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HMS Surprise by Palladio - Scale 1:48, as she may have appeared 1805 -1810


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Thank you all for your comments, as you well know, this is very encouraging in the ups and downs of such a long lasting build.

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Typical for a scratch build is the absence of a masterplan, at least concerning the little decisions you make, which may result in many weeks of additional work.

One of this crazy ideas were the workable gun lids.

Most "HMS Surprises" show the traditional one piece gun doors, simple and reliable. My (about) 1810 Surprise had to feature the two-parted version the trio Lavery, Hunt and Marquardt demand. Believe me, I didn`t know what was coming about.

A horror trip:

 

post-23096-0-87721100-1455826308_thumb.jpgpost-23096-0-44383900-1455826321_thumb.jpg but she has a "look"...

 

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Finally, one clear cold morning the hull was completed.   ... and another decision had to be made: Rigging? Sails?

 

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post-23096-0-17446300-1455826937_thumb.jpg Well my wife decided imperiously: "Rigg and sails!" ...and here we are, serving countless ropes...

 

 

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You're worming and serving????  I think this is first time I've seen the lines being wormed.   

 

At least it's only two sets of those lids, Palladio.   And the lids do look great.

 

Admirals do have a way with us, don't they?    :)

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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I think this was the main stay, I don´t intend to do that mad job for smaler cables.

 

Concerning the Admirals, if I would call her lovingly "my dear old Jarvie" she surely would grip the nine tailed cat and start flogging the captain of her heart...

 

This world is unfair!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Well, there she is, in full size and something like a weird memorial of the beautiful sailing frigate she may be, when finally finished.

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First thing that had to be replaced was the carefully "tail docked" ;) bowsprit I used in the earlier stages of the build.

As a working mast it had to be done completely new.

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It may not be the easyest thing to start with, but it´s quite servicable. In the end you have to invent a convincing "look" for the rigg, something like a "used look" in my case.

 

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The lower foremast in comparison to the drawing of the massiv 36gun mainmast.

 

In scale 1:48 at least some parts are exposed to permanent stress which could cause significant damage in the long run.

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One of this fragil looking elements are the fighting tops. This is the maintop and the smaler mizzentop.

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The "mouse" of the forestay as a workpiece and in action

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Edited by Palladio
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attachicon.gifDSC07770.JPG

Well, there she is, in full size and something like a weird memorial of the beautiful sailing frigate she may be, when finally finished.

attachicon.gifDSC07486.JPG

First thing that had to be replaced was the carefully "tail docked" ;) bowsprit I used in the earlier stages of the build.

As a working mast it had to be done completely new.

attachicon.gifDSC07794.JPG

It may not be the easyest thing to start with, but it´s quite servicable. In the end you have to invent a convincing "look" for the rigg, something like a "used look" in my case.

 

attachicon.gifDSC07568-001.JPGattachicon.gifDSC07567.JPG

The lower foremast in comparison to the drawing of the massiv 36gun mainmast.

 

In scale 1:48 at least some parts are exposed to permanent stress which could cause significant damage in the long run.

attachicon.gifDSC07805.JPG One of this fragil looking elements are the fighting tops. This is the foretop and the smaler mizzentop.

attachicon.gifDSC07588.JPGattachicon.gifDSC07594.JPG

 

attachicon.gifDSC07788.JPG

The "mouse" of the forestay as a workpiece and in action

attachicon.gifDSC07791.JPGattachicon.gifDSC00962.JPGattachicon.gifDSC00966.JPG

 

im convinced you just invented time travel and a shrink ray, went back in time, shrunk the HMS surprise, and brought it back. then "disassemboled" select parts to put back together to tease us. all kidding aside, seriously amazing work, i wish there was more descriptive words for this but i am at a loss.

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A full broadside salut to and from HMS Surprise! Thank you all. :)

 

Even though the highly praised features of the real ship, read quite different, when you look at the captains logs. She is a nice looking vessel and in her fictional appearance really a fine "seabird"...

 

Hendrik

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Thanks everybody !!

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Once hull and the standing rigg are completed, there are two major challenges left.

 

Sails and flags.

 

There may be some 500 or even more pulleys of different size and shape, but in the end this is a question of diligence. :-)

 

post-23096-0-31447700-1457730120_thumb.jpg Sails and flags are a question of texture.

 

Most models are shown without sails because sail making is painstaking and often the final output doesn´t look like sails at all...

 

Even the thinnest tissue has the appearance of corrugated cardboard or worse. That rises the obvious question: is fabric tissue the ideal material?

 

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It´s definetly not! But....

:-) Well, there are certain conventions in the honorable business of historic model ship building....

 

So I humbly took the thinnest fabric available and started with the gigantic Spanker.

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As sail making is awfully time consuming, I had to overcome my concerns to bath the precious thing in ordinary potato starch before giving it a stiff breeze with the hot hairdryer...

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.. witch resulted in swelled sails which concerve their form.

 

post-23096-0-77834000-1457732293_thumb.jpg meanwhile the main course is ready for action. I replaced conventional seams with liquide fabric glue to avoide stiff multi layers of fabric.

 

But when it comes to flags, even the thinnest fabric doesn´t work. The texture of a flag is destinctively different from a sail.

