mikegr

While sitting here in Kea Island and planning my next project i remembered a piece of history well known to locals but unknown to most foreign visitors which come to the island for the hot sun and its crystal clear blue waters.

Lambros Katsonis was a Greek revolutionary hero of the 18th century; he was also a knight of the Russian Empire and an officer with the rank of colonel in the Imperial Russian Navy, decorated with an Order of  St George IV class medal. Born in Levadia he joined the Orlov Revolt in 1770, but not pleased by the result he built up a small fleet and began harassing the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea. In 1778 he assembled a Greek pirate fleet of seventy vessels, which harassed the Turkish squadrons in the Aegean and forced the Ottomans to abandon the island of Kastelorizo.

The Sultan, aware of his achievements tried to bribe him by offering an Island. Instead, Katsonis refused and continued  harassing the Ottoman's fleet and trying to inspirate the rest of the Greeks in an arm race against the Turks.

In August 3, 1789 his flagship was chased by  26 Ottoman ships near Makronisos Island. Katsonis managed to escape to Agios Nikolaos bay in Kea, where the central port of the island is located until today. The Ottomans anchored just outside the bay waiting for him.

However Katsonis came up with an idea. He sent his sailors ashore, they cut several tree trunks, spreaded all over them with pork fat and lay them down at a narrow piece of land, known as Koka Straight. Then he ordered his men to tow the ship over the trunks until it slipped to the other side , straight to the Aegean sea. By the next morning  and when the Ottomans realised that  Katsonis had escaped, they attacked the port of Kea burning it to the ground and killing hundreds of civilians.

In May 6 1790 Katsonis and his fleet of seven ships faced the Ottomans with 20 vessels. Before dark, Katsonis although outnumbered had gained a tactical advantage over his enemy. Then, a force of 11 Algerian pirate ships hired by the Sultan, joined the battle at the Ottomans side.  Katsonis  managed to escape but he had lost 5 of his ships and over 600 well trained men. Ottomans and Algerians lost over 3000 men while half of their force was sunk or put out of action. They attacked Kea again and in October they sailed to Istanbul where they celebrate their victory by hunging from the ship's masts  about 50 prisoners from Katsonis crew.

Katsonis was a unique ocassion who even defeated was decorated and promoted for his actions from Cathrine the Great of Russia. Later  Russian and Ottoman Empire signed a peace treaty. Katsonis was ordered to cease hostile activities but he denied.  His disobidience was the reason that he got banned from the Russian fleet. He returned to Greece dealing with the rise of the Revolutionary party. Then in June 1792 his fleet while anchored at Mani Bay was attacked by a joined force of Ottoman and French comprised of 30 vessels. After a 3 day battle Katsonis managed to escape to Ithaca then returned to Russia with his family where he rejoined the Russian Fleet until he retired.

Best project I ve seen in this forum

What about the thickness of the frames? 3 or 4 mm would be enough?

Found this method also. The square balsa pieces looks ideal for planking a model of a modern ship.

 https://youtu.be/8qlNx_6wD8Q

εξαιρετικο!

Thanks for the replies. Here is the plan I have to get a better idea. Scale is 1/144.

I am going to start my first scratch built project. Length is 110 cm.

What is the suggested material thinkness for the keel and  frames?

Apart MDF and plywood I am thinking of using a synthetic material which i believe would be easier to work with as I have not worked with wood so far. So I have found the following:

-ABS

-PVC

-Styrene

-Forex

If anyone was worked with the above materials would like to know his experience.

Buy some ready made. And cheaper

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PVC-Ripple-Water-Effect-Sheet-Basing-Miniature-Lake-River-Stream-Diorama-Scenery/273235574346?hash=item3f9e1bfe4a:g:KWUAAOSw1xVbB5X4

Just get a basic PE set from e bay. Sometimes there are great offers on wooden deck stickers also.

Buying a 10€ cheap kit for practicing on planking seems a good idea. Of course the outcome result won't be impressive, cheap quality wood etc. But even buying a book is more expensive and you won't get any practice which is the real thing.

I found a series of video on YouTube, how to fully built HMS Beagle. That is pretty encouraging

welcome aboard mate

excellent job. You are the rope master.

5 hours ago, ccoyle said:

Well, that depends! The first question is, did you read this post here? If you did, you'll note that it isn't impossible for beginners to build kits like the ones you listed, but it is challenging. If you are interested in warships in general, you might wish to consider something with less, i.e. less planking, less guns, and less rigging. Brigs and cutters fit this bill nicely, and there are many great new kits of such vessels now on the market.

 

But -- if you do decide to try one of the kits that you linked to, I would first of all avoid Artesania Latina, mainly because the word on the street is that they have gone out of business, which -- if true -- means that their customer support will be non-existent, should you need it. The choice between OcCre and Model Shipways (MS) largely depends on what you expect from a kit. MS kits generally have far fewer pre-cut elements in them, and a kit like Rattlesnake will assume that the builder has some previous experience. OcCre kits get a lot of positive reviews, and we have reviewed the Beagle kit here at MSW.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

Are these kit complete?Or I need to buy other items for extra detailing, like photo etched parts?

I am looking to buy my first kit, around 70-80cm long .I decided to go for a frigate model which suits my needs and my budget. So i found some nice models online and decided to share it with you. Every suggestion is welcome. 

My best option so far is this

https://hobi.lt/en/hobbies/modelling/occre/occre-ns-mercedes-spanish-frigate-185-scale-wood-model-ship-kit-14007

or this

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/artesania-hermione.html#SID=1786

Do you think these models are suitable for begginers? Or should i look for something simplier, like these

https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/model-shipways-rattlesnake-MS2028.html#SID=60

https://hobi.lt/en/hobbies/modelling/occre/160-occre-hms-beagle-ideal-beginners-scale-model-kit-12005

Also if you have a favourite sellen in EU, you can let me know here or via PM

have a nice day all

7 hours ago, ccoyle said:

It is not, nor ever was, intended to be a scientific poll, but it does show some trend data.

Its kinda confusing to me as the most popular brand in my area here is voted as the worst one.

Maybe I need to order my kit from other European country.

This small ship model looks very impressive. Way better than many big ones I ve seen. Looks like its ready to sail!

Im just a newbie here but i think the poll result is a bit biased as the majority of users are from US, therefore they preffered local brands.🙂

On 7/1/2019 at 3:47 AM, Javlin said:

The one thing that 1/700 offers is smaller Dio's and there are some guys out there doing some eye catching work don't know if I will ever be able to achieve those results.I think one that does that kind of work are artist in some regards for they can see the big picture me not so much I can then I can't.The 1/700 goes together quicker but I need to figure out what those guys are doing rigging which I was fighting with it tonight with stretched sprue and the rigging on any ship makes it pop.I have ordered up some pieces for the 1/700 Ise and will see how it plays out and if I have the eyesight/patience for it.This guy doe some fantastic work that puts you right there.  http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=191192

any tips, material used for making the sea? looks superb

Hi, new member here.

Im into 1/700 kits, i m building a collection of around 100 pieces, half made already , others are in stock as part of my collection.  You can see a part of my stock in the assorted pic.

I am thinking of building a nice wooden kit in the future but i havent decided it yet as seems to be a total different task. So i hope i get some useful tips and infos from the experts on this site

have a nice all.

Michael