kit review 1:48 La Renommée 1744 - CAF Model

[James H]

1:48 La Renommée 1744
CAF Model
Kit available in chapters - check site for prices (complete kit around $2500USD as time of writing)

 

 

History

La Renommée was a French frigate launched in 1744 at Brest during the War of the Austrian Succession, at a time when France was refining the fast, lightly built frigate type that would soon dominate naval scouting and commerce warfare. Designed according to contemporary French principles emphasizing speed, maneuverability, and efficient firepower, she carried roughly 30–40 guns (depending on source and period) and was considered a capable and well-sailing ship. In 1747, while en route from France to the Caribbean, La Renommée was captured by the British after an engagement with HMS Dover in the Atlantic. Impressed by her design and sailing qualities, the Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Renown, reclassifying her as a fifth-rate frigate. Under the British flag she served for more than two decades in patrol, escort, and overseas duties, including service in the English Channel and the West Indies. After a long and relatively uneventful career, the ship was finally broken up in 1771, her longevity reflecting both the soundness of her original French construction and the Royal Navy’s appreciation of captured French frigate design.

 

The kit

 

Here is the kit spec, as given on the CAF website. In 1:48, this is a very large model, especially if you complete with the masts and rig.

 

• Scale:1/48
• Length : 1230 mm
• Hull length: 927 mm
• Width: 550 mm
• Hull width: 250 mm
• Height: 950mm
• Hull height 250 mm
• Building jig included in kit
• Keel, rib, hull is in American cherry wood
• Hull and carvings are boxwood
• Boxwood figurehead with very high detail
• Deck uses white maple
• Guns, anchor, rudder hinge, brass casting, and many more metal fittings
• All laser-cut wooden sheets with quality wood ( minimal colour variation)
• POF kit, many high accurate ribs
• 8 pound class artillery * 26
• 4 pound class artillery  * 4
• English instructions
• A0 drawing 1:1

 

 

This is the latest kit, brought to chapter completion by CAF Model of China. The main release comprises SIX individual boxes, with an optional hefty Part 4.5 that contains all of the interior, should you with so fit it (and why wouldn't you!). So yes, I have SEVEN boxes here, and the weight is not insubstantial! I don't know if it's luck or design, but I've never had any import duty to pay on Chinese imports in the UK. All of these kits were sent in two shipments, with them being heavily protected and wrapped in heavy duty film. Everything arrived in A1 condition. All parts are individually sealed with a product label. 

 

PART 1

 

 

Like the first sets in the La Renommée series, this contains many sheets (cherry wood) or frame parts. All sheets are laser cut and contain engraved lines which help with alignment and bevelling. There is some char/resin residue on the rear of the sheets, but this easily comes away with some minor sanding. Pack 1 contains three wrapped packets of parts. Numbering on these is shown in the manual, with each sheet having a reference number. There are no metal parts or fittings in this pack. All of this will come later.

 

 

Instructions
The instruction booklet for this part is minimal as it merely shows the sheets and how the frames are built. There is also a large sheet over which the frames are assembled. Just remember to use some cellophane as a barrier so the parts don't stick to it. 

 

 

I will look at Part 2 in the next post. 

 

[James H]

PART 2

This pack is largely similar to the previous, except a plywood jig is included for the modeller to build the bow frames around. At this stage, there's still no cradle as we are concerned with the building of those many frames. All parts are packed into a single cellophane wrap. After unpacking and photographing, tape was used to re-bind the parts to prevent any twist until I come to build the model.

 

 

 

Instructions

This is very similar to Pack 1, except the bow jig is illustrated. This looks very simple to build. Again, a full size sheet is included over which to build the numerous hull frames. 

 

Next post will show Part 3.

 

[James H]

PART 3

This is beginning to look all too familiar...but WAIT! We now also have parts for the hull jig! Not all though, as some are also supplied in the next pack, but at least you get a good start in getting that very large construction underway. As you'd expect, the cradle is constructed from laser-cut plywood. 

 

All parts in this pack are sealed in a single cellophane wrap. As well as more framing and that cradle, there are also two small frames containing CNC machined parts which relate to the stern of La Renommée. These just want freeing up and carefully sanding smooth. 

 

 

Instructions

As well as another full size frame layout sheet, you can see the use of colour in the instructions, to denote key areas of construction, including the use of those CNC parts. 

 

 

Part 4 will follow soon.

[James H]

PART 4
This pack is very similar to the previous in that it contains more framings, but also the keel, meaning that the hull really can now start to be assembled. Everything is packed into a single cellophane wrap as before. We've also been given more CNC-machined parts. It's quite unusual to split that large cradle into more than one pack, and not to have that as the initial box too. 

 

 

 

Instructions
If you'd like to see the whole instructions for this and how these first four parts come together, then they are available directly from the product page. Please check them out and if you're already tempted by this release, please tell Tom you've been following this topic. 

 

 

 

Part 4.5 will follow in a day or two.

[James H]

PART 4.5 (Optional)

 

Yes, this box is indeed optional to the final build, but in all fairness, it seems nonsensical not to add it unless you're working to strict budgeting restraints. This set will add all of the main hull internal details, such as cabins, internal bulkhead detail, livestock pens, water pumps...in fact, you name it, and it'll be there. It's certainly a weighty box too and crammed 101% full with an incredible number of sheets, as well as fittings and PE etc. All parts in this pack are packed into a single cellophane wrap, and there are individual stacks of sheet timber, both laser and CNC-cut. 

 

 

These sheets are CNC cut. I did wonder about the levels of debris still attached to them, but the majority of this is attached to the frames and not the parts themselves. I did remove a quantity of this beforehand, so that isn't an issue. A nice, clean cutting bit would definitely be advisable for manufacturing though. 

 

This pack contains around 31 sheets of laser-cut cherry parts, and a further 9 sheets of plywood for creating the various internal shapes within the hull structure. All laser work is nicely cut, and with minimal rear scorching. As a matter of course, I'd routinely use a sanding mouse with a fine grit to finish off the rear of all sheets so that none of that wood colour shows any discolouration.

 

 

 

 

Quite a large pack of cellophane-wrapped timber is included in this set, all very uniform in colour, nicely cut with no bad edges, and also marked up for identification. Two sections of dowel are also supplied, as is a roll of brass wore, in a CAF wooden spindle.

 

 

Various packets show rope, pump tubes, a resin jig for building poultry shed, eyelets, nails, internal anchor (stowage), and what looks like hatch lifting  loops which are made from cast metal.

 

A large, single sheet of photo-etch is supplied. Here you will find parts for window frames, pump filter ends, lanterns, door hinges etc. PE quality is excellent with only small gates to remove each part. 

 

 

It took about 15 minutes to finally get all of the parts back into the box, along with the manual etc, and that lid is still bulging.

 

 

Instructions
The manual for this set is 46 pages in A4 format, clearly printed, with of those pages being part maps alone. If you want to have a preview of this manual, then it's on the CAF website along with the other kit chapters. Here are just a few selected pages.

 

 

 

In the next week or so, I'll show the penultimate pack #5.