{"product_id":"heller-soleil-royal-1100","title":"Heller 80899 - SOLEIL ROYAL 1:100","description":"\u003ch4\u003eHeavily armed, richly decorated, and named for the Sun King himself, she combined the firepower of a first-rate ship of the line with the ornamentation of a royal palace. Her stern rose above the water in a mass of galleries, windows, sculptures, scrollwork, and gilded figures.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHeller’s enormous \u003cstrong\u003e1:100 scale Soleil Royal\u003c\/strong\u003e captures that spectacle in approximately \u003cstrong\u003e2,300 parts\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThis is one of the most elaborate plastic sailing ship kits ever produced—and quite possibly one of the most elaborate plastic kits of any subject.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Flagship of the Sun King\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe first Soleil Royal was built at Brest beginning in 1669 under the direction of master shipwright Laurent Hubac. With a displacement of approximately 2,000 tons and an intended armament of 104 guns, she became one of the most powerful ships in the French Royal Navy.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eShe served as the flagship of Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville and led the French fleet to victory at the \u003cstrong\u003eBattle of Béveziers—known in English as the Battle of Beachy Head—in 1690\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eTwo years later, she fought at the Battle of Barfleur. Badly damaged and unable to reach the safety of Saint-Malo, Soleil Royal took refuge at Cherbourg, where she was attacked and burned by enemy fireships.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHer career was comparatively brief. Her reputation was not.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePart Warship. Part Palace.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eMost large sailing ships impress through their rigging and artillery.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSoleil Royal adds architecture.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHer towering stern is covered with balconies, windows, carved figures, coats of arms, trophies, floral work, and symbols associated with Louis XIV. More ornament continues along the quarter galleries, bow, rails, and upper hull.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe sculptures are traditionally attributed to the circle of French court sculptor Antoine Coysevox, and their purpose went well beyond decoration. This was royal imagery, intended to present the power and splendor of France to anyone looking across the water.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSubtlety was apparently not part of the specification.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHeller reproduces this extraordinary decorative scheme with deeply molded relief and hundreds of individual components. With careful painting, dry-brushing, washes, and selective highlighting, the stern alone can become a remarkable display piece.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThen there is the rest of the ship.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eApproximately 2,300 Parts\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eAt \u003cstrong\u003e1:100 scale\u003c\/strong\u003e, Soleil Royal builds into a full-hull model approximately:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e30.3 inches long\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e29.7 inches high\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2,300 parts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe generous scale allows the model to carry an unusual amount of visible detail across the hull, decks, armament, fittings, and rig.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe kit includes:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eMulti-part full hull with molded plank and structural detail\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eElaborate stern galleries and quarter galleries\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eExtensive sculptural decoration\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eMulti-deck gun batteries\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eDetailed cannon and gun carriages\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eIndividual gunport lids\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eDeck planking and internal bulwark detail\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eCapstans, gratings, hatches, ladders, and rails\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eAnchors and deck fittings\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eShip’s boats\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eFigurehead and decorated bow structure\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eThree complete masts\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eFighting tops, yards, and spars\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eVacuum-formed sails\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eStanding and running rigging material\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eRigging jig for producing shrouds and ratlines\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eFull-hull display stand\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThere is enough repetition to reward an organized builder and enough variety to keep the project interesting.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThere is also enough gold paint involved to make a lesser king nervous.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Decoration Is the Main Event\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe most distinctive part of this kit is not its size or even its 2,300 parts.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eIt is the opportunity it gives the modeler to paint.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe dark wooden hull, blue architectural panels, red gunport interiors, and extensive gold ornamentation create a striking contrast. The deeply molded carvings respond especially well to careful layering: a dark base, controlled metallic color, a thin wash, and highlights across the raised detail.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe stern provides the greatest concentration of decoration, but the same treatment continues along the side galleries, upper rails, bow, and figurehead.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThis is not a model that needs heavy weathering to look convincing. A restrained finish can emphasize the formal, ceremonial quality of the ship. Builders who prefer a vessel with more years at sea can introduce faded paint, darkened timber, staining around the gunports, and subtle variation across the gilded surfaces.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eBoth approaches work.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe moldings provide plenty to work with.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eA Fully Armed Three-Decker\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eBeneath the decoration was a serious warship.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSoleil Royal was designed to carry 104 guns across multiple decks, and the model recreates the long, heavily armed broadsides of a seventeenth-century first-rate. Rows of gunports dominate the hull, while the exposed decks include cannon on individual carriages.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe gunport lids, artillery, carriages, and deck fittings account for a considerable portion of the parts count. Built carefully and painted with variation in the wood, ironwork, and barrel finishes, they create the sense of an operating warship beneath all the royal display.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe contrast is part of the ship’s appeal.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eFrom a distance, she looks like a palace.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eCloser inspection reveals that the palace is carrying an alarming number of cannon.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFull Masts, Rigging, and Sails\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe completed model carries a full three-masted rig with bowsprit, fighting tops, yards, spars, shrouds, stays, and extensive running rigging.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHeller supplies \u003cstrong\u003etwo thicknesses of rigging thread\u003c\/strong\u003e as well as a dedicated rigging jig designed to help form the shrouds and ratlines. Vacuum-formed sails are included for builders who want to display the ship under canvas.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThere are several effective ways to approach the finished model:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eInstall the complete sail plan for maximum height and visual drama.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eUse selected sails to preserve more visibility into the decks.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eShow some sails furled.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eOmit the sails and concentrate attention on the standing and running rigging.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eA fully sailed Soleil Royal is spectacular. A bare-polled version makes it easier to appreciate the masts, yards, rigging, artillery, and decorated upper works.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThere is no universally correct choice—only the question of which part of this remarkably busy ship you would prefer people to see first.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAn Important Note About Historical Reconstruction\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eNo complete set of original plans for Soleil Royal is known to survive.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHistorians and modelers have studied contemporary drawings, descriptions, related French warships, and later museum reconstructions, but there is still disagreement about the ship’s precise appearance and rig.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHeller does not conceal this. The company describes its model as an interpretation assembled from the historical research available to its designers.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe result should therefore be understood as a grand reconstruction of Soleil Royal—not a claim that every rail, carving, and line can be documented with certainty.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eFor most builders, this is part of the fascination. The kit provides an extraordinary foundation straight from the box, while experienced ship modelers can refine the rigging, alter details, or add aftermarket components according to their preferred references.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat Is Included\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHeller kit 80899 includes:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eApproximately 2,300 injection-molded plastic parts\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eVacuum-formed sails\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eTwo thicknesses of rigging thread\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eRigging jig for shrouds and ratlines\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eIllustrated assembly instructions\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eRigging plans\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003eDisplay stand\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaint and cement are not included\u003c\/strong\u003e with kit 80899.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eBecause of the amount of decoration and the variety of materials represented, builders will benefit from a broader paint selection than the basic color callouts alone. Fine brushes, masking materials, washes, metallic paints, tweezers, clamps, and a good magnifying lamp will all earn their place on the workbench.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eA Word About the Build\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eadvanced kit intended for experienced modelers\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe large hull requires careful alignment. The artillery and gunports involve extensive repeated assembly. The decoration demands patient brushwork. The masts and yards must be kept straight, and the rigging becomes a substantial project of its own.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe instructions and supplied rigging plans provide the basis for construction, but builders attempting a fully researched rig will benefit from additional references on seventeenth-century French warships.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThis is not a weekend build.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eIt may not be a season build.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eBut that is precisely the attraction. Soleil Royal offers hundreds of hours of construction, painting, detailing, and rigging, followed by a finished model that few plastic ship kits can match for sheer visual presence.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHMS Victory looks purposeful.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSoleil Royal looks as though the Louvre has learned to fire a broadside.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eKit Specifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eManufacturer:\u003c\/strong\u003e Heller\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eProduct number:\u003c\/strong\u003e 80899\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSubject:\u003c\/strong\u003e Soleil Royal\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNation:\u003c\/strong\u003e France\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eScale:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1:100\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Injection-molded plastic\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of parts:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approximately 2,300\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinished length:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approximately 30.3 in. \/ 770 mm\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFinished height:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approximately 29.7 in. \/ 755 mm\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSails:\u003c\/strong\u003e Vacuum-formed sails included\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRigging:\u003c\/strong\u003e Two thicknesses of thread included\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRigging aid:\u003c\/strong\u003e Shroud and ratline jig included\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDisplay type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full-hull static model\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePaint and cement:\u003c\/strong\u003e Not included\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003ch4 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSkill level:\u003c\/strong\u003e Advanced\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sUnEeygZm2k?si=1Y8cet7neq1gXT2c\" title=\"YouTube video player\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Heller","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42944353796198,"sku":"HEL80899","price":449.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0653\/3274\/0198\/files\/imgi_129_soleil-royal-heller-80899.jpg?v=1787176509","url":"https:\/\/www.modelexpo-online.pro\/products\/heller-soleil-royal-1100","provider":"Model Expo Online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}