"Langton or GHQ" Topic

Want to do a couple of small frigates 1:1200

Langton?

GHQ?

GHQ with Langton sails?

Definitely Langtons. Better castings, a wider range of hulls and you can choose the sail settings you desire. They are also easier to rig. It has been a few years, but I started with GHQ. When I found Langtons, I eventually sold all my GHQ or turned them into wrecks.

Get a copy of Rod's rigging guide too. It makes rigging simple and understandable.

If you want to do frigates, I recommend you Langton miniatures. Langton has a wider range of ships.

Both are excellent and have advantages. Langton's are a little 'beefier' when compared to GHQ. GHQ now come with full sail and battle sail, although battle sail is what one usually wants as the ships are always fighting. Langton has a nice array of sail choices, but again battle sail is the preferred choice. Langton has those wonderful 'guns run out' on some of their ships that looks intimidating in a battleline. GHQ ships appear slightly lower in the water. My friends and I use both. After painting, they don't appear out of scale. And there are those subtle differences that make them look the same, but slightly different, as in real life. I don't think that any two 74's were absolutely identical.

Which has better detail or is it a toss up?

GHQ hulls with Langton sails. GHQ hulls are clean and smooth, a better choice for fast frigates, and Langton sails are the best. Also, go with the brass sails and ratlines, hoo-whaa!

I like both lines a lot, and use them both. They are different styles though.

GHQ ships definitely have better detail. There's more of it, it's crisper and more in scale. Their waterlines are more accurate, but because I have a lot of Langtons, which sit higher in the water, I sometimes raise the GHQ ships slightly with plastic card trimmed to shape. I universally file the Langton hulls down to sit in the water more accurately, so that way I make the two lines more similar.

Langton has a much more extensive line, not only in ship types, but in sail settings too. They also have a large line of shore buildings and fortifications. And as d88mm1940 points out, Langton offers ships "at quarters", with guns protruding from the gun ports, which looks cool.

I've never combined GHQ hulls with Langton masts/ sails, just because the Langton masts are so thick, but it is definitely doable. Langtons are easier to rig if you're using string and tying knots, because the much thicker masts are a bit stronger. GHQ metal is rather soft too. I use nylon brush bristles these days so I don't need them to stand up to tension though.

I've got some examples from both companies here:
jwhitegallery.blogspot.com

Langton every time!

Langton.
BWW

Well, I may be perceived as a bit biased, because I sell Langtons under Waterloo Minis here in the US, but I'd say Langtons all the way. I like the detail better than GHQ, and I like the 'at quarters' versions. The variety of frigates available gives you a lot of options as well.

Even prior to taking over for Rob at WM, I turned my GHQs into wrecks, and just went with Langton.

Buy whatever's cheaper! They're both great.

FYI, if you intend to try rigging them, then I would recommend that you DON'T start with small frigates. A small model is MUCH more difficult to assemble and rig than a larger one. 'Small' at 1/1200 means really, really small.

Buy the biggest ships you're interested in owning, and work your way down from there!

I use both lines in my frigate sqns as this gives more variety and helps me distinguish between vessels at a glance.
That said flagships are always Langtons…

I know folks that use both. Some mix Langton masts with GHQ hulls. One or two folks like GHQ hulls and make there own masts. I like Langton's. I have made them all from 120 gun 1st rate to very small Kannonjolle's (they are small). They are "beefier" and that makes them good for handling. I rig all my ships. I have heard that Rod Langton has problems getting rat-lines as a lot of folks use them for other models. So if you just order rat-lines you may have to wait.
I think G.H.Q. are cheaper. Langtons for me 100%
Be safe
Rory

Neither one is better than the other. It comes down to personal taste. Both are accurate. Both are top of the line in quality, but they are of different styles. I find Langton emphasizes details more. GHQ emphasizes proportion.

GHQ occasionally runs specials and can be cheaper in the US. However their range is more limited.

I think it's wonderful that the two major manufactures of 1/1200 scale models are compatible with each other. It's hard to find compatible 15mm Napoleonic's or 1/300 'scale' figures. And "28mm" figures: forget about it.
These two lines look great beside each other. How lucky can we get?

GHQ named vessels are more accurate to the historical designs. Langtons are not, if that is important to you. GHQ masts suck, Langtons do not. Langtons set too high like they would without guns. GHQs set correctly burdened. Both are compatible on the table. The old Davco ships are also compatible. Navwar ships can be compatible too with some extra work. Some can look quite good. Since Langtons are thicker and tougher metal than the other three, I generally raise the others to match so they can be compatible. If I had a small belt sander in the shipyard I woul grind down the Langtons, they would look better.

Left to right GHQ, Langton, Davco

Left to right Davco, Lagton, GHQ

Nice one Vol.
be safe
Rory

All three are nice :)

I hope mine come out 1/10 as good