- Joined
- Dec 10, 2023
- Messages
- 11
- Points
- 68
This ship has already appeared in one thread, but as a mention. Thank you so much for noticing and appreciating my father's work. Today I want to present a more detailed description of this masterpiece, made by the hands of my father.
This entry is a translation of my original article. If you like it, I can post a sequel in the comments to this post.
The hull model of the legendary French ship 1669-1692 Le Soleil Royal, made in 1:75 scale from precious woods: pear, walnut, hornbeam, amaranth, paduk.
In his free evenings, he did almost jewelry work. It took 7 years!
The history of the ship is quite interesting, but most connoisseurs are already familiar with it, so I will not describe it in more detail.
It can take a very long time to consider the smallest details like blocks for ropes, door hinges, decorations on tools cast (by himself) or an incredible number of nails that fasten the deck boards and paneling (and this is not a drawing or something like that - it's true carnations!). And about every detail, the father can tell in detail what it is and why — for 7 years of evenings spent at the table, he studied this subject very well...
The model made 150 years after the death of the original, which is stored in the Maritime Museum in Paris, is now accepted as the standard for the appearance of this ship.
From the author: "incomplete descriptions of the ship, lists of supplies and personnel have been preserved. But no paintings or engravings with a detailed image of the ship's appearance, made by his contemporaries, were found.
The original "technical documentation" of this ship from the time of Louis XIV, as I understand it, has not been preserved either. There are only sketches of the design of the future legend of the French Navy, proposed by the artist Jean Beren. The sketches were commissioned by the head of government of that time, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. How exactly Beren's idea was embodied "in a tree" on a real ship is a question.
An important point. In 1688, the ship underwent major repairs, strengthened its armament and changed its appearance. My model in no way claims to be a reliable copy of the real one..."
In my opinion, historical accuracy is great, but not the most important thing in this model.
And finally, the author himself:
This entry is a translation of my original article. If you like it, I can post a sequel in the comments to this post.
The hull model of the legendary French ship 1669-1692 Le Soleil Royal, made in 1:75 scale from precious woods: pear, walnut, hornbeam, amaranth, paduk.
In his free evenings, he did almost jewelry work. It took 7 years!
The history of the ship is quite interesting, but most connoisseurs are already familiar with it, so I will not describe it in more detail.
It can take a very long time to consider the smallest details like blocks for ropes, door hinges, decorations on tools cast (by himself) or an incredible number of nails that fasten the deck boards and paneling (and this is not a drawing or something like that - it's true carnations!). And about every detail, the father can tell in detail what it is and why — for 7 years of evenings spent at the table, he studied this subject very well...
The model made 150 years after the death of the original, which is stored in the Maritime Museum in Paris, is now accepted as the standard for the appearance of this ship.
From the author: "incomplete descriptions of the ship, lists of supplies and personnel have been preserved. But no paintings or engravings with a detailed image of the ship's appearance, made by his contemporaries, were found.
The original "technical documentation" of this ship from the time of Louis XIV, as I understand it, has not been preserved either. There are only sketches of the design of the future legend of the French Navy, proposed by the artist Jean Beren. The sketches were commissioned by the head of government of that time, Jean-Baptiste Colbert. How exactly Beren's idea was embodied "in a tree" on a real ship is a question.
An important point. In 1688, the ship underwent major repairs, strengthened its armament and changed its appearance. My model in no way claims to be a reliable copy of the real one..."
In my opinion, historical accuracy is great, but not the most important thing in this model.
And finally, the author himself:
