I've built one back in 2000 and I'm in process of building another one with a kid from my modelling club.
Heller's Royal Louis is a very good ol'kit which I would class superior to the Sirène or Couronne, but largely behind the two tops winners of the list : HMS Victory and Soleil Royal (not the same size, number of parts and price however).
Hull assembly is better than preceding Sirène : Sirène/ Couronne have complete internal decks which are difficult to insert in the hull : this was a waste of plastic and time as they didn't show through the gun ports after assembly.
Aboard Royal Louis, internal gun decks are replaced with 15mm wide "sponsons", which are enough to handle the guns and don't show from the exterior. Assembly is far easier.
Many many guns to assemble and paint, but keep in mind :
- most of these (except on open decks) will only show their barrel, so no need to paint each individual wheels in black on gun supports.
- Heller doesn't supply enough guns to have ALL portholes occupied, so you'll have to make a choice. About 2/3 to 3/4 of the guns are supplied, depending on their calibre.
On older kits, the two part hull was moulded in black styrene : this was a nightmare to paint a white under bottom on it. I bought my second Royal Louis last year and I discovered a white plastic hull, at last!
The completed hull is a beautiful piece with 18th Century style gilded ornament aft.
The Royal Louis is a very good example of French 18th Century first rank man'o'war. This type could resemble Count De Grasse first rank fleet ships during the American Independence War or the ships from the Louis XV and Louis XVI era.
As with all my preceding Heller ships I replace the plastic masts with wooden ones, as they're more rigid and don't curb under the thread tension. See below pictures of my Couronne.
Heller ratline machine is a must, but the rigging threads supplied is bad. I use those from Micromark.
The Vacuformed sails are horrible and should be replaced with cloth or paper ones, using the plastic ones as a template/mould.
Rigging plan is basic but correct for this scale. Maybe one could improve it using specialized books on the period. Rigging plan for Victory and Soleil Royal is far more complicated... Soleil Royal need more than 70m of thread!
Heller's Victory and Soleil Royal are the best Heller sail ship kits... and their choice is well balanced : Victory won a battle against the French (Trafalgar, 1804) and Soleil Royal, under Amiral Tourville, won a battle against the British (Beveziers/ Beachy Head, 1690)
I found this assembly challenging and I most enjoyed it. I recommend any Heller sail ship of the same series.
Below is the Couronne with cloth sails and wooden masts :