A member suggested adding a topic to the Group Build for ideas and experiences not specific to HMS Surprise and not particular to any one log. You don’t need the model to comment, just a shared interest.

Want to quote Aubrey or Maturin, this is the place to do it. Discovered an interesting solution to a challenging build task, share it here. All things Surprise related, but just Surprise related, are welcome.

It will be interesting to see where this goes, if it goes anywhere.

Many of you folks building the Vanguard Models Surprise probably already have the book pictured in the center top of the photos, but the other books pictured here feature paintings by Geoff Hunt of the Surprise as well. They also feature many of the other book covers he did for the Patrick O'Brian Jack Aubrey series. All of the books are packed with excellent paintings from that era.

Erik

I cannot imagine how many of the builders now watch the movie frame-by-frame to make sure they don't miss a single treenail.

I realize that she's a completely different ship, but the HMS Surprise that was used in the movie, which lives at San Diego Maritime Museum, is losing her home. You have just over a year to visit her if you would like, but on August 1, 2027 she will permanently close to the public.

The reason is financial - the Museum cannot afford to repair/refit her and keep her maintained, and she is probably the least historically important vessel in their fleet.

https://sdmaritime.org/news/hms-surprise-to-retire-and-close-to-visitors-in-2027/

This decision is final and the Museum will not pursue a fundraising campaign to reverse it. While this marks the end of an important chapter, the Museum is committed to honoring and celebrating the ship’s remarkable legacy over the coming year. Staff are actively exploring options for HMS Surprise’s future, including potential opportunities within the entertainment industry and other possible paths forward.

1 hour ago, GuntherMT said:

Staff are actively exploring options for HMS Surprise’s future, including potential opportunities within the entertainment industry and other possible paths forward

It would be something for Peter Weir & Russell Crowe to consider buying it, have Will Soffit captain and sail it to Oz from San Diego (after a CG seaworthy thumbs-up!): this would be a triumphal return of "Surprise" (not the Rose) to the British Commonwealth.

In this same vein, I've attached two related photos for the kit's builders...

Chock full of great reading about the movie production. Lots of pics, good interview stuff. Not inexpensive, but worth every penny.

Surprise never left Baja California. Fact: a substantial large model was also built for a number of critical scenes. Reading about this aspect of the film production is interesting info for modelers.

Amazon for $20.00 USD here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Making+of+Master+%26+Commander&crid=3ALRH677ECMZ0&sprefix=the+making+of+master+%26+commander%2Caps%2C133&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Today I started to look at building the 24 off 32 pound carronades, required for the non-fiction version gun deck. I decided I would build one off to refine the build process and to identify any problem areas. This turned out to be a wise discission.

 

When removing the 3D printed 32 pound carronades from the base material be very very careful which supporting pegs you snip which are used to hold each of the carronades to the transport base material.

 

In the photo below, the top image shows the carronade after it has been released with all the supporting pegs still attached. The red arrow in the middle image shows the final piece of waste material to remove. The bottom image shows what I did when I removed the first carronade. As indicated by the red arrow I mistakenly clipped a bottom piece away.

This carronade will probably be located in the Captains cabin where there missing bit will not be seen. The carriage assembly still needs to be painted and the various PE parts added.

And now a photo showing an undamaged carronade barrel in place.

Glenn-UK,

It should not be very hard to add the missing piece with a brass rod or similar.

Are their any picture of this gun?

1 hour ago, RolandR said:

Glenn-UK,

It should not be very hard to add the missing piece with a brass rod or similar.

Are their any picture of this gun?

I'll post more photos of the build process once I have completed the first assembly. Painting and PE parts to add to the first carronade.

For those of those interested in the film Master and Commander and to those building the new Vanguard Models HMS Surprise kit the following documentary is well worth watching.

Epic true behind-the-scenes story of Master + Commander (2003). Full documentary.

I have come across a slight problem with the outer bulwark patterns. @Thukydides noticed this issue on my last HMS Surprise build log post, and although I was aware of it I was not totally sure there was a problem.

This morning I did a few more checks and concluded there is an slight issue with the alignment of the gun port openings on the outer bulwark pattern with my build, toward the stern.

I have taken some photos to illustrate the issue I have. These photos were taken on the left-hand side of my HMS Surprise but the right-hand side has exactly the same issue.

