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I’ve had a kit of HMS Snake barely started for several years, during which time I’ve struggled to get back in to building, what has caught my imagination is a conversion using the Snake kit as a starting point. My plan is to convert the Snake kit into a Cruizer class ship sloop of 1828, also named HMS Cruizer, which may seem odd at first sight as there already is a Caldercraft kit of HMS Cruizer of 1797. Confused? Stay with it a moment and I’ll just put things in to context. HMS Cruizer (name class) of 1797 was a two masted brig sloop, which spawned over 100 ships predicated on the same basic design. HMS Snake was a 3 masted ship sloop based on the Cruizer design also of 1797, only 2 ship sloops were initially completed, although several of the brig sloops were later converted to ship sloops as the lessons of war, particularly those of 1812 showed the ship sloop rig to be more resilient to battle damage. In 1826 5 more of the Cruizer class were ordered, 2 of which were to be ship rigged, but the changes weren’t merely in the rig, the ship sloops were to be lengthened, as demonstrated on the plans still held by the National Maritime Museum (http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/83740.html): Plan ZAZ3949 (attached) “Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans, sheer lines and longitudinal half-breadth for building Childers (1827), Cruizer (1828), Favorite (1829), Hyacinth (1829), Racehorse (1830) and Hazard (1837), all 18-gun flush-decked Ship Sloops similar to the Cruizer (1797) brig. The plan was cut in two along the midship section and a new piece inserted for the proposed (and approved) lengthening for the last four ships and the alterations to the mast positions as a result. Signed by Robert Seppings [Surveyor of the Navy, 1813-1832]” So, all I need to do is to cut the model in two and slap a bit in the middle! Or there may be more to it than that, not only lengthen it, but also re-position the gun ports, and add raised forward and aft platforms (similar to those flush platforms found on some of the earlier Cruizer models). Then there is the raising of the hawse holes, fashioning a new rudder, raise and re-model the stem, add 2 more Elm Tree pumps (4 shown on the inboard profile), and fabricate a bowsprit bed. After which there is the fitting out, I’ll be going with Stud anchor chain which will mean adding chain stoppers, and for the rig adding Trysail masts which are evident on HMS Pelorus - converted in 1826 from a brig sloop to a ship sloop so the rigging and masts are contemporary with the 1828 Cruizer. As to her career, Wikipedia states: “HMS Cruizer was a Snake-class ship sloop launched in 1828 for the British Royal Navy. The ship was built as a revival of the retired Snake-class ship-sloops. The Navy converted her to a brig in 1831, back to a ship in 1840, and sold her at Bombay in 1849. In 1839 Cruizer participated in the Aden Expedition along with the frigate HMS Volage and the two British East India Company (EIC) vessels, the sloop HCS Coote and the schooner HCS Mahi. Cruizer saw extensive service during the First Opium War. She participated in the Battle of Whampoa, the Second Battle of Chuenpi, the Battle of Canton, the Battle of Amoy, and the Battle of First Bar. During the Battle of Whampoa, Maj. General Hugh Gough, commander of the British army during the First Opium War, personally directed the land assault on Whampoa island from Cruzier's deck. In January 1841, Cruizer recaptured the whaling brig Pilot. The local inhabitants in the Nicobar Islands had captured her in December 1840 and murdered most of her crew. Pilot was taken into Singapore.” I’m going to swap-out a lot of the kit supplied wood and use Swiss Pear, Box and Ebony, I won’t be double planking, but will infill between the bulkheads with balsa. Painted components will be kept to a minimum. Fittings are from Cladercraft, Syren and RB Models. For reference, as well as the basic Snake instructions, and the excellent Snake and Cruizer logs elsewhere on the forum, I’m using the NMM plans and profiles, as well as the book by EW Petrejus - Modelling the Brig-of-War Irene: A Handbook for the Building of Historical Ship-Models. There are then a number of models and paintings available at the NMM and elsewhere to tap into. So the first job – strip off the few planks I’ve got in place and cut the carcass in half. But that’s for the next log instalment. All welcome to follow along, just don't expect a fast pace, I've taken early retirement and am starting the travel bucket list. Gary
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After a month of work on my new project it's at the stage where I suspect it might turn into something worth continuing so here it is... A Cruizer class brig in 1:36 scale which is (hopefully) destined to be a working RC square rigged sailer. I've kicked this project off before finishing the rigging on my current Granado build after seeing a few build logs and being filled with inspiration and a reckless confidence to simply have a go. It's a good vessel to practice on as it's relatively simple with flush decks, only two masts and little decoration. I can experiment with the rc servos, ballast keel and sail operation once the hull and masts are done and if it works then move on to the nice to have items like head rails, carronades and deck fittings. The cruizer was a possibility for my next scratch build originally planned at 1/64 but I'd helped my father build the 1:20 scale Valdivia schooner kit from Robbe a few years back and being so taken with sailing it that I wanted one of my own. I'd love a 1:24 scale RC Surprise or cruizer from Steel Chapman and Hutchinson Ltd http://www.modelsailingships.com/ships/grasshopper.html But it's out of my price range once freight etc is taken into account, hence an effort to scratch build, especially after seeing the very informative logs from Jerry Todd for his Macedonian, Constitution and others. 