Robert Hamlin

Hi, The subject of this posting is the large scale (1:50-1:64) Sergal model of the Great Harry/Henry Grace a Dieu. This example appeared at a local auction house in Dunedin New Zealand. I paid about 45USD for it. As it dates to 1975 or thereabouts I may well be its third or fourth custodian. The photo shows the state that it is in. The box is wrecked, but the kit itself appears to be complete and undamaged, bar the castings and the large colour poster of the completed model, which are entirely missing. I posted some information about this in my new member’s introduction post (Hello from New Zealand). I said that my intention was not to build this large and rare model, but to restore it so that it was capable of surviving in my own (or somebody else’s) stash until it could be built. This build thread is thus a project that will return the kit to as close as is possible to its ‘as sold’ condition. So it’s a bit different. The response by members to this idea on the new member’s page was that the model was more incomplete than I imagined. Maybe it is, so I am going to start by posting a very long series of photos that represent a complete record the kit and its ‘unboxing’. This may serve to see if the dream is real or I am wasting my time. The box was absolutely full and the photos run to 44 images. The two internal parts boxes are shown closed, then open and then their contents item by item. The plank bundles were packed separately with elastic bands. In the photos they have notes next to them indicating plank dimensions and numbers. All comment is thus very welcome. Particularly if any members have any idea what was in the three mysterious (and empty) plastic tubes that came with the model! 44 photos follow:

Hi, Thanks for all the replies. I will start a build log over the weekend and post a full set of unpack photos there and then go to work.

My guess for the tubes is the small super spars flagpoles etc. as these don't seem to be in either mine of Johnnie's model. But somebody may know better. present

Thanks for the comments. I cross referenced this model with Johnnie's very useful (essential in my case) log of the Great Harry before posting this thread, that's why I'm here guys. This one does seem to be all there, bar the castings pack, the poster (Yes [please if you can scan it Johnny) and whatever was in these tubes if the tubes are original - which they may not be. What I have that Johnny does not have is the clear perspex sheet to make the stand out of. The fittings, cut parts, planks/rods and the plans/instructions appear to be all present and correct. The kit has some very minor packing differences to Johnnie's but is otherwise identical. So it is worth restoring. The same can't be said of the Mantua Dutch gunboat that was the next lot in the auction ($5), but I'm going to fix it anyway just to show the World - call me bloody minded... Missing the castings would be fatal for some models (e.g. Royal Caroline). However, in this case the situation is redeemable because: 1) There aren't that many of them, and they are not 'fitted' to the hull. 2) They are not all that big/complex and many can be quite happily (better in some cases) replaced by available generic (Amati etc.) castings. 3) The originals are not of great quality, and some castings (eg the sheer hooks and grapnel) would be better fabricated anyway 4) Nobody knows exactly what was there, so we can indulge in a bit of artistic license (which will be recorded on a dedicated plans sheet with the new set when the kit is complete). In my view the originals are a bit 'rococo' and I suspect they are sourced from another model. I will take detailed shots of everything when I post the build log.

Hi, I am coming into this from a long career of fiddling with all sorts of things including models of all types. I am now approaching retirement and am in what my brother terms a STABLE condition (Stuff Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy). I think its fair to say that many modellers have a stash that they do not really own....they are merely its custodian until the whole lot is released into the market again, and acquired by the next generation of optimistic custodians. The local auctioneer is familiar with this syndrome and claims that he rarely sells stuff, he merely rents it out for a few years and then back it comes again. It was at this auction house that the item that is the subject of this posting appeared. This is the large scale (1:50-1:64) Sergal model of the Great Harry/Henry Grace a Dieu. As it dates to 1975 or thereabouts I may well be its third or fourth custodian. The photo shows the state that it is in. The kits itself is complete and undamaged, bar the castings which are entirely missing. I paid about 45USD for it. However, the photo shows that it is in critical condition as the box is compromised with bits falling out of it. Parts of the model were scattered around the auction house floor, behind the cupboard where it was displayed and in the store area and a search recovered all of them, bar those elusive castings and the presumed contents of three mysterious empty tubes (These are pictured - any ideas?). This is both an impressive and rare model (production <100). The photo below of the full scale plans with the one foot ruler show the scale of it. As this is a waterline drawing the hull goes down perhaps another four inches. But it has no future in its current state, and I currently have no time to build it immediately. Such models can be 'reboxed' in cardboard banana boxes and the like, but my experience is that their prospects of survival remain grim. This is a pity, as it's an impressive model of a rare subject. I would think that if the production run of fifty years ago was under a hundred we may be looking at a global population of viable examples of maybe ten or less. Its size is its downfall, the thing is simply too big, heavy (10Kg+) and 'stuffed' for the structural strength of the box that it is in. Thus, wearing my custodian's hat, I intend not to build this model and make a log of it, but to restore it to its as manufactured condition (with a box that is visually identical but much stronger) and log that process here. In this case that means replacing all the boxes, interior packaging and castings with reproductions. As a package design specialist I have the graphic and prototyping facilities to do this and I have already done it many times. The photos below shows a restored Mantua 'Astrolabe' that was literally a pile of cardboard rags and a scatter of parts in several separate locations when acquired for USD10. It has now been restored to 'as sold' condition, and added to the custodial stash. If I do one a year when I retire, I'll be 147 when I'm finished - Do your own math! Rob