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HMS Endeavour547 viewsCaptain James Cook is best known for his discovery of Australia. He has other solid claims to fame. He was a superb seaman. He was almost certainly the best navigator of his era. He was one of the very few men of this period to be commissioned from the lower deck.
His greatest achievement was to virtually eliminate the terrible scourge of scurvy. This disease is a vitamin deficiency, caused by limited understanding of diet. Before Captain Cook, it was accepted that on every long voyage, a large proportion of the crew would die. Cook was not prepared to accept this. He made a scientific study of diet, and used his crew as guinea pigs to test his theories, experimenting with a variety of different diets. He nearly caused a mutiny at one point, by ordering that every man should eat two pounds of raw onions each day for a week, but in a voyage of almost three years, he did not lose a single man to scurvy.
He was also responsible for enormous advances in the science of navigation. While a ship's distance north or south from the equator can be calculated using a simple noon sight, to calculate an accurate position east or west demands a precise knowledge of the time. There is an alternative method involving sights of the moon, but it is complex, and only the finest navigators would be able to use it. Cook took to sea and tested the first really accurate chronometers. It is a sobering reflection to realise that before this important advance in technology, few captains could have been exactly certain of where they were once they sailed out of sight of land.
It was these huge advances in diet and navigation which made long-distance ocean voyages far less reliant on chance. They thus paved the way for the huge expansion in European colonialism in the nineteenth century. This quiet, intelligent son of a Yorkshire farm worker probably did more to change the history of the world than all the fighting admirals put together. To a very great extent, we all of us live in the world he made possible.
This model of Captain Cook's "Endeavour" is thus not only a beautiful display piece in her own right, but she is of the greatest historical interest. She will make a fitting embellishment to any home, to a museum, or to the offices of any shipping company, all of which still owe a debt to Captain Cook's pioneering discoveries.
(model by Frank Hasted)
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578 viewsCutty Sark; detail. Just look at the detail of the foredeck, and the way each deck plank is individually set into the waterway.
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605 viewsCutty Sark; detail. Every detail of her intricate rig is faithfully reproduced.
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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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Coureur (general view)572 views
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Coureur (bow detail)600 views
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Coureur (under construction)610 views
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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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Small Colin Archer; Port Quarter view.649 viewsBuilt to a tight deadline for a wedding present, she makes a pretty picture.
(Model by John Davies)
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Small Colin Archer, Port Bow view.685 viewsBuilt to a tight deadline for a wedding present, she makes a pretty picture.
(Model by John Davies)
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Small Colin Archer; deck detail714 viewsEven on a small display model, we try to get the detail right. It's surprising how many models show the sails hoisted and the lines coming down to a pin rail or cleat and cut off there. Imagine you're on the real boat. You go to lower a sail. You cast off the rope; the end vanishes up the mast...... that's why pin rails, as here, have the bights of the ropes coiled down and hanging from them.
(Model by John Davies)
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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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