Sunday, September 3, 2017

The Hundredth Ship . . .

. . . is, by an interesting coincidence, a 100-gunner. This is HMS Britannia, flagship of the Earl of Northesk, who was third in command of the British fleet at Trafalgar.

Britannia was one of the seven three deck ships in Nelson's fleet, and one of three 100 gun ships.  The other 100 gunners were the Victory and the Royal Sovereign.  Overall, there's not really a lot to distinguish Britannia other than her size and age.  Built in 1762, she was forty-three years old  in 1805, which made her the oldest ship on either sideAfter the battle, she was laid up from1806-1813, and then made into a prison ship.  So, not famous like Victory or Royal Sovereign, but forty-four years of service that spans the American Revolution, French Revolution and Trafalgar is still something to be proud of.

My Britannia has been finished since early/mid August, but I have been very remiss in taking photos.  Right now, I'm frantically playing catch-up, and there should be several posts for this month.  Anyway, on to the photos.

Just your average, everyday 18th Century equivalent of the Space Shuttle

As weapons of mass destruction go, they are quite beautiful.



9 comments:

  1. Most impressive ship...and a wonderful job!

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    1. Thanks, Phil! Of all my miniatures, I am most proud of my sailing ships.

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  2. Very nice. I am still trying to gear up and start my first rigged ships...

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    1. Greg,
      I would like to tell you there's "one weird trick" to it, or some magical shortcut. Unfortunately, I haven't found either of them. I am still working on the British frigate in the 'What Is My Time Worth' series of posts, and will try and keep a very close track of how long the rigging actually takes.

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  3. Space shuttle... that was funny.

    Another great ship! Very nice.
    100? How ever do you store them all? : )

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    1. Stew,
      The space shuttle comment isn't just me. More than one author has pointed out that these things were the most complex machines of their time. Of course, I can't find the quote now, but I will look through some of my books for it.

      As for ship storage, I use plastic boxes with sheets of steel in the bottom for my magnetic bases to grip. I had considered changing to clear bases and using something like the foam carrier in an Army Transport bag. My main fear with that idea is that they would still be able to slide around a little bit Well, that and the idea of rebasing all those ships....

      I've got to make some new boxes, as mine are overcrowded. I'll make a post for you as to how I build my storage boxes.

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    2. I would appreciate that actually, as it's something I'm going to have to tackle eventually

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks Vol. I'm really happy with how she came out.

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