Hi,
[Warning: longwinded first post]
I'm Diego Fernetti, a modeller from Rosario, Argentina. This is my second post ever on the FSM Forums -after the protocolar introduction in a thread to that effect- and I signed up here after reading several well documented threads on building this aged kit, and converting it to HMS Surprise.
I never built a sailship before, being myself an "airplane modeller", specifically a WW1 airplane enthusiast. I guess that this gives me a slight edge towards rigging in small scales! Anyway, being a reader of Aubrey/Maturin novels I soon got weird ideas on trying my hand at building the famous ship tied to the plot of the novels.
I can't afford a wooden ship kit, and I feel more comfortable using a plastic kit. Besides, because of room considerations of my workbench and my display area, small scales will suit me better than, say, 1/48 scale. Being a begginer in this area of modelling also weighs a lot in choosing something from a box and not 100% from scratch. And I do hope that having much of the hull already provided, it might be favourable for finishing this project in a sensible amount of time (at least, before I have grandchildren).
As usual, things got complicated from the start:
- HMS Surprise existed. But it was slightly related to that of the narrative (which can be contradictory or vague depending on the book you read the descriptions). Fine.
- The ship used on the movie "Master and Commander" which offers ready detail reference was (as expected) something very different from the historical vessel. Fine.
- The Lindberg kit "Jolly Roger" is relatively accurate for a representation of a ship of the historical period, however, it doesn't represent any real ship whatsoever, and neither of the four real "La Flore" ships ever constructed by the French. Fine.
- The good news are that there are available drawings of the historical "HMS Surprise ex- L'Unité" and that modellers seem to agree that converting the aging Lindberg kit to something resembling HMS Surprise is within the realm of the possible.
With that in mind, I'm set first to compare the kit to the drawings, and list some modifications needed to convert the kit -within reason- to a scale representation of HMS Surprise, the historical vessel.
Out of the box, the kit shows several features which should be deleted. Before this, I want to compare the hull parts to the draft.
After all this lenghty rant I would like to ask to the knowledgeable forum members, which are the reference points or axis on which a ship hull are measured.
As airplanes have axis and datum lines, which serve a common reference between types, which are the hull main features?
From which point in the stern to the stem the maximum lenght is measured up?
Does the measured maximum breadth of the hull include the main wale thickness?
Thanks for your help in advance, and thanks for reading until the finish my long rant!
Regards
D.