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November theme: The British are coming!


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  • 1 month later...

Well Mark, you dodged a bullet here. Thanks to Photobucket messing up on me and my computer's power supply going bad, I had no chance to upload any of my British models and post them here. I may have a few pics of recce aircraft to post, along with some scout vehicles as well.

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Better late than never, although I think this one's been on the site before.

 

This is the old Pyro/Life-Like Brig of War, morphed into HM Brig Nootka, 1786; sailed by a British explorer who happens to be my wife's ancestor. Capt John Meares explored the Pacific Northwest in search of the 'Northwest Passage' at a time when the Russians were colonizing the coast from the north and the Spanish from the south. Plenty of intrigue here - note the Portuguese flag on the foremast. Trust me, this fits the recce theme, too!

 

Everything above the maindeck is scratchbuilt.

 

IMAG0005.jpg

Edited by VonL
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Thats nice, I really like the copper hull patina. I've got a new appreciation for this type of modeling since completing the Black Swan for the review team a earlier this year. Where did you find the documents/plans to finish the upper half?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanx for the kind words, gents!

 

The rigging plan is generic for a 'British brig' of the era, as is the ship itself. These ships were mass produced (for their time) as a sort of sea-going pickup truck, so everybody from the Royal Navy to various merchants adapted them as necessary, and of course, pirates. Some brigs ended up in the Revolutionary Navy/Privateer force, which is where the kit makers get that theme. I consulted historical paintings, drawings and other wood ship kits of the type for general guidance and did just enough of the rigging to give it some shape & visual complexity. Individual captains were known to customize rigging to their tastes; so more plausible deniability there. Sails are 'parchment' paper. The flag set was printed on the PC and represents a particular phase of Meares' historic voyage.

 

The coppered hull was mentioned in a book about him, so that was sanded down and re-scribed, etc. Most of the gunports were filled in, to match the ship's explorer configuration. All the detail on the transom was scratched, too, come to think of it. The kit was very plain there. The lantern is a piece of clear sprue, carved into shape, painted & mounted with metal pins. The transom nameplate and the one on the base are laser-engraved brass test items from a friend in that business.

Many of the deck fittings & structures were replaced/scratched. I added a false lower deck under the gratings and an open hatchway, to be glimpsed from above. The deck planking raised detail was sanded off and drawn onto a "wood grain" paint job with a pencil. One thing I might have done differently is to add more extraneous equipment on deck for explorer-type work: Spare ships' boats, spars, etc, etc. She would probably be much busier with gear than say, a naval ship.

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