Going for a 4th painting commission

[Lluis of Minairons]

Today I've got primed the first batch of model ships for another 'Pieces of Eight' fleet. I've chosen to start with galleons and fluyts, that I'm going to paint following the same basic schema than for Stewart or myself. So after a little sanding, adjusting mast bottoms to holes, placing flag staffs and glueing hulls to their magnetized stands for better handling, I've primed them. This is what they look like now, right before starting the paint job --that will be tomorrow:



The user has granetd me permission to perform the modifications I judge necessary for personalizing the ships, so at this very first steps some small differences with the original model can be observed.



Stern castles of both galleons have been given some additional height by adding a further stage to decks, for example:



Given the additional height, I've chosen to show their mizzenmast lateen sails as folded.
Such folded sails have been made from tinfoil (of that one used for wrapping around wine bottle necks):



Besides, the masts of a galleon have been re-done from toothpicks and Skytrex sails, in a similar way as the mizzenmast of one fluyt has too.



All these ships are to be painted and dressed as Spanish merchants. I've got anxious to start!

Lluís

[Colonel Kilgore]

Very nice, Lluis - thank you for posting this work in progress.

Your customisations are really nice touches. I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest unfolds!

[martin goddard]

Absolutely wonderful!

Do you undercoat in grey. Quel suprise!

[Lluis of Minairons]

Well, work on the first batch above is over.
Please take a glance on what do these five medium & small merchantmen look like now:



The pattern followed for painting them is the same already explained in other posts: chocolate brown with a drop of neutral grey for hulls, dark leather brown for masts, pale sand for sails and a mix of iraqui sand and tan yellow for upper decks. Other colours I also use for sails from time to time are sunny skin tone (like one of the ships in this batch), stone grey or neutral grey. One of these days I'd like to give a try to buff paint, too.

Accordingly to the customer's wishes, his merchant fleet is to be dressed as Spanish, and that's what I've done --with some particularities, as you'll see later.

Let's go for the galleons first:



Both have been modified in some degree, by adding some height to their aft castles or, in the case of one, replacing the original piggy masts & sails by toothpicks dressed with sails from a Skytrex model kit.



The ship here at right has been given regulation merchant flags for the 1701-1785 period (red cross of Burgundy on a white field), but the other one is hoisting a rather unknown set of flags (white cross on blue). This odd design first appeared during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1715), deliberately used by Spanish merchants with the hope to be confused with French from a distance. To get an idea on what they pretended, take a glance on this piggy fluyt belonging to my own collection: http://www.wargames.cat/soldadets/naval/g_fra_fili_03.jpg

Although actively fought by authorities, this practice seemingly continued well into the 1760s.



This picture from the rear allows a better view on both ensigns, as well as on stern finishings.

Let's go now for the three fluyts in the batch:



Again, some rigging aspects have been modified, with the ultimate purpose that not two ships of the same type are looking identical.



Please note that their flags are smaller than those of the galleons (so as to emphasize ships' own size difference), besides of not flying any on fore mast.



Once again, there are some differences in flags too: the ship at the left is flying a Galician ensign, while the one at the right shows a Castilian one (both likely used on coastal waters mainly). The ship in the middle is hoisting a colourful set of Southern Dutch flags.

Wish you like them!!
Lluís

[Colonel Kilgore]

Lluis,

These are wonderful - your ship painting and finishing (and even the bases!) seem to be getting better all the time!

The historical detail on the flags and noting which colours you've used (presumably Vallejo?) for what are also very useful - many thanks!

Simon

[Lluis of Minairons]

Simon, I'm so happy you like them 

Yes the paint reference names given are from Vallejo.

I was planning next to paint a handful of small warships, three of which would be Spanish escorts while the latter two would be my first trial for pirates.

[Leslie BT]

They all look really good Lluis.

The little suggestion for the rigging works well, have you used wire or thread for the rigging?

[Lluis of Minairons]

I happened to find a couple of naval modelling thread spools at a hobby store close to home, and this is what I'm using currently.
It's obviously thicker than regular sewing thread, but also easier to work if one has troll fingers, like myself!   

[Sean Clark]

Oh my word these are nice!

I saw Stewart's ships and they are magnificent. My own will be far simpler affairs.

[Leslie BT]

Lluis I have used what's called 'Button thread' here in the UK. Its thicker than normal sewing cotton thread.
Also some of the embroidery threads can work well as well.

[Lluis of Minairons]

Let me show you a second group of ships belonging to the current commission.
This batch has consisted of all the two masted boats in SP commission, five ships in total.



The one in the middle is a 18-008 medium warship or brig, while all the rest are 18-007 small warships --with some variations amongst, making them look like a small brig, quetch, schooner or  brigantine. Apologies Martin for so much abuse of parts exchanging!! 

Two of he smaller warships have been painted as Spanish escorts. One of them has been enlargened the stern castle as well as assigned a lateen sail on mainmast, as if a primitive form of brig or quetch it was. The other one has been dressed as a proper brig with a gaff sail. Both are flying 1701-1785 war flags as well as long commission pennants.







On its side, the larger brig has been given an austere look as a pirate ship, showing flags allegedly belonging to Christopher Moody. Red on red all along the ship! 





Finally, the last two smaller ships have been built and painted having pirates in mind too. I assume that purple is probably quite an anachronistic colour for a ship of that era, but if you watch her flags set you'll understand why of such odd choice --for these are the ones that some state for the french pirate woman Jacquotte Delayahe. With a little imagination you can see Keyra Knightley by the rudder 







The second warship shows the flags supposedly flown by another french pirate, Olivier Levasseur. Hope this batch fulfills your expectations, S.

PS: I've already started working on this commission third batch, that is to consist of all its single masted ships. Worth to warn that one of them is going to be assigned a second mast and rigged with lateen sails, with the aim of making a tartane of it. Despite what is commonly believed, lateen sailed boats were quite common in the Caribbean, manned by Mediterranean powers such as France and Spain.



PS' PS: I've been plainly unable to resist for so long without planning some ships for my own. I happened to find a small Napoleonic Era ships manufacturer located in Florida (Portsmouth miniatures). Their range is not only from a later era, but also made in a smaller scale (1:900), so at first it could seem they're uncompatible with the one we're accustomed to (1:450 to 1:600, in my case).

However, I've decided to give a try to a couple of their products, so picking their single decker warship to make a small frigate from it, as well as their large double decker, with the aim to use it in our scales as a smaller man of the line (a 4th rate, maybe). So as to counter their excessively 'modern' look I've given 2 mm more height to the frigate waterline, and have replaced their original rigging by a mix of Peter Pig and Minairons parts.
I think that, after using this trick, they look promising now:



Here below you can see them together with their piggy equivalents:



They will be painted as Louis XIV's warships, for France is the nation I'm running in the Caribbean campaign I told you about some days ago. Despite I actually need these ships, I'm not going to start painting them yet --not until having regained the time lost in moving home Minairons headquarters (after having been raised my former office rent, I decided not to conform to using my humble earnings in paying that rent, instead of planning new goodies). Perhaps next month.

(Shall I resist the temptation?) 

[Stewart 46A]

Excellent looking ships as all ways Lluis

[Colonel Kilgore]

Lluis,

Thank you for sharing all these - they look wonderful!

[Leslie BT]

LLuis these all look so good, you really have got into the painting and converting groove!!

[Smiley Miley 66]

A great guide for the rest of us to follow. Thank you.
I cant wait to have the time to finish mine off somrtime this year.