In this case, I didn´t give a damn on conventions and looked for an unconventional alternative.

 

In the end thin copper foil proofed very effective. It was prime coated, using white enamel paint, was fixed on a sheet of paper and send through an ink-jet printer.

 

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You just look for a beautiful "white ensign" in the net, download and print it on the copper foil, which is the ideal material to bend and twist it to a convincing "Flag". The wrinkles of the real flag (which are extremely difficult to achive) are simply printed on the plane surface and look quite realistic.

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  • 1 month later...

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A little update concerning the progress in rigging HMS Surprise.

 

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It was a surprise for me how time consuming the detailing of each and every sail turned out...

 

post-23096-0-81436600-1461010988_thumb.jpgpost-23096-0-52334400-1461011010_thumb.jpg

 

...and there are quite a few very specialized objects to create. In scale 1:48 you see allmost everything.

 

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Capt. Jack Aubrey: "Do you see those two weevils doctor?" 

 

Dr. Stephen Maturin: "I do." 

 

Aubrey: "Which would you choose? "

 

Maturin: "Neither; there is not a scrap a difference between them. They are the same species of Curculio." 

 

Aubrey: "If you had to choose. If you were forced to make a choice. If there was no other response... "

 

Maturin: "Well then if you are going to push me, I would choose the right hand weevil; it has significant advantage in both length and breadth." 

 

Aubrey: "There, I have you! You're completely dished! Do you not know that in the service, one must always choose the lesser of two weevils!"

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Capt. Jack Aubrey: "Do you see those two weevils doctor?" 

 

Dr. Stephen Maturin: "I do." 

 

Aubrey: "Which would you choose? "

 

Maturin: "Neither; there is not a scrap a difference between them. They are the same species of Curculio." 

 

Aubrey: "If you had to choose. If you were forced to make a choice. If there was no other response... "

 

Maturin: "Well then if you are going to push me, I would choose the right hand weevil; it has significant advantage in both length and breadth." 

 

Aubrey: "There, I have you! You're completely dished! Do you not know that in the service, one must always choose the lesser of two weevils!"

maturin; "he would pun would pick a pocket"

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What a nice build. Sails look great. Your right they are extremely hard to get right.

Regards, Scott

 

Current build: 1:75 Friesland, Mamoli

 

Completed builds:

1:64 Rattlesnake, Mamoli  -  1:64 HMS Bounty, Mamoli  -  1:54 Adventure, Amati  -  1:80 King of the Mississippi, AL

1:64 Blue Shadow, Mamoli  -  1:64 Leida Dutch pleasure boat, Corel  -  1:60 HMS President Mantra, Sergal

 

Awaiting construction:

1:89 Hermione La Fayette AL  -  1:48 Perserverance, Modelers shipyard

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Fantastic work on the sails and a great innovation for the ensign, love it. Your attention to detail is superb, this is one of my favourite models on this forum.

Current Build: HMB Endeavour 1:51 (Eaglemoss part work)

Previous Builds: USS Constitution (Revell plastic) HMS Victory 1:96 (Corel) HMB Endeavour 1:60 (AL)

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Hendrik,

 

wunderbar !!!!

an exciting build, love the pics in your post #3, and the following......the aft-view is fantastic, also sails, rigging and ensign look great, very inspirative and providing a lot to learn....,

Thanks for sharing this build log

 

Nils

Current builds

-Lightship Elbe 1

Completed

- Steamship Ergenstrasse ex Laker Corsicana 1918- scale 1:87 scratchbuild

"Zeesboot"  heritage wooden fishing small craft around 1870, POB  clinker scratch build scale 1:24

Pilot Schooner # 5 ELBE  ex Wanderbird, scale 1:50 scratchbuild

Mississippi Sterwheelsteamer built as christmapresent for grandson modified kit build

Chebec "Eagle of Algier" 1753--scale 1:48-POB-(scratchbuild) 

"SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" four stacker passenger liner of 1897, blue ribbond awarded, 1:144 (scratchbuild)
"HMS Pegasus" , 16 gun sloop, Swan-Class 1776-1777 scale 1:64 from Amati plan 

-"Pamir" 4-mast barque, P-liner, 1:96  (scratchbuild)

-"Gorch Fock 2" German Navy cadet training 3-mast barque, 1:95 (scratchbuild) 

"Heinrich Kayser" heritage Merchant Steamship, 1:96 (scratchbuild)  original was my grandfathers ship

-"Bohuslän" , heritage ,live Swedish museum passenger steamer (Billings kit), 1:50 

"Lorbas", river tug, steam driven for RC, fictive design (scratchbuild), scale appr. 1:32

under restoration / restoration finished 

"Hjejlen" steam paddlewheeler, 1861, Billings Boats rare old kit, scale 1:50

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Thank you all, I´m proud you got this flattering impression, but in fact the guys from the late 18th century were simply better and by far more experienced !

 

Well, I "choose the lesser of the two weevils"...  :-)

 

By the way, in the german translation of this famous dialog, they choose the term "bug/beetle" instead of "weevil". Believe it or not, a "pretty/cute beetle" is in german the equivalent of a nice girl.

 

So Jack Aubrey says: Didn´t you know, in the navy we allways choose the prettier beetle...

 

"Wifes and mistresses, may they never meet!"

 

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