HMS Surprise 1796 (prototype) by James H - Vanguard Models - 1:64

[James H]

1: 64 HMS Surprise prototype build - Vanguard Models

Before we can tuck into a plate of 'eggs 'n bacon' next year, we have the not very small matter of HMS Surprise to attend to. We believe this kit will make many, many folk very happy indeed! There's been so much interest in this that it was about time we saw it released in typical VM style. This is the build which will feature in the instruction manual and here you'll see mostly images that will appear there, plus maybe a few other less polished photos which show the clutter that I really surround myself in!

 

Here's an in-progress profile that Chris is currently working on, of Surprise. This will feature in the plans, along with a whole ton of extra folding paper for you to study.

 

 

This extremely heavy box arrived about an hour ago. This isn't the complete kit either, but there are two sets of everything to build the hull up to and including planking. Chris has used an Indy box to ship this in, so those of you who've built Indy, will recognise this behemoth of a packing box. So far weighing in at around 12kg.

 

A statement? A fact?

Definitely one of those.

 

I'll shortly be digging through all of the contents and doing a few iPhone photos for this build log.

...coming very soon 🤪

 

 

 

[Ronald-V]

Will be nice to see this one come alive!

Edited Monday at 01:13 PM by Ronald-V

[James H]

1 minute ago, Ronald-V said:

Will be fun to see this one come alive!

I'm just this minute sifting through the sheets and splitting off the duplicates. 

 

Surprise will be just beautiful. The etched gun deck gives a good idea of relatively narrow she was. 

[limsm2]

The photos will be up soon, right? How long do I have to wait? I can’t wait to see them.🥰

[RVB]

Me Neither!!!!

[RVB]

I can’t wait to follow the complete build. May your waters be calm

 and sailing fast!!!!

 Best RVB

 

[James H]

Ok, here are the parts sheets. I've not gone to town on these too much as they won't be used in the manual. These are just to satisfy everyone's curiosity. 

 

[James H]

 

I've not photographed the planks or dowels. You'll all know what those will look like. 😉

[chris watton]

Jim hasn't got all the parts yet, as I am yet to complete designs for the upper works (inner bulkheads etc.). I asked my wife to add all the furniture, so Jim can see what will work best, there will be some laser cut parts for these too, like on Indy.

[glbarlow]

Been waiting for this ever since Caldercraft showed a prototype they never finished years and years ago. Let’s go! 
 

Hoping that’s a spare rudder and stem another something made from two layers?  Those gun carriage sure make use of available space:-)

[Freebird]

James, beautiful ship! Just one question - what's the length of the hull without the bowsprit? TIA!

 

Best Regards .... Rick

[James H]

5 hours ago, glbarlow said:

Been waiting for this ever since Caldercraft showed a prototype they never finished years and years ago. Let’s go! 
 

Hoping that’s a spare rudder and stem another something made from two layers?  Those gun carriage sure make use of available space:-)

This kit will have a modern design and not legacy.

 

You might notice that there are two sterns included in the kit, depicting the real Surprise and the one from the books/movie. I'm sure @chris watton will be able to explain better. The parts also show BOTH cannon and carronade options, but I believe the cannon is the one to be included in the kit, and the carronade will be an option to purchase separately. 

 

Thin copper PE can be contentious at the moment, but the supply of it seems to be getting a little easier. You'll see that I have a PE plating set for the hull, with shaped parts for the rudder. Note the copper rudder hinges and horseshoe and fishplate parts, instead of these being in brass. Decals are included for the name and depth marks, plus names for the gun carts too

 

I have a nice choice of furniture for the cabin. I'll choose what looks best on layout, along with what Chris may supply in wooden form too. I might see if I can sneak a glimpse of that area from the film and base the layout on that.

 

Two sets of polybak parts are supplied to me for the stern and bow rail details. One is in ivory and one in natural. This is so I can work out which is most suitable and looks best for the model. The real difference is a slight thickness in the sheets. the colour is irrelevant as they'll be painted anyway. You'll also see the euphroe parts on there too instead of PE.

 

Other differences in this kit are the gorgeous little 3D printed hand pumps, and 0.2mm windows for the bulkhead screens and stern/quarters, so the windows and PE sandwiches will nicely fit into the timber. They also have a much more realistic clarity than the thicker acrylic sheets.

 

On this kit, the mast tops are made in three layers, adding a little extra realism to the completed assemblies. There will also be toggle detail for the connecting rigging blocks on the underside.

 

 

As Chris said, this isn't the complete kit yet, and it's quite unusual that I have this at a stage where he hasn't even completed the second planking layer on his own prototype. I have less than 2 weeks before I go on holiday, so I'm seeing if I can get a few bits done before then. 

 

 

3 hours ago, Freebird said:

James, beautiful ship! Just one question - what's the length of the hull without the bowsprit? TIA!

 

Best Regards .... Rick

The hull is 725mm long. 
Overall length is 1175mm. Height is 745mm and width is 350mm.

 

[chris watton]

I decided on including two stern options because the original is bereft of any decoration, not even pillars in between the windows - and I knew some would question this, after watching the film. (I agonised over this for weeks...)

 

So, as standard, the stern is slightly reworked to include pillars in between the windows, and also the shape of the windows have been given a little more 'flare' towards the ends. The reworked stern also has windows that can be posed open, as per the Indy. I have also worked both sterns so you can have the stern chaser ports open and a 6-Pounder in place if you so wish.

ETA:

Here are the profiles for Sphinx and Surprise. The Sphinx would look more like the film Surprise (which is based on HMS Rose, a 20 gun mid-18th Century ship, and exactly the same size as Sphinx). You can see the real Surprise was quite a bit longer, being 126 feet along the main deck.

