CharlieZardoz Posted December 7, 2014 Share #1 Posted December 7, 2014 Hi everyone! Been doing some research on Amati's Lady Nelson, a beautiful kit in my opinion that I think will offer me some nice experience down the line. My question is looking into the history of the Lady Nelson is seems that the kit is not based on the Australian vessel with two masts (that has a series of modern replica's) but is of an English cutter design. The kit does look accurate as a cutter so was wondering if it was based on a plan of some sort (maybe something in one of Chapelle's books). thanks! Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieZardoz Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted December 7, 2014 Also seems to resemble the HMS Sherbourne from Caldercraft as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted December 8, 2014 Share #3 Posted December 8, 2014 The similarity to Sherbourne is not purely coincidental. Both kits were designed by Chris Watton. CharlieZardoz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieZardoz Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted December 8, 2014 Not surprised now that you say that since he does consistently great work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshousha Posted December 13, 2014 Share #5 Posted December 13, 2014 (edited) Greetings, I just decided to have a go at the Lady Nelson kit after the Jotika Pickle that I am building. I have to say the quality of the kit looks wonderful. I'm really looking forward to building the model. Just as a first look, I noticed the frame is built of MDF, not plywood. This means everything is absolutely flat and will not warp any time soon. I think that's a huge improvement over plywood. Regards, Rick Montreal Edited December 13, 2014 by rshousha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieZardoz Posted December 13, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted December 13, 2014 I'd be open to building her but would consider changing the name, hence why I'm curious what plan was used to design the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdsaplala Posted December 31, 2014 Share #7 Posted December 31, 2014 Based on the kit description from various sites, the Lady Nelson appears to be a "generic" representation of an 18th Century Cutter. The source of plans is anyone's guess, but I suspect that there are plenty of un-named cutter plans at NMM that could have been used for this. The kit being a generic representation gives you an advantage since you could super-detail her using any of the reference books on 18th Century Cutters without being too concerned about very specific details such as how many sweep ports did she have, did her gun ports have lids or not, was she clinker or carvel planked, and other various details that would need a ship's log/builder's contract of the actual ship. You could also get away with renaming her... HM Cutter Prince Zardoz seems to have a nice ring to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 31, 2014 Share #8 Posted December 31, 2014 The Lady Nelson looks like a really nice kit. Even if it does not match a particular ship, as Aldo says, you could always find a cutter you like and modify the kit to build that cutter. I found I got a lot more interested in this hobby when I moved from just building the kit out of the box like when I started my Badger, to researching ships and trying to improve their historical accuracy. Good luck if you decide on this model - and post a build log Just as a first look, I noticed the frame is built of MDF, not plywood. This means everything is absolutely flat and will not warp any time soon. I think that's a huge improvement over plywood. The Pegasus kit uses MDF as well - I think Amati really does builders a great service in moving the MDF for the keel and bulkheads, as the MDF (at least in my kit) was perfectly flat. I had plywood keel issues with my Corel Unicorn kit, and even had a hard time sourcing perfectly flat 5mm plywood to replace it. Hopefully more kit manufacturers move to MDF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rshousha Posted December 31, 2014 Share #9 Posted December 31, 2014 Greetings, I am also planning on building the Lady Nelson shortly and was encouraged by the news that Pegasus also is made with MDF. Do you know if the big Vanguard has an MDF keel? Also, I am most interested in getting your impressions of working with the MDF. Have you built Pegasus? Is the MDF solid enough for large parts? i am considering moving my laser-cut frames from plywood to either MDF or high-density foam, like Renshape. Your input would be appreciated. Best Regards, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor1234567890 Posted May 30, 2017 Share #10 Posted May 30, 2017 Would this kit be acceptable for a first go? It's no Vanguard and certainly more involved than a ship's boat. Rigging that's not too complex (I've rigged a Cutty Sark but that was years ago) and not so simple as to be boring either. I would build her as Witch of Endor that Hornblower uses to escape the French in Flying Colours. I think this kit is about as close as one can get to the vessel described in the book. 10 gun cutter, sweeps. Leave out the swivel guns, maybe change the companionway hatch, move the holes for the sweeps forward a bit as the work described seems to be forward as described in the book. All easy changes to make to this kit. One could even build her with Bush at the tiller, Brown yelling at the freed galley slaves pulling on the oars and Hornblower and the French pilot manning the port side aft 6 pounder. Any thoughts on it? Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEDDO Posted May 30, 2017 Share #11 Posted May 30, 2017 3 hours ago, Sailor1234567890 said: Would this kit be acceptable for a first go? It's no Vanguard and certainly more involved than a ship's boat. This seems like a really nice kit however I would definitely not under estimate the longboat. You can look through the logs here and see how complex that build actually is. mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick01 Posted May 31, 2017 Share #12 Posted May 31, 2017 I'd say it's quite acceptable - check some of the other builds of this model for detail on the possible problems you may find. I finished a build of it recently but modified the rigging fairly extensively using L. Petersson's "Rigging Period Fore-and-aft Craft" as a guide as the kit is somewhat over simplified. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor1234567890 Posted May 31, 2017 Share #13 Posted May 31, 2017 It would be my first wooden kit and my Cutty Sark done as a teenager 25 years ago or more was certainly over simplified in the rigging department as well. I think this one will be my first kit when I come to building my first kit. Sooner rather than later I hope. catopower, Canute and mtaylor 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Pierre Posted July 1, 2017 Share #14 Posted July 1, 2017 Isn't this cutter based on the "Cutter Alert" plans, a ship that has been described in an"Anatomy of the Ship" book? JP Canute 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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