Sovereign of the seas 1637/ 1:96/ scratch build

[DORIS]

Hello everybody!
Some months ago I started a scratch build of Sovereign of the seas.

Shapes of timbers and decks come from Mantua plans, but I would like to build this beautiful ship according to credible documents as possible. I am very honored I can cooperate with experts and friends in Czech forum, especially my thanks belong to captain KL. I will present here all working process from the beginning. If you have any question or want to know, how I create various details, I can explain it in more detail.  Don´t hesitate to write your suggestions or ideas, what I can do better on my model. Thank you all and I am looking forward to sharing my work with You!

[DORIS]

Shell planking - first and second layer:

[DORIS]

Hull building:

[DORIS]

Latest photos, the hull is waiting for regrinding and particular impregnation. After that I will start with wooden covering. I use a special self-adhesive plastic film/foils with wooden look and structure.



Wires under the hull are ready for model lighting.
Now I have started with covering the hull by wooden look plastic tapes, I take a lot of pictures, how I do that:
After impregnation:


The hull under water-line is covered by narrow strips of self-adhesive plastic film, each stripe is overlap by another one in 30% of its width, so there are no gaps. The wooden parts over the water-line are stuck side-by-side without covering.

[DORIS]

I have just finished wooden covering on port. There is still a lot of work but mostly I am looking forward to gilded ornaments and figures on black top of the hull. Now I will continue with the same work on starboard.



About foils – the wooden look tape is from ALKOR manufacturer. I took some pictures where you can see how to stick the self-adhesive foil strips on the surface. Never touch the glue by your fingers! Use tweezers and try to keep the protective tape on foils so long as possible. After sticking it´s important to use warm air for best adhesion and shaping. I often leave the model outside, when it´s sunny and hot for the best possible effect. 

[DORIS]

Here are some photos of a small but very significant progress - there are finished side laths. Now I can start  with bow details and rear galleries. For the three upper laths I used a slightly darker wood to highlight them, but only decently. Stern planking below the waterline was adapted the look of  Lely´s portrait.

Loop holes on stern will be closed – there are massive ribs inside, which would impede the cannons.

[finescalerr]

At this stage, as I look at the images, I see nothing you could improve. If the image resolution were greater or if the detail were larger, it might be possible to find an imperfection. Even if there were, the overall appearance is excellent.

If you want to make this model look slightly older or not as well maintained, some artists here might have suggestions. But few of us would criticize your craftsmanship.

Russ

[Malachi Constant]

Doris -- Outstanding work!  Really appreciate your effort to post the many photos and descriptions of the process.

Russ -- Not sure if you realize this, but each of the tiny photos is linked to much larger ones on a photo hosting site.  If you haven't seen those, well worth a look.  Once you get to the first one in a batch, you can just use the buttons there to toggle thru the photos.

Cheers,
Dallas

[DaKra]

I'm looking forward to the intricate wood carvings     Will you use paper, for those, too?

[eTraxx]

On her HMS Victory she used what looks like Sculpey or something similar ..

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/ships-watercraft/7151-hms-victory-1798-1-96-shipyard-20.html#post132151

[BKLN]

Doris,
this is some very impressive work! I assume that you use some kind of solution to harden the paper (especially the first layers) for sanding. What do you use for that?

Christian

[RoughboyModelworks]

This is fabulous work Doris. I too am curious about how you strengthen the paper, especially the structural elements to prevent subsequent twisting and distortion as the model is built-up. You mention impregnating the planked surface which allows you to fair the hull. Perhaps this in combination with the framing structure produces a rigid structure able to withstand the stresses applied by the standing rigging and the dimensional changes that occur with paper as it reacts to changes in temperature and humidity.

Paul

[finescalerr]

Yes, Doris, please explain how you prepare the paper!

Dallas, I carefully analyzed the larger photos in the "slide shows" but still found their resolution too low to show what I wanted to see.

The addition of Doris to this forum is terrific, don't you think?

Russ

[eTraxx]

Russ, Yes .. I agree that Doris is a great addition to the knowledge-base here. If ANYONE's modeling will boost paper-craft on this forum I think it's her.

[DORIS]

Hello everyone!
I am extremely honored to reading your posts. Really appreciate it. Thank you all for your comments and compliments!
The model is still in its first stage, it is not implemented the patina (for older look of wood) and retouching yet.
How to strengthen the paper and the hull?
1) The success repose on the perfectly proportioned body framing structure with a dense network of reinforcements. It forms a very solid framework, which is then paste on with shell planking. Bulkheads are stuck together from 3-5 paper layers (according to their size), I use a cardboard over 1mm thick for each layer. Horizontal frame reinforcements are shaped to profile a letter "L".  This ensures superior strength. After finishing is the whole frame structure sprayed by acrylic clear coat/varnish. I use for this Motip Clear finish. The frame is then able to withstand changes in temperature and humidity.

2) The right choice of high quality paper is very important. I use about 1 mm thick cardboard.  I stick together more layers of this cardboard and shape it before the glue dries. Paper parts made this way are able to keep their shape and stay solid enough. In this model the hull planking is over 4 mm thick. The whole paper surface is carefully impregnated by acrylic car varnish before "wooden" covering. It is important for humidity resistance and better for attaching wooden-look foils.

It is only paper model, but at this moment it weights over 2,5 kg.
Doris