"La Vengeance - GHQ 1:1200" Topic

Hi folks. Here is a model I finished a while back – I just hadn't got around to posting photos of it until now.

This is GHQ's 1:1200 model of La Vengeance, the ship that encountered USS Constellation in February of 1800, during the Quasi War. However my latest fixation has been the Mauritius campaign of 1809-1811, so instead she has been representing some of the French frigates on that station in recent games.

Lots more photos here:
link

James,
I hate you, in a nice way.
Be safe
Rory

The flocking on the base of that quarter really doesn't go with the nautical theme… :-)

Nice work. Again.

- Ix

Beautiful frigate. Very clear lines and a rigging superb!

Thanks very much guys. May she be a thorn in the Royal Navy's side for a while to come.

What Rory said. ;)

Particularly impressed by the natural 'sag' of the running rigging; tricky to achieve at this scale because most thread tends not to naturally drop immediately from its hitching point.

Really lovely work.

I think he has not used thread, right? I think they are brush bristles, which makes it more surprising!

Thanks MacrossMartin. And you're right Julian, the rigging is done with nylon brush bristles. To get them to sag just a little bit you glue one end, and then hold the other end in place carefully as it dries, so that it does not pop back to a straight position.

My psychologist don't allow me to use the nylon thread, hahaha. Years ago I tried to rig a frigate with this thread and I promised myself that never again, it is very difficult to work with it.

Another superb ship from a Master at this. Always love to see your latest eye candy James.

Regards,
Vol

Which ships are you using for the Indiamen in the Mauritius campaign and are you including any of the privateers?

Hi Redline, I've used GHQ's East Indiaman kit in a couple scenarios. I've not worried too much about whether the model itself is a perfect match for the lines of the individual ships in the scenarios. It seems like a good general fit.

One little mischievous vessel that has appeared a few times is the French Revenant. She was built in 1807 as a privateer, requisitioned by the navy, captured by the British in 1808, recaptured by the French in 1809, and then fell into British hands once again in 1810 when Mauritius finally fell. She's been preying on Indiamen here and there.

A few weeks ago I ran a scenario at the club to introduce a couple of guys to the Post Captain rules, and settled on the Action of 18 September 1810, in which the French naval commander on the Mauritius station, Jaques Hamelin, sailing aboard his flagship the 40 gun frigate Venus, chased and brought to action the British frigate Ceylon, 38. Venus was supported by the Revenant, though historically the latter didn't catch up until late in the duel.

In the actual event, Ceylon was badly chewed up and forced to strike, but managed first to badly cripple the Venus, who was too damaged to escape the next morning when a British squadron arrived. Revenant escaped, Ceylon was recaptured, and Hamelin himself became a prisoner, cutting off the head of the French naval operations in the region.

In the game, Venus and Ceylon sparred at about 400 yards for the equivalent of about 20 minutes (in the dark, as this was a nighttime duel) when Ceylon's captain, despite lots of warnings about the messiness and unpredictability of boarding actions, really wanted to see that mechanic play out. He steered right for the Venus, fouled and grappled her, and succeeded in boarding. By the end of it every officer of Ceylon's complement was down, as well as all of her infantry (she had shipped elements of two different regiments of foot at Madras because a marine complement was not available at the time) and much of her crew. She struck long before Revenant had a chance to catch up at all. Venus came out relatively unscathed, and presumably Hamelin returned to port with yet another capture.

Would that inclde the third convoy 18 Nov 1809, or the Caroline's attack on the 31st May 1809?