HMS Centurion - GHQ 1:1200

The latest ship I've completed is GHQ's 1:1200 HMS Centurion of 50 guns. I've raised it up just a little bit with some plastic sheet under the hull, cut to the contour, and added third party ratlines and base. The bowsprit has also had a spritsail boom and a dolphin striker added to it, as the kit does not come with them. 

 Here are a couple shots of Centurion alongside Superbe, a French 74, to give a sense of the difference in size.

Le Superbe - GHQ 1:1200

Below are a bunch of pictures of GHQ's 1:1200 model of Le Superbe, a French 74. Even in this small scale this is an uncommonly attractive ship - even as just a water line model I find its lines more graceful and appealing than most. It was also nice to get away from yellow and black checkers for a bit!

It is particularly satisfying for me to see this one completed. I had just completed the rigging for the first time when it took a tumble off the table. The rigging performed its function and the masts were unharmed, but the cords were stretched and no longer taut. Turns out rigging is even more stressful the second time around. But it's done!

Disabled Frigate - Langton 1:1200

Out of curiosity, I tried my hand recently at a Langton Miniatures 1:1200 disabled frigate - and found the model to be a very enjoyable one, a fun change from doing the pristine versions of these ships. As you can see below, the ship has had its main mast shot away, the driver sail boom is hanging, the fore stay sail is awry and the fore topsail is blowing free. The main mast and its sail lie partly covering the deck.

To add to the decrepitude of the vessel I gouged and painted some shot holes in the hull, painted some of the quarter gallery windows to look broken, and added in broken rigging. For this I used some electrical wiring stripped from a broken down appliance, so that I could get it to hang limp in a convincing manner. The mono-filament thread I use for intact rigging wouldn't hang well at all. I painted the wiring to the appropriate colors depending on whether it was to represent standing or running rigging.

I tried painting shot holes in to the sails, which are cast metal, not photo etched brass, but the look was not convincing and I painted over the attempts. I was thinking that if I were to do another disable ship like this I might use lead foil to create sails, which would crumple very easily and be thin enough to have holes punched in to it easily. I don't think it would be very hard to take any given ship model in this range and convert it to a disabled vessel. You'd have to sand down the hull to make it list to one side, chop up masts and damage sails to your liking. But this kit was indeed a lot of fun.

And here are a couple comparison shots with a much healthier, happier looking ship, another forty gun frigate.