Just in stock is the latest ship model kit from Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models, the Ranger, a Barking Fish Carrier. Replacing the earlier well smacks, the fish carriers transported fish just caught from the fishing fleets and raced them back to the markets, requiring the best speed to assure fresh catch. So, boats like the Ranger were fast and had very fine lines.
With the release of the cutter HMS Alert, the Brigs HMS Flirt and HMS Speedy, then the royal yacht Duchess of Kingson, and finally the frigate HMS Sphinx, the Royal Navy ships available from Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models continues growing in size and number.
The latest work in progress is now the 44-gun razee frigate, HMS Indefatigable, a ship with not only a very active history, but also one famous for its appearance in C.S. Forester’s Horation Hornblower series.
This 1/64-scale wooden ship model kit has been under development by Chris Watton for some time, and the prototype model is currently under construction by ship modeler James Hatch. You can read about the the build progress on the ModelShipWorld online forum here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30665-hms-indefatigable-1794-prototype-by-james-h-vanguard-models-164/
According to Chris, he’s hoping for a December release of the new kit. But, it will depend on when the prototype model is completed, at which time, he has to begin the process of laser-cutting the parts of the final version. Ages of Sail is expecting to order the new kits as soon as they are available.
In the meantime, the latest release from Vanguard Models was recently announced, and Ages of Sail is in the process of ordering these kits of the Barking Fish Carrier Ranger, 1864.
This latest kit from Vanguard Models is 1/64-scale and measures a little over 20″ long.
Watch for forthcoming details once we have the kit in stock.
In the meantime, check out the line of Vanguard Models kits at Ages of Sail. Ω
It was barely over 2 months ago that we announced having two new fishing boat kits in stock from Vanguard Models, and here we are announcing that we now have yet another new release in stock, the well-smack Saucy Jack.
A well-smack is a type of fishing boat that keep it’s catch fresh by use of a large internal tank of seawater. The method was a good way to keep the catch fresh, but the extra weight of the water she carried, made her slow. Boats of this type were used in the 1800s and up into the 1950s.
Saucy Jack is a typical example of this type of fishing boat. She was built in 1836 and operated until 1880. Vanguard Models kit is a 1/64 scale reproduction of the 51 ton well-smack, and measures just under 17″ long and 14″ tall.
The kit features laser cut and engraved parts in MDF (medium density fiberboard) and pear wood, laser-etched and cut maple deck with planking and treenail detail, photo-etched brass parts, 3D printed parts, a double-planked hull with a lime wood first layer and a high quality pear wood outer planking layer.
Included is a comprehensive, full-color instruction manual and 12 plan sheets. This kit is quite a treat for any ship modeler.
For more details and ordering information, check it out at Ages of Sail here. Ω
Lately, it seems that Vanguard Models has been releasing new kits faster than we can stock them. The two newest kits to be released are a pair of 19th century fishing boats, the Nisha, a Brixham “Mumble Bee”, and the Erycina, a Plymouth Trawler.
Erycina
Nisha
The Nisha, 1907 – The ‘Mumble Bee’ was cutter rigged, full bowed and broad beamed. They were strongly built and many survived to a good old age. Because of their fine lines, a few of these vessels were converted to yachts in their later life. Those fishing off the Welsh coast out of Tenby, working the fishing grounds in Mumbles Bay, acquired the collective term ‘Mumble-Bees’. In part, this was coined because of the large numbers of them ‘buzzing’ around the Mumbles like bees around a hive, and also arose by them adopting some of the features of the established Mumbles boats. Nisha had an overall length of 59 feet 3 inches, moulded beam of of 14 feet. She had a deep drag aft with a draft of 7 foot 10 inches but only 4 feet forward. Her fine lines translate into a very pleasing hull shape, making a very attractive display model.
The Erycina, 1882 – Originally built as a cutter designed by H.V. Prigg and built by W.H. Shilston, Coxside, Sutton Harbour in 1882. She was converted to a ketch rig in 1894. Due to her pedigree, Erycina has unusually beautiful lines, described as a ‘Crack Ketch’, and handled more like a racing yacht than a fishing vessel. Erycina fished along the South West UK coast for over 50 years, an incredibly long career for such a vessel. Her overall length was 71 feet, with a length between perpendiculars of 63 feet. The moulded bredth of 17 foot 2 inches was rather more fine than that of the average trawler, but she was built for speed, and of- ten raced at regattas with with the crack Brixham Smack, Ibex. In 22 races at Plymouth regattas, Erycina won 15 first, 4 second and 2 third prizes.
Both kits are in 1/64 scale that incorporate the latest design techniques, but are both suitable for the total beginner, as well as the seasoned modeler who may want to take a very scale accurate and detailed kit and add their own additional detailing.
