Battle-Damaged Sailing Ships

Devin,

Some years ago FSM ran an article on Shep Paine's build of Jones' Bon Homme Richard that is in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.  Article was good and I once saw the model in person and it was very cool and (I thought) dramatic.

Regards,

Bob Fuhrman

I've "had" a couple cats that have made a great rendition of a square rigger after surviving a typhoon.

On a serious note. I have conteplated making a shadow box in about 1/200 scale of two frigate going at it.  Not many movies or paintings depict good cannon fire damage.  One of the best I had seen on what a broadside from a 32 pounders would do to a wooden ship was in the movie Ironclads.  The splintering of the wood and the severing of lines made it look a lot like how the historical writings described the mayhem.

Scott

One reason I was contemplating this was actually my recollections of a diorama book by Shep Paine. I didn't know he did a model for the museum in Chicago. I realize that few people who will see my model in my home will be stunned by the accuracy of my rigging. I know I am the only one who ever cared that my Seven Year's War Austrian infantry toy soldiers were painted with accurate flags and hat band edging, for instance. It is amazing how much response you get from non-modellers when you include a familiar object that viewers can relate to. I wondered if anyone added interest to a static model by adding anything else besides the crew members from my Lindberg kit that I plan to use. I could imagine birds in the rigging (really small ones, I guess!) or a ship's cat on the deck (sorry scottrc!). That's what got me thinking about dioramas. It seems like there could be some wonderful scenes depicted including ship maintenance, daily life, and even battles. I thought maybe some of you experienced modellers have already done this. Thanks for the replies.

Devin

Devin,

If your ship is wood and fairly large, you might consider shooting it with a BB gun; that would mimic cannon ball damage pretty accurately. Size the BB's or shotgun pellets to the scale of the model.
Just a suggestion!

Wot

I once judged at a show that had a model of  a whaler that showed the crew doing the tasks of carving up the whale and boiling the blubber.  The modeler also had a lot of neat little side stories going on such as a cat sneaking a meal and a crewman chasing the cat.

Some nice ideas.

I, for one, would love to see a battled damaged wooden ship model.

The Erie (PA) Maritime Museum did a live fire test on a reconstructed portion of the brig Lawrence. The web site below includes some details, and a fantastic video showing the ship section getting shot up!

From the web site:

Lawrence Live Fire Exhibit

Erie Maritime Museum, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and the Pennsylvania National Guard  have developed an authentic replica of the U.S. Brig Lawrence’s battle-torn hull. Using live cannon fire, crew shot at the replica to vividly illustrate the deadly impact of the 1812 Ordinance upon both ships and men.

Lawrence was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s first flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. Devastated by an onslaught of British carronade fire, most of the ship’s crew was either killed or badly wounded. Perry, undaunted, transferred to Niagara, Lawrence’s sister-ship, to continue the battle and win victory for the United States.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission chose a replica of Lawrence because she bore the brunt of the battle. This authentic battle damage of the nineteenth century American warship is permanently on display in the new Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania.

See the video here.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

I wish I could remember the site that had this stunning diorama.  It was a few years ago, and depicted two ships in battle.  It was an incredible site.  The water was very realistic, choppy, with bits of splintered wood and even bodies, in the water.  Both ships showed extensive damage.  Wood on the hulls were dented, and splintered from small arms and cannon fire.  The decks were very busy with crew, each incredibly detailed.  There were crews on the guns, other crew firing small arms, and even the dead and injured.  Blood stains were well depicted, and deck damage was very realistic.  You could even see that the mainmast on one ship had taken a hit and was partially splintered.   Smoke and cannon fire was even shown.  It was as if a snapshot of the battle had been taken.  Just incredible.  I could only imagine the work involved in such a diorama.  I'll have to see if I can track down the site I found it on.

Grymm, it sounds great! I plan on doing some Google searching to see what I can find based on your description.

Regards,