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ACHILLES926 viewsThis lovely little display piece is a model of a fast New York schooner, circa 1835.
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SYLVIA688 viewsThese coastal trading barges used to feed London. I have an old photograph of the Pool of London, absolutely full of them. The riverside warehouses which are now fashionable apartments used to be the city's granary.
The Thames Barge was an astonishingly efficient sailing craft. They had a capacity of up to about a hundred and eighty tons. The crew consisted of a man, a boy and a dog. It was said the dog's job was to bite the boy if he didn't move fast enough. With their shallow draft and leeboards, they could sail in waters where few other craft could venture.
There is a very pleasant pub at Snape, in Suffolk, called the "Plough and Sail", a name which neatly encapsulates the essence of the Suffolk agricultural economy until the advent of the large articulated lorry. It is well inland, up a narrow channel. The barges would work up it to the warehouse. The Snape channel was known to bargemen as one of the most difficult. Then they would load up with corn, slip down-channel, and sail through the narrow channels, or swatchways, that threaded between the many sandbanks of the Thames estuary, going where no other commercial craft would dare to go. If the channel had shifted and they ran aground, their massive timbers and immensely strong construction would save them until the tide rose again. Then it would be up the London River to discharge.
This model, the "Sylvia", was built for a descendant of the Shrubsall family, who were one of the most famous families of barge builders. He now lives in the U.S.A., and his model occupies an honoured place in his house.
(model by John Davies)
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HMS Bounty630 viewsH.M.S. "Bounty" will forever be associated with the famous mutiny. There is still controversy over whether Bligh was an unusually brutal captain, or was simply cursed with a bad crew. It is certain he was a superb navigator.
"Bounty" was a typical small merchant ship of her era, used as a transport ship by the Admiralty. This lovely model faithfully represents the original. In the detail shot, you can see that some parts of the upper deck have been cut away, allowing you to view the lower deck, which is fitted out in detail. At 30" l.o.a., this lovely model is large enough to be properly admired, without being unduly demanding of display space.
(model by Frank Hasted)
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HMS Bounty (detail)655 viewsDetail of Frank Hasted's model of HMS Bounty, with deck cut away to show interior detail.
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Bounty (wreck)668 viewsFrank Hasted admits it took all his skill to rescue this very rough "Bounty" hull which a client brought to him, but our before-and-after pictures show that even the worst part-built project can be brought to a successful conclusion.
(Original butchery by unknown builder, model rescued by Frank Hasted)
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Bounty (wreck... saved!)741 viewsYou'd never believe this fine model was rescued from the horrible bundle of sticks in the previous picture!
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Coureur (stern detail)597 viewsWhile the Royal Navy was supreme in fleet actions in the Napoleonic War, they were still caused considerable grief by the French chasse-maree luggers. Fast, agile and heavily crewed, they would dash out from Biscayan ports to snap up any unwary British merchantmen which wandered within reach. "Le Coureur" is a fine example of the type. This beautiful model illustrates the exquisite craftsmanship which goes into all our scale replicas.
(model by Gordon Williams)
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Coureur (under construction)610 views
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Coureur (bow detail)600 views
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Coureur (general view)572 views
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Cutty Sark665 viewsHere is the first of three pictures of a model of the famous clipper ship, built all in wood.
This model was built several years ago, and despite the exquisite detail she incorporates, she was part of our learning curve. If we were building her again today, we would definitely do something different about the sails. The stitching is perhaps too prominent here. In any case, sails are very difficult to represent well at a small scale, as even the thinnest material scales out around the weight of a very thick hairy blanket. Most of our sailing ship models are shown with the naked elegance of the plain spars, and in my opinion look all the better for it.
At least nine out of ten clipper ship models represent "Cutty Sark". Would you like a model of "Ariel", of "Falcon," which was the first of Steele's ships to astonish the sailing world, and a quiet design revolution in her way, or of his lovely "Titania"? How about "Fiery Cross", which won more tea races than any other ship? We have the plans, we have made a particular study of these lovliest of all ships, and we can promise you a truly excellent model.
(model by Frank Hasted)
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605 viewsCutty Sark; detail. Every detail of her intricate rig is faithfully reproduced.
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