Using a small drill bit the bow section of the outer bulwark pattern is aligned with the hawse hole. This is an important reference point to get right.

The bow area of the gun port openings, on the outer bulwark pattern, are perfectly aligned with the inner hull frame work, as can be seen in the photo below.

Moving toward the midship area the outer bulwark gun port patterns are still perfectly aligned with the inner hull frame work.

The gun port sides slot into pre-cut notches on two longitudinal patterns and as such, due to this design, cannot be subject to any lateral movement or positional errors.

However as I start to move toward the stern area the outer gun port patterns start to lose the alignment with the inner hull framework, as can be seen in the next photo

As shown in the next photo the outer bulwark pattern is perfectly aligned with the outer cabin pattern slots. However the same problem with the gun port opening can be seen.

Before the patterns can be fitted, probably after the first planking has been completed, this issue will need to be properly addressed and sorted.

I will be interested to know if any other HMS Surprise builder encounters the same issue.

When I was test fitting I did notice that those large bulwark patterns can shift quite a bit depending on where you are clamping. I found it best to primarily clamp the pieces as much as possible around the gun ports, there is a bit of curve on the tumblehome and if you don't clamp the patterns down well in this area it won't pull the pieces into the correct shape in my experience.

Here you can see when I was soaking the piece to shape I used very few clamps and if you look closely my stern ports aren't lining up very well either.


Here when I was gluing the piece down, you can see I focused most of my clamps in line with the gunports. This was after doing multiple test fits and discovering this provided the best fit.




Hopefully this helps a little.

37 minutes ago, KillicksToastedCheez said:

When I was test fitting I did notice that those large bulwark patterns can shift quite a bit depending on where you are clamping. I found it best to primarily clamp the pieces as much as possible around the gun ports, there is a bit of curve on the tumblehome and if you don't clamp the patterns down well in this area it won't pull the pieces into the correct shape in my experience.

Interestingly after doing a few more tests, working from the stern toward the bow all seems good with all the left-hand outer bulwark pattern gun port alignments. Also good alignment with the hawse hole and external cabin patterns. Perplexing to say the least.

I was wondering if anyone was planning to light their model and if so what are the thoughts for lighting on the gun deck? I am planning to do my build with the removable sections on the main deck open which will let a lot of natural light in. I am thinking of adding lights to highlight some of the key areas such as under the foc'sle, around the stove & handpumps and several in the main aft cabin. However, I am concerned that this might look a bit random and am wondering if I should be implementing something more consistent eg a light above (or between) each gun port? I will be putting candle effect lights in the orlop and berth decks near the open hatches/grates to try and show those areas a bit. Advice appreciated as this is the first time I have tried lighting a model like this!

10 minutes ago, Jon Haworth said:

I was wondering if anyone was planning to light their model and if so what are the thoughts for lighting on the gun deck?

I had all the same thoughts when I was building my Indefatigable... all I can say is... it's worth the effort! You can make it as simple or as complicated as you choose. I went with "fairly simple". Cheap flickering LEDs and a 3v battery pack; lights all wired in parallel with awg28 thin cables.

I hid the lights as best I could, under deck beams and upper deck planking... it's a great idea to light up the lower decks so that there's light that you can see through the grates... in those cases, you can stick the lights anywhere because they're not going to show.

There's some pictures somewhere in my Indefatigable log.

If you'd like some more pointers, please feel free to ask.

More than anything, I highly recommend doing this and adding lights purely because it's FUN.

10 hours ago, Mowzer said:

I had all the same thoughts when I was building my Indefatigable... all I can say is... it's worth the effort! You can make it as simple or as complicated as you choose. I went with "fairly simple". Cheap flickering LEDs and a 3v battery pack; lights all wired in parallel with awg28 thin cables.

I hid the lights as best I could, under deck beams and upper deck planking... it's a great idea to light up the lower decks so that there's light that you can see through the grates... in those cases, you can stick the lights anywhere because they're not going to show.

There's some pictures somewhere in my Indefatigable log.

If you'd like some more pointers, please feel free to ask.

More than anything, I highly recommend doing this and adding lights purely because it's FUN.

Thanks Mowzer, will have a look for that Indefatigable log!! Jon