Both feature laser cut and engraved parts in MDF and pear wood, laser cut pear wood ladders and companionway, laser etched and cut maple decks with treenail detail, photo etched brass detailing, and more.
Check out the specifics of each kit or order yours on our Ages of Sail shop here:
Available Now at Ages of Sail
It’s always a pleasure when customers send us photos of their completed models, so we were particularly happy to start off the new year when customer tomsimon of Chino Hills, CA, shared with us the final photos of the wooden ship model he just completed, the Lady Eleanor from Vanguard Models. He gave us permission to share these photos on our social media sites, so we’re happy to post them here for you.
Tomsimon tells us that this Lady Eleanor is his first ever wooden ship model, and we think he’s done a wonderful job!
Lady Eleanor is a 1/64 scale wooden model kit of a Scottish fishing boat type called a Fifie. It’s described as a type that was commonly seen off the east coast of Scotland from the 1850s through the 1950s, and was known as a workhorse in the fishing community. Continue reading
In addition to the new ships boats kits, we just restocked some of the more popular Vanguard Models kits that we ran out of before the holidays including HMS Speedy, HMS Flirt, and the Duchess of Kingston kits.
Vanguard Models Duchess of Kingston
HMS Speedy
HMS Flirt
What’s more, there are two brand new fishing boat kits that we should be getting in, perhaps by the end of the year. Sorry, they’re not in time for Christmas. But, when things settle down at home, and thoughts turn to your next ship model project, they should be here waiting for you.
Both kits are fishing boats with beautiful, fine lines. We’ll have more details later. For now, here’s a little sneek peek…
Watch here for more information!
While Vanguard Models is known for some very beautifully designed kits of British fishing boats and 18th century warships, they also now produce a full line of ship’s boats kits, and Ages of Sail has them for you.
All kits are 1/64-scale models. They are fully detailed to finish out your large ship model or waterfront scene, and they make great short term projects on their own.
All kits come with a disposable building frame, with all wooden parts provided in high grade pear wood. Planks are laser-cut, and accessories are provided in the form of photo-etched brass.
There’s a wide assortment to choose from – everything from an 18-foot cutter on up to 34-foot launch. There are currently 8 different kits available, so you’ll be able to find the exact boat you need, and we have them all at Ages of Sail here. Ω
In case you haven’t noticed yet, the newest release from Vanguard Models, HMS Sphinx, has made it to our shores and is now available at Ages of Sail!
HMS Sphinx was a 20-gun sixth-rate warship of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1775 at Portsmouth Dockyard. Technically, she is not a frigate, but a sloop-of-war. However, she was “frigate built” with connected quarterdeck and forecastle.
After a long hold up by the shipping company, we finally received our shipment from Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models company in England!
Vanguard Models, as you may already know, is one of the newest ship model manufacturers on the market, and already they make some of the finest kits available. Their kits are popular, interesting, and challenging. But, Chris has gone out of his way to make the kits as easy to build as possible, providing clear instructions in english, and advanced engineering, using computer aided design to come up with ways to simplify construction.
HMS Speedy
HMS Speedy, shown above, is a model of a 14-gun British Royal Navy brig. We ran out of stock of these following the holidays, so we’re happy to announce that they’re back in stock, and ready to ship to you!
There are four other ship model kits available from Vanguard Models besides HMS Speedy: HMS Flirt, HMS Alert, the Royal Yacht ‘Duchess of Kingston’, the Scottish Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’ and the Scottish Fifie ‘Lady Eleanor’.
HMS Flirt
HMS Alert
Duchess of Kingston
Scottish Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’
Scottish Fifie ‘Lady Eleanor’
Detailed instructions are provided in english, with lots of photos to help you through every step of the build. Below is a sample of one page from the Duchess of Kingston kit’s 80-page instruction set.
Want to see more from the instructions? Download the whole set in pdf format here.
Check out all five of these wonderful kits from Vanguard Models, in stock now, at Ages of Sail: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/new-vanguard-models.html
Ages of Sail now carries Vanguard Models’ pre-made sail sets for their Fifie ‘Lady Eleanor’ kit and for their Zulu ‘Lady Isabella’ kit. Each sail set is beautifully detailed and complete with bolt ropes sewn into place.
Zulu sail set for the Lady Isabella kit.
Fifie sail set for the Lady Eleanor kit.
These are beautifully done sails, so if you want to add sails to your model, but don’t feel like trying the difficult task of sewing the seams so nice and straight, hemming the edges, and sewing on the bolt ropes, you can save yourself time and effort with these sets.
Check out the detail…
Click HERE to visit our updated Vanguard Models page on Ages of Sail.
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