chris watton

The problem is, Vane, that if I made the larger models less detailed to try and maintain the same amount of materials (and used lesser materials, too) and cutting times I use for the smaller ones, then the kits would be absolutely no different from other kits of similar size from other larger manufacturers. Anyway, adding less to larger kits isn't what I am about, the price will be whatever the price will be. I develop how I would want my own kit to be, and then work out the price. I have now developed 11 kits, the largest being Sphinx up to now. Indefatigable is my 12th development , so it's not like I have jumped off the deep end immediately. This is my third year. The 'HMS Fly size' kits will come after Indy - a little smaller than Sphinx, but noticeably larger than Speedy.

Thank you! Mid to late 18th Century is my favourite period for ships, with the 1770's being the sweet spot for form and function. Amazon Class 32's and Swan Class sloops being perfect examples.

I have made them in a slightly different way, but not too different to how I normally do them - but yes, the door can be left open to allow light to filter through.

It is all dependant on sales. If Indy is successful, then of course, I have quite a list of what I want to do. After Indy, there will be a couple of medium size kits developed (in size, between Speedy and Sphinx), plus Bristol. Eventually the 'Flagship' is to be a First Rate, Royal George of 1756 - but again, all dependent on how things go, as this will be a two year development at least. I do have a 38 earmarked, two, in fact (one is of Spanish origin) , but I will do a 36 (Phoebe Class) before then, as a 36 hasn't been done in kit form yet, as far as I know. I very nearly decided to go for the 36 before Indy, but the latter just pipped it at the post. But right now, and for most of the rest of the year, I shall be concentrating on Indy.

Looking good Glenn - but you may want to relocate some of those chainplates. As a rule, the should follow the same angle as the shrouds they secure.

I have said before, I am always tempted to do Caledonia, a 120 gun First Rate, just to see the expression on my wife's face as the hull is built!

I think the build time for this kit will be an average of around 2 years, with the end result being a very nice scale model of one of the most famous of frigates. A lot has changed since starting the designs, and a lot of areas have been 'upgraded'. For example, the forecastle and quarterdeck beams were originally in 6mm MDF (as I initially never intended to have the open decks option), and for the kit, they will be 6mm thick pear. There will be many 3-d printed parts, but only where they benefit the overall appearance of the completed model. The belfry for example, is a one piece print, with only the wooden bell cross beam and brass bell being separate. Anchors were originally done in MDF, but are now 3-d printed parts. Cannon are correct in scale and shape, and not 'about right, give or take..' - and the quarter galleries have simple seats of ease! Today I changed the poop arrangement slightly. As I moved the skylight back so that it is now over the great cabin, I saw no reason not to add mizzen bitts and belaying cross rail, so I did, and deleted the belaying rails that were on the poop barricades. Also, I deleted the coamings for the Top Tackle and Pump Scuttles, and moved the gratings to the 0.8mm pear sheet - as I realised these never had raised coamings. Tomorrow I shall start on the various cleats for the bulwarks and decks, and then move onto the bow area. Once this is done, I need to number everything up, make a parts list, and start cutting for Jim. After this, I will carry on with all the PE and work out a figurehead and the modest stern décor for the Indy. I don't think this Indy will look very much like the one on the TV series...

This is always the risk when 'pushing the boat out' with kits, especially the larger ones. They cost a hell of a lot to develop in time, energy and materials. However, this will not be released for another 6-8 months at least. Hate to think of what the final kit box weight is..

Very nice, Tankerman! Aggy is one subject I may revisit at some point, I already have the full bulkhead line drawings for the 2 decker Indy when designing the razee.

Cheers both! I hope so, too, I have wanted to do this one since Agamemnon, 23 years ago, so want to do the subject the justice it deserves.

I have never designed a model ship kit without mast and rig. Indy is no exception - I did mention just a couple of posts up that mast stays will have BenD's rope.

yeah - Illustrates the world of difference between Post Ship and a Super Frigate! (Indy being around 15 feet longer along the gun deck than standard 38's of her day) Am sure it has been mentioned elsewhere, but I will be included some of BenD's excellent rope in the Indy kit, most notably the anchor hawse and the larger diameter mast stays. Also forgot to mention, the stern name and depth markings are waterslide decals this time. Name being yellow ochre and depth markings are in white - there will be two sets for each kit (and already have them here with me), as I know mistakes can happen when applying.

Well, relatively, yes, very rough. It has been built just to check parts - planking took almost a week, but I needed to plank it full to check all designed parts. One thing, as I mentioned, there will be quite a few changes for the production prototype that Jim will have. Nothing major, more refinements. For example, the waist rail will be in two layers of strip, not one as shown, and as already mentioned, the poop skylight. All hull detail above upper deck level is pre cut. The poop barricade is my idea, and I have integrated belaying racks either side, in lieu of the missing mizzen bitts. The flag lockers at the stern will be populated with PE parts (square compartments). For the quarter gallery tile effect, I have opted for laser cut black card. I think they are much easier to apply than PE parts, using PVA wood glue, and look better too. I was not 100% sure about the poop step gangways, should I keep them, or have the steps directly attached to the poop? problem is, if I do that, the steps are very close to a 42 pounder, so kept with the platforms. As Indefatigable was stationed in home waters at the beginning of her career, I do wonder if she would have had all of the latest 'innovations' early on, like quarter davits. Bet she did... Anyway, still a lot to do. I will send Jim the production parts in the next couple of weeks, once I have nailed the bow area.

