La Didon 36 (1803) by Langton Models - Assembly
I have four Langton 1:1200 ships so I had a tough choice to make: which of these great models do I start on first? I picked the French 36 frigate with cast metal sails at easy sail! As I carefully laid out all of its pieces on the table, I marvelled at their intricate detail. There was hardly any flash to clean at all. I scrubbed them with warm, soapy water and dried them off.
When I was first trying to assemble the sails and masts I was doing it vertically with the masts in their indispensable wooden block holders. That didn't work at all. I finally realized that it would be a lot easier for the glue to set if I just laid the masts on top of the sails with everything flat on the table. The only trade-off with that technique was that it made the angle of the sails and the masts tricky to align consistently. I was trying to have them angled slightly to model the wind coming over the larboard quarter.
Above are the pieces laid out on the table and below is the ship with the sails glued to the masts and the bowsprit drilled and glued into the hull. The spritsail was a pain to attach; it kept on falling off. Maybe my superglue is going bad? That won't do at all during the rigging step!
As I was deciding which ship to start on, I was hunting for a distinctive looking French frigate. After a long hunt, and with invaluable assistance from Michael, my research paid off. I found what I was looking for: a French 36 that did not have a yellow strake. The Didon is portrayed as having a brick-red stripe over a black hull. That should look pretty nice and it will stand apart from the other British frigates prowling about.
Next up is priming and the first licks of paint!
When I was first trying to assemble the sails and masts I was doing it vertically with the masts in their indispensable wooden block holders. That didn't work at all. I finally realized that it would be a lot easier for the glue to set if I just laid the masts on top of the sails with everything flat on the table. The only trade-off with that technique was that it made the angle of the sails and the masts tricky to align consistently. I was trying to have them angled slightly to model the wind coming over the larboard quarter.
Above are the pieces laid out on the table and below is the ship with the sails glued to the masts and the bowsprit drilled and glued into the hull. The spritsail was a pain to attach; it kept on falling off. Maybe my superglue is going bad? That won't do at all during the rigging step!
As I was deciding which ship to start on, I was hunting for a distinctive looking French frigate. After a long hunt, and with invaluable assistance from Michael, my research paid off. I found what I was looking for: a French 36 that did not have a yellow strake. The Didon is portrayed as having a brick-red stripe over a black hull. That should look pretty nice and it will stand apart from the other British frigates prowling about.
Next up is priming and the first licks of paint!
Jeff
ReplyDeleteThese are excellent models. They will make for some great games when you have painted and rigged them. I really like Langton's. I'll provide the grog, well... for me and Will.
Thanks Michael! You may have my allotment of grog! Ha ha!
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