Edited yesterday at 09:46 AM by chris watton

[TJM]

I am sure this will be a magnificent kit, can't wait to see the build here! Just the part shots above is enough to show that this will be great!

Edited yesterday at 02:32 PM by TJM

[Vane]

Good luck with the build!

[Seth Johnson]

Super excited to watch this build. I really appreciate that @chris watton shares so much insight on the development and prototyping process of his kits.

[Freebird]

12 minutes ago, Seth Johnson said:

The hull is 725mm long. 
Overall length is 1175mm. Height is 745mm and width is 350mm.

James, thank you for the info, much appreciated!

 

Best Regards .... Rick

[Timmo]

Lovely. Just needs a 3d printed violin and cello to go with the cabin furniture for the captain and surgeon's leisure hours.  

[Jase]

Decals for the cannon names?  Intresting Chris has gone for Decals for depth markers also.  It will be nice if the long table fits the cabin for those wanting to emulate the film.  Looking forward to getting my hands on this, following the prototype build with intrests.

[James H]

20 minutes ago, Jase said:

Decals for the cannon names?  Intresting Chris has gone for Decals for depth markers also.  It will be nice if the long table fits the cabin for those wanting to emulate the film.  Looking forward to getting my hands on this, following the prototype build with intrests.

Decals were used for the depth markers on Indy too. They are nice and easy to apply to the copper when it's been sealed with some gloss varnish. The same applies to the stern for the ship's name. 

 

I'll do a few furniture variations in the build log. Maybe for those who know the film well, I'll get a consensus of best iteration 😁

[Jase]

1 hour ago, James H said:

Decals were used for the depth markers on Indy too. They are nice and easy to apply to the copper when it's been sealed with some gloss varnish. The same applies to the stern for the ship's name. 

 

I'll do a few furniture variations in the build log. Maybe for those who know the film well, I'll get a consensus of best iteration 😁

I had forgotten decals were in my Indi kit.  I do agree with the comment on adding musical instruments to the furniture.  Enjoy the build James.

[chris watton]

If decals are used in a kit, I will always put the depth markings on that. You will also have double the amount required, so if you make a mistake, you can try again - and you have 4 stern names, with one required, so you can use a couple to practise on.

 

No 0.8mm ply for the decks in this kit design for the first time ever!

[James H]

5 minutes ago, chris watton said:

If decals are used in a kit, I will always put the depth markings on that. You will also have double the amount required, so if you make a mistake, you can try again - and you have 4 stern names, with one required, so you can use a couple to practise on.

 

No 0.8mm ply for the decks in this kit design for the first time ever!

 

As you'll see, the lack of the ply under-deck and the subsequent fitting of the actual deck, will be a breeze. 

[chris watton]

I just removed the masking tape after adding the second planking to my 'pre-prototype mule' (planking took a day and sanding half an hour, but I used tang). Again, I must stress that this is very rushed, so apologies...

 

 

[James H]

Time for an update.

 

Apart from making the cradle, work starts on both the bow and stern assemblies, as these will need to be installed to the keel very early in construction. The format you see here will surely be quite familiar. 

 

All parts are beveled using my Dremel (nice and cordless now, too!). Lines are included for a gauge, with the parts being finally shaped during hull fairing. 

 

 

The stern is built up in the same way and the parts are cleaned up with some regular hand sanding. The tape on the stern is there to protect the infill piece from twisting out whilst being handled and sanded.

 

The bow assembly is now slotted to the keel. There is NO glue at this stage, and for quite a few more. Early construction is all dry fitted. This makes sure that the complex shapes all slot properly and the user doesn't introduce any twist into the hull. If you have a problem, you simply roll back the sequences and re-fit the parts. 

 

Bulkhead #2 is also bevelled and slotted to the keel, as are bulkheads #3 thru #8.

 

The hull is now spun around and bulkheads #9 thru #14 are also dry fitted.

Lastly, bulkhead #15 is fitted. Make sure you fully push this one home as there's a little more resistance here, but not too much.

 

 

More later.

[glbarlow]

On 8/5/2025 at 1:20 AM, James H said:

This kit will have a modern design and not legacy.

Not sure what that means, so are the rudder and stem two halves glued together or a solid piece?

[James H]

10 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Not sure what that means, so are the rudder and stem two halves glued together or a solid piece?

Legacy is referring to general construction of POB model kits. Instead of ply sides with gun ports lasered in, the ports are actually framed into the hull, like was done with Indy and Sphinx. The rudder and stem are typical of the last VM releases. Take a look at those and that's what you'll see here.

 

No ply at all in this kit.

[limsm2]

2 hours ago, chris watton said:

I just removed the masking tape after adding the second planking to my 'pre-prototype mule' (planking took a day and sanding half an hour, but I used tang). Again, I must stress that this is very rushed, so apologies...

 

 

Does “tang” in I used tang refer to Tanganyika, or does it have some other meaning that I’m not aware of?

 

Also, the deck beams look quite thick—what could be the reason for that?

[James H]

1 minute ago, limsm2 said:

Does “tang” in I used tang refer to Tanganyika, or does it have some other meaning that I’m not aware of?

 

Also, the deck beams look quite thick—what could be the reason for that?

 

Tang is indeed Tanganyika. Those beams are actually jigs that keep the sides the correct width apart whilst planking, and protecting the construction.

[chris watton]

15 minutes ago, glbarlow said:

Not sure what that means, so are the rudder and stem two halves glued together or a solid piece?

The keel, prow, stern post and rudder are made from three separate parts each, a 3mm pear inner, and then clad in 1mm pear each side, which also has laser engraved detail. For the keel, stern and prow, these outer patterns have the rabbet for the second planking.