Lenox

[abhovi]

I just finished the paperwork on the hull of this Restoration Warship, as Richard Endsor calls it in the title of his magnificent book.



Lenox was a third rate ship (150 feet length, 70 guns) of the fleet of Charles II, built John Shish at the Deptford Dockyard in 1678. It was named after the bastard son, Charles had with one of his mistresses. I never build foreign (that is: not Dutch) ships, but in this case I made an exception because the aim is a series of battle posters of Anglo-Dutch Wars to be made together with my son.

The construction of the hull was quite straightforward as I described in previous postings. (See A 160-feet VOC-vessel, or…) The difference between this hull and Dutch ones, apart from the shape, was the enormous amount of decorations. The beautifully adorned Dutch ships of those days look rather shabby compared to the abundance of carvings on English ones. Not that I am trying to copy all that in miniature. Others do that better than I can. I am satisfied with mounting the more or less right amount of volume on the right spots, so that it will look credible on a picture.

Building the hull took me three months, a very long time in my case, partly caused by the hot weather we had this summer. Sails and blocks are all prepared but still I estimate that it will take about two months to rig the vessel. Almost half a year is a lot of time to prepare a picture...



hope you like it, I will be back when rigging is finished.

[JohnMGD]

AGAIN, Ab a breathtaking model, I am wondering, how do you make these decorations in paper, or are they made from a different material, would be very interesting if you showed us how you did it ???

[Seahorse]

Astonishing. As always

[Mike1158]

Wow, another great piece.

[eatcrow2]

Inspirational modeling at it's best!!

[Michael Mash]

Exquisite work.
I am impressed with the second and fourth photos showing the impressive decorations on the stern. When you get time, perhaps you can describe your technique.
Mike

[Seascape]

Another beautiful warship!

Fred

[elliott]

Magnificent work Ab. Really looking forward to the rigging phase. Hopefully you can provide progress pics as you work.

[abhovi]

Thank you all gentlemen for your undeserved praise for my humble pottery.

JohnMGD: I use a two component putty, called Magic-Sculpt from Wesco enterprises. Look here: MAGIC SCULPT putty 200gr. I had to order it at a company in Spain, but delivery was prompt. It hardens within an hour, but can easily be handled for 40 minutes. After hardening it can be cut, filed, sanded and you can always add new parts, as it sticks very good to the basis. Therefore it can be best used for sculptures 'in situ'.

Michael Mash: There is not much to tell about my technique. I simply join the two components and press it on the location where I want my carvings. It sticks there and with some sharp and blunt sticks it can be modeled as wished.
I do not go into much detail with my carvings. For my purposes it is enough to suggest the shape by placing enough volume where it should be. My former career as an art teacher before I started at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam probably helps. Of course there are some places one really has to produce something realistic, but only with figures of adequate sizes.
A small remark about colors: Carvings, even on English ships were seldom gilded, they were almost always painted with a light yellow oker, finished with a shining varnish. Only in crests and sometimes the beak-head lion were covered with gold leaf. That is interesting, because all carvings on original English dockyard models show gold. But that was only on the models. If you want to produce a beautiful object, use gold. If you want to depict a ship as real (for my Photoshop purposes) use yellow paint (I use Humbrol 24) and be very restraint with gold.

Elliott: Rigging is not very interesting to see. It is primarily a matter of planning. Just take care to follow the steps you plan, or else it will be a terrible pain-in-the-??. Maybe I will show some stages, but don't expect too much from it. Rigging only sparkles if finished.

[RdK]

Hi!

WOW! This looks really good! Especially the painting makes it look so real as if made from oak!

Also the carvings are excellent! What is the scale of this model? I for my part noticed that 1:100 is a real pain-in-the-neck! when trying to sculpture something.

Also the rigging might be not very interesting for an advanced sail ship modeler but I am sure that many of us who do not have the experience yet (me included) would appreciate to see some of the progress in pictures...

But I agree, "Rigging only sparkles if finished".

Looking forward to seeing more! Great!!

-Radek