Black Seas French Third Rate L' Aquilon 74-Gun SOL

Launched in 1789, L' Aquilon served off Italy in vice-admiral Bruey's squadron under Captain Antoine-Rene Thevenard and took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she fought HMS Vanguard, HMS Minotaur and HMS Theseus. She was captured and taken into the Royal navy as HMS Aboukir. 

I have painted this model as she was painted at Aboukir, per eyewitness accounts. It is interesting that HMS Minotaur was painted in the exact same scheme at the battle.

Like all of the Black Seas ships I have done but one, the spars have been cut away and new spars mounted properly in front of the masts. Sails were copied to regular printer paper for use. The base is cut from a 2MM sheet of plexiglass and textured with a clear household contact adhesive named GOOP.

During construction I realized the ratline jig I made, and had been using for the brigs and 38-gun frigates, was much too small for the third rates. So I had to make a new one that, hopefully, will also accommodate the first rates, if and when I get one. I used the new jig for the lower mast shrouds and the smaller jig for the upper shrouds.

New jig for 3rd rate lower shrouds

Finished lower set

The two jigs

Upper shroud/ratline set

 Here is the finished ship:

1/700 Scale 10 Gun Sloop

 After making the naval cutter from the Black Seas generic brig, I wanted something a little sleeker and not so unrealistically broad. I thought about it quite a bit and decided War Artisan's 10 gun sloop was just the ticket. I had already made one in 1/300 and 1/1200 scales, so why not a 1/700 scale model. So here it is, complete with protruding guns at quarters and mounted on one of the new acrylic bases I am making for the BS ships now. Hope you like it.

With a BS brig

With the bashed corvette

With a BS 38 gun frigate

Sloops left to right: 1/1200, 1/700, 1/300

Black Seas Brig Bash

 After seeing what several other folks have done with all of the extra brigs that Warlord Games includes with it's squadron packs, I decided to try my hand at creating something else from two of the brigs. What I came up with is a 22 gun corvette and a 12 gun naval cutter.

Standard brig below with new corvette and cutter above

With scratch masts set in place to prime

Standing rigging done on the two bash ships

Finished brig, corvette and cutter

With scratch clear acrylic bases I'm experimenting on.

Here are photos of the individual ships:

The Cutter

The Corvette

Black Seas Royal Navy Brig

 This is a typical Warlord Games Black Seas brig modeled for the Royal Navy. The plastic spars were cut away from the masts and new spars were mounted properly in front of the masts.