Anyone familiar with our research practices will know that it is usual for us to start with a ship's plans to determine the correct hull shape and provide a small amount of detail for the ship furniture and fittings. A great deal of time is then spent pouring through old documents, including dockyard correspondence, admiralty orders, captain's letters, ship's logs etc. to help fill in all the remaining blanks. NOT SO WITH THIS KIT!
While we have still begun with the ship's plans we also have all of the original ship specifications for furniture and fittings, their placement, quantities, sizes etc. even a complete description of the ship's decoration.

How? By securing access to the original ship's contract!

Although they were known to have existed, in over a decade of researching, designing and producing kits of ships from the late 18th and early 19th century we have never before come across a builder's contract. What makes this copy even more special is the fact that it was the dockyard copy and as such it also contains notes added by the builder's - everything from scribbled calculations to alterations!
When it comes to kits of late 18th and early 19th century warships this kit looks set to become the new benchmark for accuracy simply by virtue of the fact that all of the details are known for the ship but, couple this to the uncompromising design ethic that you would only expect from Caldercraft and it becomes a truly mouth-watering proposition.

Also, this is not just 'some 74-Gun ship', although we are not currently releasing the name or full details of the ship in question, she was launched in 1783 and had a very colourful service history. At one end of the scale she was commissioned as a guardship on a number of occasions, at the other end, she was a flagship to several Admirals. She was present at and took part in numerous major naval engagements and even led the column. She took part in major blockades, chased/captured/destroyed many enemy ships and is even known to have been involved in a crew mutiny!

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