"El Gamo - Xebec Frigate" Topic

A little while back when I posted pictures of a xebec model here, I had some questions about what a xebec frigate like the famous El Gamo would have looked like. Kniaz Suvorov gave me some pointers, and several people encouraged me to have a go at it.

Here is my version of El Gamo, or as I am referring to it, "The Rob Eubanks Special". Rob (of Waterloo Minis) was very kind in helping me put together the parts for this hybrid kit, which includes Langton's xebec frigate model along with a separate 'small frigate' mast and sail set.

I've kept a lateen sail on the mizzen mast and left off the mizzen topgallant sail, to mimic what some of the paintings represent. I shortened the masts just slightly so it wouldn't be too tall for it's class (compared to my other models), sanded the hull down to sit lower in the water, and included a lowered fore course for fun. I may go back and make the hull a little more brown, less yellowish, and am undecided about whether or not to add ornamentation at the bow. Suggestions welcomed.

Thanks to Vol for showing me the paintings of the ship.

Here she is:
link

Very nicely done.

Very well done. A more unusual ship to paint up, but sometimes the unique ones are the most inspiring. What did you use for the water effects? I have quite a few ships I'm working on and have been kind of stumped what to use.

That's awesome, James.

Very Nice!

MH

Great Looking ship.

Absolutely beautiful, especially the rigging.

That is an excellent recreation of a xebec frigate. I'd leave off the bow ornamentation, based on the paintings I've seen. Your inclination to go a little more brown with the gunport strakes seems right, as the ship in the painting appears to have been finished in bright rather than ochre.

Inspiring craftsmanship, James, as always.

Jeff

Man, I am so glad we prodded you into doing this. I agree, that the more unusual ships really are fun and neat looking…that is so cool looking! I want one, I want one! I know that is a Langton base (built up, of course), but what colors do you use for the water? I haven't hit upon a good combination for the ocean. I usually go lazy and just do one shade of blue with dry brushed sea foam. Very nice work, James!

A truly beautiful little model, but I sometimes wonder, other than the ability to use lateen rigging, what the advantage of her would be, if the only unique aspect of her hull design was the addition of an extended poop and a clipper bow with long integrated sprit.

If the beam and hull form were the same as any other frigate of her day it would appear she would suffer from an uneven weight and ballast distribution.

Or, as often happens, have I completely misunderstood the design?

That is frig(ate)gin' awesome! (Sorry, couldn't resist.) I've given this a ponder or two as well, but never gotten serious about it. Well done!

And I concur on the basing, that is lovely.

Weird to lateen rig a xebec, but hey ho.

the advantage in her hull is an ability to cope with shallower water and a faster of the beam speed, but she would not work as well close to the wind and her tacks would be wider due to less keel depth.

James, as I'm gazing at the pix again I realize you have done something to the brass sails. How did you get the folds in the lower corners? I know that brass is pretty flat and not much detailed; I'm guessing you fold or crimp them somehow?

Thanks very much for the comments guys. It was a lot of fun working on an uncommon ship type, all the more so as I didn't know how it would look in the end.

The creases in the sails are actually just painted on, using two shades, shadow and highlight. I'm glad it actually looks like real creases though!

As for the base – as Rob says, I use the Langton resin pieces, as it is easier than sculpting water myself. The colors I use are from a mix of manufacturers, just because of what I have lying around. But the process looks like this:
1. Paint base coat with mixture of blue and green (aiming for an ambiguous in-between shade)
2. Add white to that color and dry-brush it on to the raised parts. It's ok for this to look garishly too light at this stage.
3. Cover entire base in darker blue wash. I use a mixture of Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade and P3 Blue Ink. This tones everything down, ties it together, and settles in the low parts to give a good sense of depth.
4. Coat entire base liberally with clear gloss coat. I use Polly Scale enamel clear gloss. This has a somewhat yellowish tinge to it that is not great for everything, but works well on the blue of the base. It complicates the color a little.

At that point I glue it to a black plastic piece, and then glue on the hull. I build the masts and rigging on it, and usually the last thing I do is add the wake. I use two tones, a medium and a whitish blue, watering them down so they don't stand out too garishly.
I then give the whole base another coat of gloss, to cover the wake and build up the rest, since it takes a few coats to make it smooth and really shiny.

Hope that helps!

James,
I love her. Its a great kit-bash and must said thanks to Rob. I would ask would she have rat-lines on the mizzen mast or just stays? I did a Russian Shedek with a Lateen fore mast a Poleacre rig. I to at frist over rigged the fore mast as I would a square rig. It was all wrong. I like you got help from Vol. I de-rigged the fore mast and it looked so much better. and gave the lateen sail more room to move around. I'm not putting your great work down, just asking.
Be safe
Rory

I'm glad you took Rob up on his offer James. It came out great. I think this may be your coolest ship yet. Definitely better than I imagined it would look. Rob, it's my birthday, can I have one too? So all you need now is the Speedy to have a battle.

Regards,
Vol

Wonderful. I really need to redo all my bases……

Thanks very much guys, I appreciate it.

Rory, you may be right about the ratlines, it's hard for me to tell from the available images. I'll be looking around for more sources.

Thanks Vol, HMS Speedy will definitely be one of the next ones I do. I've got a GHQ brig ready for some masts, and then I see the two of these getting some table time together.

Wow…I need a magnifying glass! I would have sworn those are actual creases in the sails. Amazing touch with the paint!

James,
Thanks for your reply. I do hope you do not think me as putting your LOVELY ship down. It is so hard getting info on standard ships, let a lone one offs. It was your smaller ships and gun-boats that got me into the in-shore Baltic fleets.
Be safe
Rory

Thanks Rob, happy to deceive in this case!

No offense taken at all Rory, I know what you mean. I'm not very well versed in the different types of rigs, so I won't swear by what I've done here. I'm imaging that the square sails on the mizzen and fore masts mean that crew would have to be able to climb up there to furl and unfurl sails, but that's just my guess.

- James

A bit more on rigging:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xebec

Fantastic ship, almost tempted to get one for myself.

Absolutely lovely work on the Xebec & the base. It all looks very realistic.

Thanks very much TunnelRat, I'm glad you like it.

I just love looking at this ship!

I'm very flattered to hear it Vol :)