Seeing as my motivation had returned to do some of my Napoleonic ships, I decided to volunteer for two of 
Editor in Chief Bill 
's projects, these being:
Two small packets soon arrived from the U.S., and off to work I went. I had not built any of the GHQ range before, as I had always used Langton ships.
The ships came as follows:
L' Ocean
hull
stern
4 masts with sails moulded on
spanker sail
instruction sheet
6 anchors
3 ships boats
HMS Cleopatra
hull
stern
4 masts with sails moulded on
spanker sail
instruction sheet
5 ships boats
I had spoken to Editor in Chief Bill and agreed to base the ships, so used two of Langton's resin bases.
Items needed
- drill bits - sizes 07mm and 1.2mm
- superglue gel
- black thread
- mesh (or brass ratlines from Langton)
- resin bases from Langton - 1 x 85mm x 40m and 1 x 65mm x 40mm
- paints
- Yellow Ochre - 913
- Mahogany Sand
- Dark Sand - 847
- Flat Brown - 984
- Red - 957
- Desert Yellow - 977
- White
- Black
- Medium Blue
- Prussian Blue - 965
- Brown or Chestnut ink wash (I use 4-parts-water to 1-part-ink)
Stage 1 (both ships)
Remove all flash from masts and spars. Clean up the hull. Remove number tags from sails. (Note: Ensure you know which mast goes where on the ship!) Then take the masts and dry fit them to the ships' hulls. I found that the pre-drilled holes are way too small, so either:
- shape the base of the mast to fit, or
- drill a larger hole using the 1.2mm drill
I always go for option #2, as it allows the mast to be supported better by the hole when glued in place.
Glue the stern to the back of the hull.
Also at this stage, drill holes in the hull sides just aft of each mast using the 0.7mm drill. These six holes are for the rigging to go through. Be careful that you choose a good point to drill through, so you don't damage deck details. Note all the ships are slightly different, so you have to choose a spot that looks right. (This is where the Langton book is invaluable.)
Stage 2
Prime all parts of both ships, and allow to dry.