Greenwich Hospital barge of 1832 by druxey - FINISHED - 1:48 scale

[Jack12477]

Wow ! Incredible detail in such a tiny badge.

[michael mott]

Lovely work Druxey.

 

Michael

[iMack]

beautiful work. has a very elegant design to it and your work and craftsmanship does it complete justice bringing it to life. 

[uss frolick]

Quite lovely! Well done!

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Great work Druxey,

 

Did you take a picture from the barge; front front and under to see how how thin it is?

[Louie da fly]

Thought this might be of interest. As far as I know, it's a contemporary picture of Nelson's funeral procession down the Thames. Not very accurate representations of the barges, but it might contain some useful details, and a bit of an insight into the spectacle on the river. You can see what I think must be the barge carrying The Body on the far left, draped in a Union Jack.

 

[edit] No, I think I'm wrong - it's the one bottom centre with the crown on top of the canopy and another on top of the coffin. I think I can see Hornblower at the tiller, too . . .

 

Unfortunately I don't know where it came from. It's in an old book on Nelson, and is unattributed.

 

(Sorry about the fold in the middle).

 

Steven

Edited April 23, 2016 by Louie da fly

[druxey]

Steven: That is a rather naive engraving of the procession, of which many different images were published at the time. The date of this was January 8. 1806. It must have been a cold, miserable day for this. The canopied, ostrich-plumed barge, (lower centre) is the one carrying Nelson's coffin.

 

A more sophisticated and perhaps accurate version of this scene at Greenwich as the cortege departs is also in the RMG Collection (PAH 7324)

[Louie da fly]

Druxey,

 

I agree - your version is far more informative and I believe gets across what a truly miserable day it must have been. There are similarities, but quite significant differences as well. I find the sterns of the barges absolutely fascinating. Without a real-world example to compare them to, it would be hard to believe these were accurate representations of actual vessels. What conceivable purpose would a stern like that serve?

 

Steven

[cog]

Steven,

 

Did you ever take a look at the stern of the Royal Barge ...? (e.g. http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2012/05/29/the-queens-jubilee-royal-barge-gloriana )

[druxey]

Steven: the ornamental work and stern were simply symbols of affluence and power. Practically, they were of no use whatsoever, other than providing windage!

 

Some further progress on the ornamental brackets. They are glued to a scrap base and the first sides carved. They will then be detached, turned over, and the other sides completed. As you can see, they are rather small and fiddly things to produce.

[mobbsie]

What your turning out here Druxey is a damn good representation of a ceremonial barge.

 

Superb work on the stern mate.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[Mahuna]

Very nice small work, Druxey.  I imagine any sanding is done very carefully.

[druxey]

Thanks again for looking in and all the positive comments.

 

Mahuna: I try to avoid sanding carved work whenever possible. If a smooth surface is required, I scrape it.

 

The scrolls are completed and the brackets installed and gilded. All that are left now are two ensigns and twelve sweeps! I'm still undecided as to how to display the latter. I could bundle them and lay them the thwarts, display them 'tossed' (upright) or in their tholes spread out on both sides. Decisions, decisions....

[Gerhardvienna]

Hi druxey

 

 this is unbelievable, AGAIN!!!

All that fine carved stuff, much too much for my clumsy hands................

 

Regards

Gerhard

[jbshan]

The day of Nelson's funeral was indeed cold and blustery.  The wind was against, the tide was against and the Puissant High Mucky-te-muck was fussing. The funerary barge additionally was smashed against the pier and was leaking.  The relieving oarsmen, who were hiding inside the cabin, had to bail out between Hornblower's legs.  To keep track of the time, he tied his watch to the handle of the coffin, just in front of him, and had to retrieve it from Westminster.

If I've misstated any of those facts, the full story is in 'Atropos'.

 

Oh, and really nice work, druxey.  What can you use for the ostrich plumes?

[druxey]

Thanks yet again, everyone. 

 

Now for the repetitive part; twelve sweeps. These were 19 ' 0" long. The blanks have been cut and roughed out using a mill. The first - my prototype - has been shaped. There will still be details to add such as the reinforcing strap at the end of the blade and the leather at the thole. These sweeps would be relatively simple to make, but for the curved blade.

[dvm27]

Lovely oar Druxey. Quite a dilemma with regards to displaying the full set. I vote for bundling them up and laying them inside the hull. To me, the other two options obscure the fine lines of the hull. We should start an MSW poll ( to coincide with our current obsession with polls). 

[BANYAN]

Agree, too many oars outboard would distract I think; either bundled or standing upright but the latter would not be realistic?

 

cheers

 

Pat

Edited April 26, 2016 by BANYAN

[mtaylor]

The method of displaying the oars is problem I wouldn't want to face.  Standing upright looks impressive but it hides details and masting.  Bundled, seems kinda' of waste of all the work on the oars.  Having them in rowing position would require a larger base and again, hides the lines.

 

Maybe a couple in rowing position or standing up and the rest displayed on the base?  I would think the oars were not stored in the barge but near it?

[wefalck]

Yes, having them alongside the boat on some blocks or trestles sounds a good idea.

[michael mott]

 

standing up and the rest displayed on the base?  I would think the oars were not stored in the barge but near it?

 

Yes, having them alongside the boat on some blocks or trestles sounds a good idea.

I think that both of these thoughts are worth considering.

 

I seem to recall a number of models that had spars and the like displayed alongside and carefully arranged to compliment the overall presentation, bundling them just feels a little coarse given the exquisite nature of the model. If the model is to be cased then depending on the size of the case,  the display base could  sit inside the cover centered in a more simple flat base inside the glass then perhaps a single set of oars as you have shown, with the rest appropriately set up alongside.

If the case were not to be wide enough then perhaps a fine drawing similar to the original rendering showing the oars in situ next to the oars on blocks.

 

Oh its mush too complex a decision.  You will figure it out I'm sure.

 

Michael   

[druxey]

Thanks for all your ideas and opinions on displaying the sweeps. I really appreciate your varied thoughts on this. At the moment, I'm tending towards mounting the sweeps in racks on the baseboard, six each side. However, the jury is still out... and I've a bundle of sweeps yet to complete!

[modelshipwright]

Whatever your decision, it will be a very nice presentation.

 

Bill

[ccoyle]

Diorama, maybe?   Oarsmen in full regalia, William IV comfortably ensconced on a cushion ...

[tlevine]

Druxey, your work is an inspiration to us all.  Mounting the sweeps on the baseboard is a reasonable solution.  But it would also be interesting to have a few sweeps mounted to add "action" to the model.

[paulsutcliffe]

just to be awkward I think displaying them tossed would look fantastic and as they would have been while waiting at the quayside

[druxey]

Breaking news!

 

I am pleased to announce that SeaWatchBooks will publish a book on the construction of open boats. The clinker planked example will be the Hospital barge, and the book will also cover construction of a carvel planked open boat. Now all I have to do is write it....

[Jim Lad]

Druxey,

 

The barge is a little jewell.  My personal view is that a bundle of sweeps 'dumped' across the thwarts would simply look cluttered and would also hide a lot of internal detail.  If she were mine, I think I'd go for either tossed or on racks beside the boat - probably on racks.

 

John

[mobbsie]

Druxey, she is a little gem mate.

 

For me, a display on the base would look look really good.

 

Stick me down for a copy, a book like that would be invaluable.

 

mobbsie

[gjdale]

Exquisite work Druxey. I like the rack/baseboard display idea, but tossed would also be impressive. Sign me up for a copy of the book!