Heller 1/75 La Reale De France

She could have gone "wing and wing"--one sail out to port and the other to starboard.  This would only be with the wind right abaft.  This would be a significantly difficult thing to model, though, not so much for the spars up against the shrouds, but for the tacks of the sails being so far outboard in a non-sagging way.

She looks just great and I really like the furled sail.

On a big lateen boat like that, on a tack the big spar would not switch sides on the mast. The sail just goes over against the mast with little negative effect.

One suggestion if I may and it probably wouldn't be difficult to add on: the furled sail would have a loose clew about half way up the spar, like a triangular tab of sail hanging down a bit, with the sheets attached to it and hanging down.

Really excellent model. Needs to be kid and cat proofed!

It occurs to me that sailing this sucker with a lot of sail up would be...interesting with the near total absence of a keel, and a rudder that seems to be designed for looks, not function.

The big French galleys weren't yachts. They were serious, effective fighting ships. The word "Reale" simply meant that the ship belonged to the king.

It's true that they were awkward to handle under sail. In addition to the problems GM noted, they had scarcely any freeboard; a medium-sized wave could swamp a galley. They were most valuable in the waters close to the Straits of Gibraltar, where the winds are fickle and frequently calm. An enemy ship caught without wind was an ideal target for a big galley. The galley would get on a ramming course for the enemy, and the oarsmen would row for all they were worth. When the galley was within a few yards of the enemy ship, all the big guns in the bow would be fired in one devastating blast. Then the ram would strike the ship in the hull, close to the waterline. That tactic was almost guaranteed to sink the enemy vessel.

France and Spain continued to operate big galleys out of Mediterranean ports well into the eighteenth century. C.S. Forester wrote a story about Midshipman Horatio Hornblower's encounter with a Spanish galley. It's in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower.

You know the old joke...

Two guys rowing on the bench in a galley.

"Boom", pause..."Boom", pause..."Boom", pause..."Boom", pause..."Boom", pause...

"Mon Dieu I hate this job"

"Boom","Boom","Boom","Boom","Boom","Boom","Boom"..

"Alors, now what?"

"The captain wants to go waterskiing!"

Hi all a little update on the Reale, I thought I would try to improve the way the rowers handles are depicted.

so, only 29 more to go. I love the way on here you get a little education each time you add to it, thanks it really make the model more interesting, and , since i'm a lazy so and so, saves me doing the research.

Hi all well here is an update on this build as Gmorrison told me the clew? was missing, I hope I've got it right.

I've added all the cannons now as well.

Hi all didn't like the oar handle, too irregular, so browsing the net I found these, they are OO gauge steps (1/87) so near enough.

But as you can see they are too wide

so with my guage 

I whittled them down a bit

cut to length

split

and with a little bit of fettling they will all look the same now

Hi all, well I think I'm on the last leg of this build, this is half way there with the oars

just these left to do

every single oar has this huge seam on it, so, only32 to sort


I really feel this is nearing the end now, once I add the oars it will be huge, no idea what I will do with it when done, I had my warspite dio in the local library, but now thats back due to the library re-utilising the areas and no longer having room for it (a polite way of saying no one was interested in it) so now I've got that back too. argh I have no room.

Well I am so annoyed I thought I had some oars over and I had finished them but no, stupid idiot there are 32 PAIRS of oars, not 32 oars, now I have to order more of the steps to cut down for the handles, or I display it from one side only.

It's worth it. Keep going. This'll be only the second one I've seen built. Going to be a show stopper.

Row, row...

Well I've got to do all 64 oars again, I ordered some more ladders to do the handles with ( ordered more than I needed as I could see them being usefull for other things) luckily I ordered the wrong bits.

now when you compare them, I just have to redo all of them

Hi all I've been racking my brains trying to think of a way to do the tassels round the canopy, I cant find any which match the cord I've done the flags on the mast with, so,came up with this.

take a piece of double sided tape and stick it to a piece of paper

tack that each end to a lollipop stick

wind the gold thread round the lollipop stick

Cut along the edge

then glue in place

Look at you!

I would like to thank everyone for keeping me motivated on this kit, as without you I would have given up at the first hurdle.

Hi all here's some better pics

Hi all can I ask in what way I've done the wrong thing. I had a few followers of this build, and yet now it's finished no one is interested what details have I missed. 

Having just returned to the forums, looking at this I think you did a great job. This can be a bear of a kit, or so I've read. Finished model looks good. 

It looks absolutely beautiful to me! I must say you are an inspiration to me since, when things went wrong or you miscalculated the # of parts to be used (i.e.: oars), you kept on going and did a bang up job on this remarkable ship.

Thank you for all the pictures and the saga. It certainly gives me more motivation to work hard and enjoy what I do on the modeling bench.

Mike

Hi all just a quick update,my bosses husband said he would buy the Royal Sovereign but that this was too big was talking to him the other day and mentioned the Greenwich maritime museum said they wanted it but did not have the room, but would I resubmit it next year as they are constantly changing their displays. He told me today he will buy it (no mention of price), what would I ask for I can't keep it for a year, don't have the room (incidentally i told my boss I had got the Airfix Wasa off ebay and she wants me to build that for her. Actually as I was typing this he came up they've both gone for £400.00 I am well chuffed, I'm sure I could have got more but hey, two models out of the way and money for more, still have to finish the Sovriegn, and of course, start a finish the Wasa, I love modeling 

Hi all well getting this one back in a sorry state, went down to feed the birds and empty the bins this morning. Rolf tried to take it to his house in frinton yesterday, didn't even get it out of the hall broke lots of oars off the anchor post lots of railings, a lot of the rigging is slack so he's busted something there as well, he thinks I will just go down with a tube of superglue and stick it all back on, not that simple a lot of the guilding was pulled off when the oars and railings came off so that will have to be redone(a real pain as lots of bits were stuck on after the guilding ) I will take some pics when I get it home.

YOu have not missed anything. On the other hand it is I who has missed this Thread. Superb work my Friend.....CHeers mark

Hi all well shes back to her former self (lets see if he breaks it again, I may have to charge next time)