HMS Enterprise 1774 midship cross-section, Scale 1/160, Made by Unicorn Models

[Dubz]

HMS Enterprise 1774 midship cross-section, Scale 1/160, Made by Unicorn Models



Company: Unicorn Models
Kit No:
Retail Price: $139.00 incl. shipping.


This kit is available in both pear and boxwood. I prefer pear so that is what I show here :-)

Available here: https://drydockmodelsandparts.com/collec...ip-section


Description

HMS Enterprise (historically spelled Enterprize) was a 28-gun sixth-rate Enterprise-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was the name ship of her class of twenty-seven ships.

Construction
Enterprise was built at Deptford Royal Dockyard, England, launched in August 1774, and was commissioned in April 1775 under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Rich. During her construction she was also the subject of a pair of oil paintings by Joseph Marshall, simulating her ship model but actually drawn from her designs - these were completed in 1777 as part of a series of such paintings commissioned by George III of the United Kingdom. The pair showing Enterprise are now split between the National Maritime Museum and the Science Museum.

Career
Enterprise served throughout the American Revolutionary War as cruiser and convoy escort. She captured a prize off Cape Henry on 19 July 1778.[3] On 7 June 1780, Enterprise, under command of Captain Patrick Leslie (not to be confused with Patrick Leslie), was at anchor in the Bay of Gibraltar with other ships of the Royal Navy. At about 1:30am, Enterprise saw some vessels drifting toward the harbour. When they came within hailing distance, the seaman on watch called a challenge. The six drifting vessels were set afire by their crews, who made their escape in small boats, leaving the flaming hulks drifting toward the British ships. Captain Leslie fired a three-gun salvo to warn the other ships, cut his anchor lines to let Enterprise drift away from the hulks, and then opened fire on the hulks in an attempt to sink them. With the Spanish fleet waiting just outside the harbour for any British ships trying to escape, the British seamen took to small boats and, at great peril to their lives, boarded the flaming hulks to attach lines to pull them away from their own ships and burn themselves out.

After this action and continued service in the Mediterranean, she sailed under the command of Captain John Payne on 27 April 1782, for the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. In October 1782, now under the command of Captain William Carnegie, she captured the 22-gun American privateer Mohawk, which the Royal Navy took into service under her existing name, before selling her in 1783.

Fate
Enterprise was decommissioned in May 1784. From 1790, she was stationed in port in British home waters as a receiving ship, monitoring the arrival of foreign vessels. In 1791, during the war scare known as the Spanish Armament, she was hulked as a receiving ship for impressed men at the Tower of London. In 1806, she was taken to Deptford and broken up in 1807.

In April 1806, another Enterprise-class frigate, HMS Resource (built at Rotherhithe in 1777–78) joined her sister ship at the Tower as another receiving ship to accommodate men taken up by another press at the end of the Peace of Amiens and the outbreak of the Napoleonic War. Resource was renamed Enterprise; she was broken up in 1816.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Enterprise_(1774)



Technical data

• Scale: 1:160
  
• Length:  119mm
  
• Width:    69mm
  
• Height:    75mm
  
• Level: Intermediate to Advanced
  

Kit content

• Various Sheets of lasercut plywood for the building Jigs
  
• Various Sheets of pearwood for the frames
  
• Sheets of pearwood for the decks
  
• Various Sheets of pearwood for the boats
  
• Black wood sheet for the wales
  
• Walnut Sheets for the stand
  
• One dowel
  
• Brass nails, guns, and photo etc parts
  

All parts of the kit are stored safely and tidily in the box.









Let's look deeper at this kit and start with the perfectly lasered plywood for the numerous building Jig.








These are the jigs for the small boats, three of them!





The pearwood sheets for the frames and the brass parts







BRass parts





The thinner pearwood sheets for decks, knees and else









Sheets for the three boats



Very tiny





And some more pearwood sheets together with the stand made from walnut.





last but not least a sheed of black wood for the wales




The instructions










Check out the full instruction manual here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D6qtH5J...sp=sharing




Conclusion

I had previously built the HMS Druid 1776 stern cross-section from Unicorn Models in 1:128 scale (https://forum.dubz-modelling-world.com/thread-59.html), and I really enjoyed the challenge of fitting so much detail into such a small model. This Enterprise midship section takes that experience to another level.

The amount of detail that can be achieved at 1:160 scale is simply incredible. The kit contains a remarkable number of precisely laser-cut parts, and the numerous building jigs are not only very well made but also extremely helpful during construction. The inclusion of three small boats is another nice touch and adds even more to the overall appeal of the kit.

The quality of the materials is excellent, with a generous amount of pearwood included. The photo-etched parts are also of very high quality, and the English instructions are clear and well translated.

There is, however, one important point worth mentioning. The model represents a mixture of the Enterprise in her original role as a fighting ship and her later period as a receiving ship. This is historically not entirely consistent, as the plans and configuration of Enterprise changed considerably during her time as a receiving ship. The 1787 drawing, for example, shows Enterprise in her later role, holding impressed men before they were sent to serve aboard fighting ships. The plans from her time as an active warship are quite different.

The use of sandwiched decks may also be a matter of personal taste. Nevertheless, I understand the design decision behind it, particularly at this very small scale.

Overall, this is an outstanding little kit. Considering the quality of the materials, the amount of pearwood, the excellent jigs, the photo-etched parts, and the sheer amount of detail that can be incorporated into such a small model, the price of $139 is remarkably reasonable.

For me, this is basically a 100% buy recommendation.

Pros

• Excellent quality pearwood, and lots of it
  
• Numerous well-designed and useful building jigs
  
• High-quality photo-etched parts
  
• Good, clearly translated English instructions
  
• Three boats included
  
• Exceptional level of detail for a 1:160 scale model
  

Cons

• The model combines features from Enterprise's career as a fighting ship and as a receiving ship
  
• The sandwiched-deck construction may not appeal to everyone
  

The stern cross-section from Unicorn Models is already waiting on my workbench, and after building this kit, I am definitely looking forward to it.


To get this kit go to Dry-Dock Models & Parts: https://drydockmodelsandparts.com/collec...ip-section

[tkay11]

As you say, kit scales are now amazing. I admire your persistence for detail, but I don't know what a sandwiched deck is.

Tony