HMS Speedy Model Ship Kit – Vanguard Models (VM-02)
The HMS Speedy Model Ship Kit:
For the modellers who like to add detail over and above what kits offer, the Speedy kit does include the lower deck, which is stepped aft and at the correct height to the main deck. There are a lot more bulkheads than standard kits of this size to help keep the very fine hull lines when planking.
The kit has the following features:
14 sets of laser cut materials, including a laser cut and engraved deck
7 separate photo etched sheets in brass and copper
Copper plates for hull below waterline
Double planking in limewood and second planking in pear wood
Walnut dowel for masts and yards
10 separate rigging thread sizes in black and natural
14 cast resin 4-Pounder cannon and 20 cast resin half-Pounder swivel cannon
Cast resin 1:64 scale figure of Lord Cochrane himself
60-page full colour building manual and 10 sheets of 50x70cm plan sets
Two cradles, one for when building and a clear acetate display cradle for the competed model.
All other materials and fittings required to build the model as shown.
History of the HMS Speedy
The HMS Speedy 1794 was the one of the first generations of new naval brigs, and her lines were more of a hybrid between a sleek cutter and brig. She was a small vessel for her class, but what she lacked in size and raw gunpower, she more than made up for in character. Speedy had a very active history, being captured in 1794 by French frigates and then recaptured in March the following year. After Cochrane lost her (in an unwinnable battle), Speedy was renamed Saint Pierre and presented to the pope by Napoleon himself.
It is while commanding Speedy that Cochrane made his name. This was his first command, and the combination of this aggressive commander and Speedy ensured that they would be a thorn in the side of the French and Spanish navies, culminating in the remarkable exploit of taking the Spanish 32-gun frigate Gamo (with xebec hull and rig form). Cochrane led 48 of his crew (almost all of them) up the sides of the frigate, which had over 300 men, and eventually took the ship.