this a slipknot, with the knot BEHIND the eyebolt and the *becket* (a-HA!)

Then I cinched up the knot with tweezers, and pulled the line tight-ish with the knot behind the chainplate area, about halfway between the *becket* and the eyebolt.

I didn't make it too tight, because I don't want to put unnecessary strain on the channels, and once the shrouds go on, everything should end up tight and lined up without having to reef on the channels too much.  Snipped off the ends of the knot (not too close, though, or the knot can slip)

Then I added some CA to the knot generously, using a toothpick (I usually "decant" my CA onto a small bit of glossy paperboard and apply it using a toothpick, don't know how anyone can us the stuff straight out of the bottle?)

Then, quickly before the CA has a chance to start setting up, I use the tweezers to pull down on the outer line of the "chainplate" and that will pull the knot up until it snugs up behind the lower strop *becket*, just below the channel, where it's out of sight, and cemented in place.

And Voila!  There it is, in place.

Steve5, yes the deadeye strops are good.  I believe they're photo-etched or laser cut brass, they come on a sprue (or fret) and are sized just right for the walnut deadeyes I got from MS (though they need to be bent open to fit on the deadeye and then re-bent to tighten again, but it's easy once you've done a few)....now if the rest would just come!  I actually had to send another email to Ages of Sail....after thinking about it, I felt they had done poorly by me, and I was compelled to send Roger a complaint email.  Nothing mean or derogatory, just letting him know that I woudl have appreciated a heads-up about the back order, and how it is disappointing that it's taken so long, and I still don't have my parts.  I suggested that they try to implement a better tracking system so people can see if their order will be fulfilled before online checkout, and decide for themselves if they want to wait.

Docidle, don't feel bad about recommending them...they had exactly what I wanted, and for a decent price.  It's not your fault they ran out, and I assume they don't back order people for this long very often (but who knows?  Not sure I'll order from them again, unless I have to!)...anyway, it's all good, bud.  Also, yes I saw that Syren has the next sizes down for the deadeyes...but I got mine at MS for super cheap, and they aren't so big that it bugs me.  Syren is awesome quality, decent shipping speed, and all my communication with them has been pleasant.  But that kind of quality comes at a premium price, I suppose!  Like John said, they are a pleasure to deal with.  My deadeyes came from MS, but all my rigging line and other blocks are from Syren...

Anyway, eventually I should get my remaining deadeye strops, and when I do, I'll take some photos to show how I've been preparing and installing them to the deadeyes and channels.

Dave

Chuck Passaro, aka Syren Ship Model Company, is an ethical man. His website tells how many blocks of each size he has in stock. He's always a pleasure to deal with. 

Dave,

Considering that I was the one to recommend Ages of Sail, I feel bad about it now. Even if they do not, I apologize for recommending them.

I feel a bit gun shy now to tell you that Syren has the 6, 4 and 3mm sized blocks you need. However, considering that they come in packets of 25 and run $6.75 for the 6mm, that can add up rather quickly. 

I was doing a block and deadeye count for the Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark that is on the horizon. That is after I finish the Catalan Ship. Anyway, I counted 294 blocks and 208 deadeyes that I will need. I have not figured out how much line I will need yet, I plan on getting to that once I pick myself off the floor.

Again, I am sorry that Ages has dropped the ball on your order.

Steve

yeah! that would get you a little peeved , but as a matter of interest , are the one's you got , what you thought they would be .

Quick rant:

So I ordered my deadeye strops from Ages of Sail on the 13th of November.  They accepted my order and did not notify me whatsoever that more than half of my items were out of stock.  It wasn't until I received my shipment that I noticed it wasn't all there.  So I contacted them, and was told they should be in stock with a week, and would be shipped to me immediately.  Each week I emailed them to see if they had arrived, but no luck.  Until Dec 11th, and when I asked, the response was that they had just come in, and they would need a day or two to sort through the order before shipping out backorders.  I assumed they would have come by now, so I emailed again this morning, and was told that they are preparing to ship them today...two and a half weeks after they got them in stock.

Very disappointed.

thank's for answering dave , I agree with you , modelling should be first and foremost , the enjoyment in making the model, to your own satisfaction .a lot of work goes into those deadeye's ,can't wait to see some more picture's of your beautiful build.

Steve-

Actually, they are a little big for scale (I think)....it doesn't bother me a lot, but I think they could be smaller.  I went with 7, 5, and 3.5 for the shroud deadeye sizes, for the sake of proportion to each other (and because they closely match the sizes of the orginal kit deadeyes).  If I could have found 6, 4, and 3 at Model Expo I might have gone with those, but I bought what they had available at the time.  Works for me, but I think the more strict modelers of the world might think they're too big.

dave how are you finding the 7mm deadeye's , not to big ??

Thanks dave, you can rest assured I will be posting as soon as I get my sweaty hands on mine (although it may take some sweet talk to start another, what with the Citroen and the Thermopylea taking up so much room and neither anywhere near completion) I find I need to have a few on the go at the same time, normally not a problem but with those two being so big and this one is a fair size may take a bit more than sweet talking.

I can't wait to see your SR construction, kpnuts!  Please share it with us as you embark on your journey!  :)

I've been waiting (impatiently) for my backordered deadeye strops to arrive....Katie at Ages of Sail has assured me they were shipped last week, so I've been watching the mailbox each day....when they arrive, I'll take photos of how I'm attaching the lower deadeyes to the channels, for any who wish to see it.