Forgot to add my initial side profile I did before I started designs.. The production model will be shown with coppered bottom, and fully painted sides in black and yellow ochre (The figurehead is from Vanguard, and used as a placeholder until I get her own made)

OK, little update. Designs for Indefatigable are now about 85% complete. The pictures shown are of the pre-prototype, so looks very rough as usual, as many parts have been glued, ripped off and new parts added in place - and is built for part checking only (just like Sphinx). There are still a few mistakes on this prototype model, so does not entirely reflect the final designs. I have also included a drawing I did of the basic outline of what I think Indy would have looked like during most of her career. The only concession I have made is keeping the forecastle timberheads, rather than berthing up this area, with the decision based purely on aesthetics (plus the plans show this anyway. What I did change is the quarter bulwarks. I know she had 7 gun ports per side and three (with spare chase port) at the bow, so the 7th port had to be worked in, and this meant altering the bulwarks to the same height. I have placed the additional 12 pounder long chase guns right at the front, as I could not see Pellew being chased, more the chaser... I have tried to keep the poop profile as low as I can. Pellew didn't even want the poop at all, and would have been happy to have his cabin on the main gun deck and Indy fitted with sloop like quarter badges (would have looked odd..). With this in mind, I have kept the poop profile to a minimum, as I am sure Pellew would not have requested anything that would have increased windage. I will add 'iron stanchions' to this area, and that's it. I have the bow area to design, which will be the last of the main areas, and then I need to do all the photo etched parts. (Oh, and of course, a figurehead and stern decoration - which will be minimal). For the first time, I decided to go with laser cut and engraved columns for in between all lights/windows, and I am very happy with how they turned out. Channels are made by laminating three patterns together, a wider and thicker centre and not so wide and thinner top and bottom. You will be able to build this without the open slots in the decks if you so wish, they are not mandatory. The stand is 4mm acetate and a 2mm duel colour engraved nameplate. ETA - Forgot to mention, I have moved the poop skylight back by 3 beams, as I realised it was too close the edge of the poop, so it is now over the great cabin, and not in the position shown.

Yep. I remember when in my 20's, and working at a foundry 5-7 days per week, I saved up a part of my weekly wage for 4 months in order to buy the Sovereign of the Seas, which I guess would be near the equivalent of £1000 today. As that took me two years to build in my spare time, I figure it was still a bargain, compared to a lot of other hobbies.

Fly was designed almost two decades ago, so quite old school. You do not need to chisel in a rabbet for my newer kits.

Nicely done!

My wife just posted a packet of fine brass pins to a customer in the US, and the exact postage cost was £4.20. Not every company inflate postage charges to customers. In fact, due to a bug in the UPS live module we use, we have supplemented the shipping of every Sphinx kit to the US by at least £5 - so not everyone is 'out to get ya'.

OK, I now have the Saucy Jack kit available, as my boxes just arrived, and those were the only thing I was waiting for (apart from premium sail sets) Saucy Jack – Barking Well-Smack – VANGUARD MODELS All kits with optional sail sets now have a sail set included, with the premium sails as an optional extra. I am including the 'standard' sail sets at no extra cost, as the quality is not what I expected and do not expect my customers to spend a Penny on them. This has been a disappointing lesson for me - sail sets made by the same people who produce for other manufacturers do not 'gel' with the overall quality of the kits I offer. The 'premium' sail sets are produced my Master-Korabel of Russia, and I was expecting a full shipment of all sail sets for all kits that have them. Unfortunately, yesterday, I only received sets for the Fifie and Zulu, and not Nisha, Erycina and Saucy Jack. I am OK for Nisha and Erycina for now, but would have liked the Saucy Jack sails available for the release of the kit, today. I am currently awaiting an ETA for these, but they are being produced and they will be available in the next few weeks. The picture shows the model with the premium sails. I have two sample sets made and sent when developing these kits, and then order the production quantities soon after. These were ordered in February, so under normal circumstances, I would have had these available as stock already.

For clarification about lines, it should be mentioned that I used the line drawings for Ranger, and not Saucy Jack, for the designs. I did not 'stretch' the lines of Saucy Jack to produce this - the plans I worked from are completely separate...

I must be honest, I am not sure what's tripping you up here. The pendants are shown clearly on Rigging Plan 1, and there is even some text that reads 'Add pendants of tackles first: 2 per side for fore and main mast and 1 per side for mizzen mast and all topmasts'

According to Robert Gardiner's Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars, Indy (and the other two razee's converted at the same time) had the quarterdeck and forecastle removed, and transforming the old upper gun deck into a frigate style quarterdeck with gangways. But because the great cabin was at this same level, a poop was needed, and the position of the stern and quarter galleries betrayed their origins as a two decker. She must have looked very distinctive when compared to standard frigates in her squadrons, with her oddly positioned stern and quarter lights and of course, being on average around 15 feet longer than a standard 36 and 38, and the full mast and spar plan as a standard 64 (although with the main mast cut down to compensate for the one missing deck). So Indy does have a certain 'Beefy' look about her.

When I have completed most of the hull on my test bed model, I will show it on here and explain my decisions regarding the choices I have made