Kit in review: La Salamandre (1758)
Plank On Frame model, full hull kit
by Miniature Arts
Here I am again...and happy to present another Plank On Frame model kit of French bomb ketch (galiote à bombes) La Salamandre by the company Miniature Arts.
The French bomb ketch Salamandre, 1752, by Derek G.M GardnerThe Vessel
Introduced into the French Navy in 1682 by Abraham Duquesne, the bomb ketch (galiote à bombes) was invented by Bernard Renau d’Eliçagaray and proved to be an infernal machine that had a particularly devastating effect on the Barbary coasts of Africa from the 1680s. They were first called galiote à bombe (a word derived from the Dutch galliot, denoting a short, beamy vessel well suited for the powerful downward recoil of its weapons). Five such vessels were used to shell Algiers in 1682 destroying the land forts, and killing some 700 defenders[.Two years later the French repeated their success at Genoa.
The ketch-rigged vessel was broad in the beam and had no foremast, to make room for the two heavy forward-pointing mortars fixed side-by-side on the foredeck. Stout hull construction distributed the shock the vessels would sustain when mortars were fired. To aim these weapons, the entire ship was rotated by letting out or pulling in a spring anchor. The range was usually controlled by adjusting the gunpowder charge. The French later adopted the word bombarde for this vessel, but it should not be confused with the horizontal fire, stone-throwing bombard of earlier centuries. These weighed about 200 pounds, compared with the 48-pound shot fired from the largest guns then in use. La Salamandre was built in 1752 at Toulon.
Technical Data
Designer and constructor Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait
The Kit
Scale: 1:48
Material: Pearwood, Ebony plywood, resin-printed, and Photoetched parts, brass and white metal casting barrels, and mortars.
Length Overall: 300.5mm
Height Overall: 80mm
Width Overall: 94mm
Lately, there seems to be a trend where kit manufacturers use Pearwood as the main material for the models. Here you will find an excellent selection of quality Pearwood in different thicknesses. All decorations are printed in white color resing. The kit also included one fret of PE parts for additional details. The berth will be assembled from plywood. All wooden parts are laser cut.
The box
The kit comes in a black corrugated box with dimensions of 37.0mm x 29.5mm x 6.0mm. A printed image with a built model on top of the box finishing the packaging.
Sneaking inside the kit Box
Let's take a look at the contents of the kit. All wooden parts are bundled in bubble wrap and sealed with tape. Also, there are a few yellow bubble-wrap envelopes, one contained a plastic box with small accessories parts. Another content of the kit is the small MDF box that provided safe storage for all printed resin parts. Five sheets of plans, color-printed manual sheets, and all frames layout completed the kit contents.
All wood parts are bundled in a bubblewrap and sealed with tape
The MDF accessory box with all resin-printed parts and two yellow envelopes, one of them contained a plastic box with accessories while another PE parts fret, brass wire, and a bundle of rope.
Looking for individual parts of the kit
I already mentioned the trend of many kit manufacturers supplying Perwood, boxwood, and Ebony as the main timber for their models. I love working with the abovementioned timbers and call them the Magic Trio! But this review is not about my preferences and taste, this is about the La Salamadre kit by Miniature Arts, so let's continue discussing the kit's contents. All timber parts, including the plywood for berth assembly, are wrapped in a single bundle (you already saw in the above images). This is furthermore divided into another two packages separately wrapped and sealed with tape.
Building jig assembly consists of 2.00mm laser-cut plywood. It is seemeth be a common method for many foreign kit manufacturers. This block type of assembly allows for avoiding any wrapping of materials. One of the ply boards consists of false bulwarks.
Laser engraving notches for frame placement and easy part identifications.
Here we have mini jigs for the frames shaping.
To be continued in the next post...
Plank On Frame model, full hull kit
by Miniature Arts
Here I am again...and happy to present another Plank On Frame model kit of French bomb ketch (galiote à bombes) La Salamandre by the company Miniature Arts.
The French bomb ketch Salamandre, 1752, by Derek G.M Gardner
Introduced into the French Navy in 1682 by Abraham Duquesne, the bomb ketch (galiote à bombes) was invented by Bernard Renau d’Eliçagaray and proved to be an infernal machine that had a particularly devastating effect on the Barbary coasts of Africa from the 1680s. They were first called galiote à bombe (a word derived from the Dutch galliot, denoting a short, beamy vessel well suited for the powerful downward recoil of its weapons). Five such vessels were used to shell Algiers in 1682 destroying the land forts, and killing some 700 defenders[.Two years later the French repeated their success at Genoa.
The ketch-rigged vessel was broad in the beam and had no foremast, to make room for the two heavy forward-pointing mortars fixed side-by-side on the foredeck. Stout hull construction distributed the shock the vessels would sustain when mortars were fired. To aim these weapons, the entire ship was rotated by letting out or pulling in a spring anchor. The range was usually controlled by adjusting the gunpowder charge. The French later adopted the word bombarde for this vessel, but it should not be confused with the horizontal fire, stone-throwing bombard of earlier centuries. These weighed about 200 pounds, compared with the 48-pound shot fired from the largest guns then in use. La Salamandre was built in 1752 at Toulon.
Designer and constructor Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait
The Kit
Scale: 1:48
Material: Pearwood, Ebony plywood, resin-printed, and Photoetched parts, brass and white metal casting barrels, and mortars.
Length Overall: 300.5mm
Height Overall: 80mm
Width Overall: 94mm
Lately, there seems to be a trend where kit manufacturers use Pearwood as the main material for the models. Here you will find an excellent selection of quality Pearwood in different thicknesses. All decorations are printed in white color resing. The kit also included one fret of PE parts for additional details. The berth will be assembled from plywood. All wooden parts are laser cut.
The box
The kit comes in a black corrugated box with dimensions of 37.0mm x 29.5mm x 6.0mm. A printed image with a built model on top of the box finishing the packaging.
Sneaking inside the kit Box
Let's take a look at the contents of the kit. All wooden parts are bundled in bubble wrap and sealed with tape. Also, there are a few yellow bubble-wrap envelopes, one contained a plastic box with small accessories parts. Another content of the kit is the small MDF box that provided safe storage for all printed resin parts. Five sheets of plans, color-printed manual sheets, and all frames layout completed the kit contents.
All wood parts are bundled in a bubblewrap and sealed with tape
The MDF accessory box with all resin-printed parts and two yellow envelopes, one of them contained a plastic box with accessories while another PE parts fret, brass wire, and a bundle of rope.
Looking for individual parts of the kit
I already mentioned the trend of many kit manufacturers supplying Perwood, boxwood, and Ebony as the main timber for their models. I love working with the abovementioned timbers and call them the Magic Trio! But this review is not about my preferences and taste, this is about the La Salamadre kit by Miniature Arts, so let's continue discussing the kit's contents. All timber parts, including the plywood for berth assembly, are wrapped in a single bundle (you already saw in the above images). This is furthermore divided into another two packages separately wrapped and sealed with tape.
Building jig assembly consists of 2.00mm laser-cut plywood. It is seemeth be a common method for many foreign kit manufacturers. This block type of assembly allows for avoiding any wrapping of materials. One of the ply boards consists of false bulwarks.
Laser engraving notches for frame placement and easy part identifications.
Here we have mini jigs for the frames shaping.
To be continued in the next post...
