chris watton

I wasn't going to do it just yet, it was way further down the list, but Mary Montagu-Scott, the Trustee of Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust, convinced me, so I will have their logo on the kit box too. They are currently excavating the building slip where the Agamemnon was built, and she has big plans for the future of this historical site.

Not all all! In fact, I am always filled with self doubt, wondering if I have done the right thing/gone too far and wondering if each new release will sell. I don't take anything for granted. I just strive to do my best, utilising the knowledge I have accumulated over the decades, and designing the kits in a way that if I were buying it, I would be more than happy with it. The only issue for me is the fact that these complex kits take a very long time to produce due to the sheer amount of cut/engraved parts. But if people enjoy the kits, for me, it is all worth it, as a kit should be a joy to build, not a chore. I don't really know much about this Surprise. My time there seems like many lifetimes ago, and that Surprise is well after my time there. (I was there from 1994 until late 2001, with the Nelson's Navy range starting in 1998 with Diana). Surprise is definitely the largest kit I can do that has no planking at all from the top of the main wale position up, above this, everything is laser cut/engraved - no cutting out the gun ports. For this kit, I have had to order some very expensive pear sheets, 0.8x150x800mm, for the inner and outer bulwarks. As there are no fenders, the parts are full length as there is nothing along the sides to break this up. I think I have another 2 months’ work on Surprise (CAD plans etc. plus I am still waiting for a couple of final things like stern lantern and Aubrey and Maturin) and in the meantime, start production and after this, make a start on Agamemnon, a subject I always meant to revisit and do it full justice. (I hope)

Of course!

The chimney is posable as it is a push fit, you can rotate it however you wish

Yes, the bracket for the 18-Pounder carronades is fixed/pinned to the sill. In the final kit, the middle bulwark patterns will have a small slot at the centre of each lower sill position to take the pin to secure the bracket, with he bracket itself being cut from PolyBak.

My copy isn't arriving until 14th September!

OK, I have now completed what I need to for the designs. The 'mule' is finished, no need to garner any more info from it - and here she is. No varnish, paint and much abused, Jim's model will have much more finesse (and colour). I knew I was close to the finishing line (designs) for this, so I was up most of the night, and then all of today to complete it - now I can relax a little before starting the CAD drawings for plans..

I already have two options - one for the 32 pounder carronades on the main gun deck, and the standard, which will have 24x9-pounder long guns.

I did look for for any evidence a French ship like Unite had them, but found none, so no, no lodging knees. Hanging knees, though. As I am not sure, I was inclined not to include.

All of the range have proper rigging. The term 'Simplified' only refers to the omission of most of the sail related running rigging, like sheets, tacks, clews and bowlines. Rigging directly associated with the spars is always included (lifts, braces, jeers etc.) - and always full standing rigging (shrouds, ratlines, stays etc.). The kits that have 'full rig' (including at least sheets, tacks and clews) are Alert, Speedy, Flirt, the 6 fishing vessels, but have very simple rig anyway, and sail options, Trial, Sphinx, Harpy and of course, Indy. The remainder omits most of the sail related rig (Duchess of Kingston, Grecian, Sherbourne and Adder). However, the extra rig is very easy to add if you wish.

Thank you! The version that Jim will have will be much more refined, the V frames and rails took an age to prefect, and that pic is the result of 4 previous versions that were added, ripped off, copy/paste. For the 5 V frames, I will include as standard 2 full sets on 2mm pear, and a set on 2mm MDF. I do this because the edges and notches for the rails do need bevelling, so perhaps having a set or two to practise on will help. No PE decoration on this one, as I find the PolyBak or thin pear much better, and looks a lot more ‘natural’. I find PE is still better to use for window frames at this scale, however. I have tried to limit the PE to mostly ‘Ironwork’, parts that would have been in some sort of metal in real life – or some parts simply because they would be far too fragile in any other material. Here is a pic of the starboard quarter gallery, just after I added the ‘shingles’ I will now spend the next week or so adding the parts I have already designed to the hull, and then send Jim the remaining laser cut parts, so he will have the full kit. One last decision will be how the stern davits are secured - not 100% sure yet....

Today I received this render of a work in progress for my Aubrey/Maturin scene for my Surprise kit. Here is Maturin, I was asked if this is OK... Also today marks the end of heavy designing for Surprise, with the finalising of the bow area, designs are now more or less complete! Thought I'd never finish them!

You would not believe the amount of emails I get from people asking why is the Alert (and Trial) more expensive than the Sherbourne, after all, they say, they are all cutters!

I too have a lot of the Ancre books/monographs, even the French language only ones!

I have a kind of addiction, and it is buying these plans, at times for no other reason than to stare and admire the lines of them for hours on end. I find them fascinating. This is one of my latest, it is a particularly beautiful 48th scale plan of the San Josef of 112 guns (reputed to once belong to Emma Hamilton) – and damn do those headrails look nice and simple to transfer into a kit version! In the same tube, I also had an even bigger plan of Caledonia (120 – but rounded upper bow, so probably never do that one), and 2 for the old Roebuck Class 44 gun 2-deckers. Not sure if I shall ever use them, but I would like display all of them one day, if I can ever sell my house and move to somewhere that has the room in my workshop…

Polybak, (laser etched) same as I use for Indy. Better than using PE.

And as of right now, this is the state of it, where I am up to - stern parts will be completed by the end of tomorrow (designs/laser cut finals) and then I move onto the head rails... The bow area where the cathead will go will look a lot neater on Jims....

Spent today working on the fictional stern parts - bits added, ripped off and added again, so this is not a reflection on the completed model....

You do realise the pictures taken were with a macro lens, and these names are just a few mm long? We do have a US distributor, AgesofSail.

I had the Spit Fire pic as one of my references! I did originally have the text exactly like in the picture, but was told to change the font as the printing they use would not be able to print something so thin onto the decal sheet. Originally, every name had a slightly different look and line thickness, to simulate the styles written by different hands - but in the end had to change them. Took an age, too.

My usual rule of thumb is this – Any warship pre 1800, I will always insist of red inner bulwarks and carriages unless I have strong evidence to the contrary. After this date, I feel I can be a little ‘looser’ with the options, using off-white, ochre or green, depending on date and type of vessel. As you mention, Surprise is being depicted (for the prototype at least) to those later dates, so colour scheme is a little more flexible. But again, it will always be up to the modeller what they want to do – they are furnished with options. Oh, meant to ask - what colours were the cutters, was it a red one and green one, or red and blue, I cannot remember!

There is quite a lot of Information out there that suggests ochre for inner bulwarks and carriages for the early 1800's. My main source for this particular kit is the book The Frigate Surprise, by Brian Lavery and Geoff Hunt. Victory inner bulwarks and carriages are also yellow ochre, and she is depicted as per the exact same time frame as Surprise. But, as always, the colour scheme is never gospel, no one will insist the modeller uses the colours we suggest you can paint them red, yellow, even green or pink if you wish! Conversely, how do we know definitely they were painted red, or at all? ETA - The reason I did the carriage names in both white and black is to give the modeller the choice of how they wish to paint them, red for the white decals, lighter colours like ochre use the black.

Very nice indeed, very well done!

Considering this is your first build, your model looks amazing!