I'm glad you've been reading this WIP, and hopefully some of the stuff that's been posted here will help you with your build.  I go back through and read stuff from here occasionally to remind myself of certain aspects.  I've also been keeping lots of notes during my quest; I have two separate notepads (one for painting/construction, one for rigging, etc.) that I keep details of the steps I take, especially in areas where I deviate from the instruction sheets (which is common)...

Anxious to get back to working on her, and now that I'm off work until the 4th, I should be able to get some stuff done...even if the deadeye strops don't show up, I guess I can start doing prep work on the masts and tops.

Thanks again!

David

 Hi all I've read this again (making lots of notes) when I build mine (chrissy present) I am going to use the thread and blocks and tackle in the kit ( one reason, my missus won't allow more money spent on it, the other why should I when you pay for a kit you shouldn't need to more than double the price to finish it) no disrespect dave, you are doing an amazing job, and have the cash to go the extra mile, but I will be pinching all your ideas (sorry but there it is)

Hi David, building up your deadeyes is the only way to go on such a nice model such as yours.  I will be waiting to see the pictures on how they turn out.  They will be subperb no doubt.

Rod, welcome back old friend.

Rod, I'm so glad you approve of what I'm doing with her!

Haven't heard from you in a while, my friend.  It's great news that you are able to start working on your models again!!  Congrats!  I can't wait to see what you show us next :)

Quick update on progress:  I ordered a bunch of the Amati Brass Deadeye Strops that Steve recommended from Ages of Sail.  They are perfect.  Only thing is they backordered a lot of them, so I only got a portion of them installed so far.  I first blackened the parts with Blacken-It (love that product, need to learn what it's made of so I can get it/make it myself for cheap)....attaching them to the deadeyes can be a little messy, because they have to be bent, wrapped around the deadeye, and then re-shaped to fit.  But it's not hard at all to get them back into shape. I'll take some pics when I get the remainder from Ages of Sail and outline the technique I'm using for chainplates.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

David

David she's wonderful. I finally got my eye's repaired so I can see all your detail and I could read what your doing. I can finally start working on ships again. Nice my friend.

Rod

Right there on the website, about three pictures down. The one with the penny.

Those are beauties!

Yes Dafi do some remarkable photo etch for the 1/100 Victory, probably not 100% accurate for Soleil Royal and may not fit if the channels are different widths..

You can see his work here:-

http://www.dafinismus.de/gallery.html

I think it makes a big difference to the kit and am strongly tempted to get some for my future Victory project.

I'm interested in what his treatment of the decks are too.

Hi I don't know if it's of help (as I don't know what chainplates are ) but dafi do a fairly comprehensive set of etching for the heller 1/100 victory, I've looked but couldn't see chainplates, but maybe they call them something else, just an idea, as I want to see what you do so I can pinch your ideas when I do mine, oops did I say that out loud.

Dave,

No problem bud, I hope they work out for you. Another cool product are rigging hooks that come in 5mm lengths. 6 to a pack and the same price, $2.01.

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/4403-01-photo-etch-rigging-hooks-5mm.html

Or you can get these plastic hooks from Chuck. What's cool about these is that they come in 5,4 and 3mm sizes. You get 138 for $11.00!

http://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/boxwood-deadeyes-and-specialty-blocks.php#!/~/search/keywords=Hooks&offset=0&sort=relevance

These can be used not only under the tops connected to the bottom portion of the strops for your futtock shrouds, but also for a number of of other places you will need hooks, like for yard tackles and winding tackles, etc.

Steve-

You Rock!

I just ordered some packs of 7mm and 5mm for my lower deadeyes...I'll take your word for it that they're good stuff.  And it's great that they are enclosed!

Hopefully this will get me moving onto the next step! 

Thanks a bunch, my man!  I'll let you know how they work out.

Dave

Dave,

You might want to try these strops from Ages of Sail located in CA.

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/chain-4408-03-chainplate-strops-for-7mm-deadeyes.html

They are completely enclosed, come in packs of ten and are about $2.01 a pack plus shipping. They have them in 7, 5, and 3mm sizes. I've used them and love them because I did not have to pull out the soldering iron, etc...

Hope this helps bud,

Steve

Thanks, Rob!  I have some materials on hand, but I think if I go to Jo-Ann (there happens to be one near my place) I could get some more ideas of how to proceed.

I have been making revisions to my original idea, but they always come to the same obstacle:  Using annealed wire, I always have two tag-ends of the wire to *hide* or twist away somewhere, but there's nowhere in the deadeye assembly that offers a hiding place for the wire ends!  I'll keep trying...

I did find these deadeye strop rings on cornwallmodelboats website, they are the right size and shape for my deadeyes, but the are split at the bottom (where the chainplate would attach)...not sure if I would have to solder that part closed??

Dave..take a trip to your local JO-ANN's and visit the julary making area.  It is a plethera of items to refashion into what you need.

Rob

Steve, I use Burnt Umber oil paints for the *wash*....it adds a nice effect of texture, shading, and artificial "patina" in my opinion.  It's my go-to post-paint finishing application.

BTW, still trying to figure out how to handle my deadeye strops for the chainplates...I had all the deadeyes on the foremast channel chainplated in, but I didn't like the lack of uniformity that I imparted into my annealed wire "beckets" (?) at the bottom...the looked uneven, and I couldn't live with it, so I removed them all and have been trying to either a) find a different method that doesn't involve buying a lot of expensive after-market strop rings; or b) fashion a jig so I can get them all the same.

Time is still an issue, but I'm hoping to make some progress soon.

Thanks!

Dave

dave I've been re-reading this forum again [ for the 10th time ] could you please tell me what colour wash , you used over the blue and gold stern and side pieces . the effect is really nice ,........steve