by Peter Fulgoney
1/700 Rochambeau (Combrig)
This is a ship I had never heard of before Combrig issued it as their ironclad Dunderberg. It looks so strange at first that I thought it was some kind of stealth boat but perversely, with masts and sails. I decided to model the French version because it was under the French that it saw action, and was able to fulfil the use for which it was built.
The plan of the instructions show a configuration for fewer guns which the French ship had but after that, you’re on your own unless you know Rob Kernaghan who can send you a plan to show where the coal scuttles go on the main deck. I was also able to work out that the rows of holes on the aft deck would have been vents to a number of officer’s cabins below. Also there are 3 gangways on the main deck and these look to have some rails/awnings but I can’t work out how these might be shaped.
A synopsis of the build is : black hull, and fore and aft decks. Timber main deck. Sails of Rizla (blue) ciggy paper painted with pva, and stained with MIG rust powders. All masts are brass rod, and the rigging is stretched sprue. The figures on board are there for scale more than realism, and I use Eduard, Gold Medal, and Lion Roar examples.
Peter Fulgoney 26/02/06.
