SOLD FULLY ASSEMBLED
Ready for Immediate Display - Not a Model Ship kit
Fine craftsmanship and attention to detail highlight this scale tall model ship replica of HMS Surprise, the ship made famous in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series and the film Master and Commander: Far Side of the World with Russel Crowe. Whether seated upon a shelf, desk or table, these HMS Surprise tall ship models proudly displays their exquisitely-crafted features and indomitable historic, patriotic and adventurous spirit.
30" Long x 9" Wide x 23" High (1:82 scale)
- Built from scratch by master artisans
- Individual wooden planks used in hull construction
- High quality woods include cherry, birch, maple and rosewood
- Extensive rigging more than 150 blocks and deadeyes in this tall model ship
- Gun ports actually cut into the hull
- Amazing Details, including:
- Planked deck with nail holes
- Authentic scale lifeboat
- Rudder chains, cannonball racks
- Finely carved and hand-painted window details on the stern
- Solid brass cannons and metal anchors
- Additional deck details such as cannon balls, barrels, etc.
- Masterfully stitched, heavy canvas sails hold shape and do not wrinkle
- Taut rigging with varied thread gauge and color
- Meticulous painting accurately matches the actual HMS Surprise
- Wooden display base features four arched dolphins
- Pictured with marble base (available for purchase)
- Extensive research of original plans, historical drawings and paintings as well as actual photographs ensures the highest possible accuracy
- Note: The two side lifeboats are prone to being damaged during shipping. As such they have been discontinued and are not offered on the regular model, only the limited edition HMS Surprise models have these extra lifeboats.
HMS Surprise was a 38-gun frigate of the Hebe Class of the Royal Navy, although all these Fifth Rate frigates were re-classed as 46-gun under the general re-rating of February 1817, from when cannonades on the quarter deck and forecastle were included in the rating. She carried a complement of 284 officers and ratings, and a primary armament of 28 eighteen-pounder guns on her upper deck, with 8 nine-pounder guns (and 6 32-pounder cannonades) on her quarter deck and 2 nine-pounder guns (and 2 more 32-pounder cannonades) on her forecastle.
The Surprise was ordered on 10 April 1809, and her keel was laid down at Milford Dockyard in Pembrokeshire in January 1810. She was launched on 25 July 1812, and sailed round to Plymouth Dockyard to be completed. Fitting out took place between 9 Augustand 1 December 1812, and she was commissioned in September 1812 under the command of Captain Sir Thomas John Cochrane, sailing for the West Indies on 19 December 1812. She measured 150 feet 4 inches on the gun deck, with a breadth of 40 feet and a half-inch, and a depth in hold of 12 feet 9 inches, giving a tonnage of just over 1,072.
Under Cochrane's command, she served initially on the Leeward Islands, where she captured the American 12-gun privateer Decatur on 16 January 1813, and subsequently on the North American station during the War of 1812. From June 1814 she was commanded by Capt. George Knight and was present at the bombardment of Fort McHenry in September 1814. She paid off out of commission into Ordinary (i.e. reserve) in August or September 1815. By 1822 she had been reduced to a hulk at Milford, but was then fitted out at Plymouth as a convict hulk to be stationed at Cork, where she remained until sold (for £2,010) there in 1837.
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