I've had this ship for several years, having won it on waltBay for about 160 sheets and the time has come to build it. Its retailing at about 760 sheets I think so I guess I got a bargain. Its stood in one of the stables since I bought it, so its a bit grubby but good old wet wipes ruled the day.

I am a modeller, but I tend to build things that fly and things that shoot in 1/32 and 1/35 scale, so this is a big step up and I tend to get a bit OCD about builds. I know very little about boaty things so will be looking for some helpful advice from more seasoned builders.

First of all its mahoosive at 65" and a 10.5" beam. The mrs will need a bigger piano......

The fixtures and fittings are OK - showing their age in an age of 3D printing, so I may scratch some of the kit.

I bought it from an old lad who was getting on a bit and whilst he thought he would complete it, it was just too big for him to handle, so he decided to get rid as he wouldnt be able to launch it. He did make a start on it - he's laid down a ply sheet in the bottom of the hull, having not bothered reading the instructions - hey ho. Hopefully when I test fit the prop shafts it will be OK and I wont have to try and lift the ply. He's used a boat load of resin and I dont think it will be easy to lift unfortunately.

I'm going to build her circa 1907, when she was at her finest. The refits stripped the 12pdrs and saw the rear mast reduced in size. They also lost the torpedo nets, which were largely ineffective, causing some challenges for the crew when at sea in rough weather.

The ships guns aren't the best - I may nee to find someone to turn a brass set for me and I need to locate a lot of portholes!

My first course of action has been to drop Deans Marine a note and ask for some guidance on which prop shafts to order. That's a reasonable indication of my level of knowledge of things that sail!

She'll be having 4 prop shafts. I guess that means 4 motors and 4 speed controllers. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!