1:36 was chosen as it's large enough to look the part and have some sailing ability and be easily managed with a length of 84cm on the gun deck. If successful with the brig the ultimate goal is a frigate and at 1:36 scale a large vessel like an Artois class frigate of 146 feet on the gun deck would be just manageable for transport and launch at roughly 120cm. But that's pretty optimistic at this stage and I've got a lot to learn yet. The plans for this vessel are those included in EW Petrejus' fine book 'modelling the brig of war Irene' scaled up with bulkhead widths and deadwood for building purposes etc drawn in. Using relatively cheap materials was a must for this project as there's still an element of doubt over if it will work. If it doesn't I don't want to feel like it's been a huge investment that fails. As such the brig will be built from 9mm plywood for the framing with the keel and planking from matai - a New Zealand native timber which is moderately hard enough to hold detail at this scale while still easy to work and has a nice tone although the brig will be painted anyway. The matai is in the form of old tongue and groove floorboards from a demolition yard that are going for about $6/metre for short lengths that are pretty much unusable for anything else. I can mill these on my table saw and with a home built thickness sander. The hull will be built upside down on a building board for stability and will be cut loose once planked. A base line parallel to the keel a few cms above the max height of the sheer line was drawn on the plans to provide a point from which to measure from. All the bulkheads were drawn with this line as a top (or bottom once upside down on the board) square edge to ensure they would all sit at the correct height from the board and provide a level run for the keel to attach to. A test run of bulkheads on the board. To avoid installing deck beams later these were drawn onto the bulkheads using the camber indicated in Petrejus. The bulkheads were then cut down to ribbing size. In hindsight I should have left the bulwarks above deck ticker to account for the reduction from subsequent sanding but it's nothing major. Most of the framing on the build board here. The keel and stem is matai ripped on a bandsaw and run through my drill powere thickness sander (thanks to MSW member Snowmans for his fine instructions on making one) down to 9mm. The stem was then cut in one piece on the bandsaw and gammoning and bob stay holes/slots drilled.
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All right, ye bilge rats....in response to a rapidly diminishing number of requests, here comes the build log you've been dreading. If God is both patient and willing, this log will cover the constructing, painting, rigging, and display of a somewhat generic HMS Cruizer class brig-rigged sloop of about 1797 in 1:300 scale. All of the historical heavy lifting has been done by Dave Fellingham----over on the Nautical History thread-- a great piece of research. All I can do regarding this history is to reiterate that the class was probably the most numerous of the Royal Navy, and that with its 16x32lb Carronades, it was fast, seaworthy, as mean as a frigate at close quarters for far less cost to build, and 1/3 the crew. The kit is made by Langton Miniatures, known best for 1:1200 wargame ships. Why Rod and Carol Langton ventured into the 1:300 swamp with these complex models is a mystery to me--- anybody who makes one of these things and bashes it around in a game should be neutered forthwith. Suffice to say that I love both company and product-- when I first saw the John Westwood built ships on their website, I was hooked. The books that pertain specifically to what is called "extreme miniatures" are: 1) Two wonderful titles by Donald McNarry-- "Shipbuilding in Miniature" and "Ship Models in Miniature". Every modeler's library should have these, especially since they are all but free on the used market. 2) "Ships in Miniature" by Lloyd McCaffery a curious fellow who may set your teeth on edge a bit, but who is a crazily skillful builder.3) I also admire Phillip Reed's books, especially "Period Ship Modelmaking". Of course, all other good model ship books are useful, but these are specific to small scales. A couple of general comments apply for "The Short Ships". I've found that if anything on these teeny-weenies is out of scale, it looks like hell. Better to suggest or omit detail if you can't get it down to size. Also, one of the things that really makes a small waterline model great is a strong sense of "taper", ie, a heroic effort to not let the topmasts, bowsprit, and yards look too beefy--- a problem which limits the realism of small scale. The question "why not scratchbuild" is probably pertinent here. I've done a bunch, but just don't feel the urge to set up for that work anymore. Part of this is living in the sticks and not being able to find raw materials--- even the model RR store in Albuquerque shut down-- there is no bigger buzz-kill for me than not having what I need. These kits solve most of that problem---as you will see. OK--- The pix...#1 is the box laid out--- note chapstick for scale, and little in-progress waifs in rear. #4is the hull, which at this stage looks like a dead albino anchovy. #3 are the plan sheets-- plenty good though not exhaustive. #2 is intended to dispell the notion that one needs delicate hands to do this work--mine,as you see, look like mutant tree roots from years of US football.(Note also phone # of Fly-Tying shop in Alb. scrawled on hand-- a fine source of wire, etc. for minis). This is more a mental challenge than a physical one. Please be critical. I've gotten into some patterns of sloth and carelessness which I hope will improve with this log. The next installment will show a few efforts to improve the basic kit. john
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