A Warship is born!

I’m back! Two posts in 1 day, you lucky people! To celebrate lets look at some naked models! No really… oh come on, this is a wargaming blog, what did you think it would mean?

So this afternoon I decided to FINALLY get out the Napoleonic Naval 1:1200 ships I bought probably 2-3 years ago from Skytrex (before Skytrex sold the moulds for them to Red Eagle Miniatures). The first ship to get the treatment was HMS Endymion, a 5th rate frigate in the Royal Navy from 1797. As a companion to this I’ve setup a page on this blog where I’ll host information about this ship, it’s stats, it’s history, because I really enjoy reading about the models I’m working on but all too often it gets forgotten when the next project comes along. This way I’ll have somewhere to look back on, and update, the information. But anyway, you probably want to see pictures don’t you?

From the front...
From the front…
and from the back...
and from the back…

Now in those photos I know the greenstuffing looks a little over-zealous but it really is just tiny overspill that won’t even be seen once it’s undercoated. I needed to use the greenstuff as the holes for the masts were way too big. Ironically I had to drill out for the bowsprit… Overall though I’m very happy with how it looks as it was quite daunting to look at all the pieces separately.

I know that some people suggest not glueing the masts to the hull until they are painted but looking at it I figured there was plenty of room to get in there. I guess painting 6mm for a while has made me a little more confident!

The jury is still out on ratlines and rigging, neither of which I would do before painting the model in any case. I’m just not sure I’m confident enough, or worried enough, to rig the ship. If I do though I won’t be using cotton, having seen it sag and fray on other models. I’ll be using fishing line or some other sort of nylon thread.

I’m also considering my options for where to put the nametag on the base and whether to/how to texture the base. My first thought was to use filler to create waves but MRO (My Regular Opponent) suggested that this might look a little over-zealous and out of scale. I’ve been looking at PVA and tissue paper or possibly tinfoil as an idea. For the name tag it comes down to: raised or not and side, front or rear. The base itself is a 60mmx30mm 2mm MDF base that was originally for some Polemos FPW, anything 3rd rate or higher will go on 80mmx30mm, unrated ships on whatever seems to suit them.

I’m still a little afraid that the model will come apart given the tiny contacts and potentially large lever forces on the masts but it’s actually quite sturdy. So, I have to decide on basing then get it undercoated. In the meantime more reading as this ship has a really interesting past which doesn’t cast the Americans in a very good light, always fun 🙂

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