Mystery Ship

[Pt109]

View attachment 507109Hello , I’m John from cape cod mass. I’m not a modeler , though I still have all my car models from about 50 years ago and some never opened . Had the constitution , but passed it on to better builder . Anyway , Really joining to see what I have here . I received this ship last year and I was told was that it had been in the family for over a hundred years . I seen a couple of similar photos of battle ships with the ice breaker snout in the Baltic Sea area . Any ideas ? I only had to have new riggings installed , mast tightened up and just a light cleaning done . Thankyou

 

[AllanKP69]

Doing an image search quite a few things came up that are similar but nothing definitive. It may very well be a figment of someone's imagination much like the thousands of other massed produced decorator models in the first half the last century. The bulbous bow came into use over 100 years ago and today is very common but they have nothing to do with breaking ice. To the contrary, icebreakers often have overhanging bows to ride on top of and then crush down on ice. The bulbous bows similar to the one in the model you posted are designed to change the way the water flows around the ship, this reduces drag by modifying the action of the bow wave. Less drag, better fuel efficiency. They are akin to a porpoise's nose.
Allan

 

[Roger Pellett]

Look up “Koreet’s gunboat Russian Imperial Navy” here on SOS. The gunboat model under construction is very similar to your model.

During the battle of Lissa fought in the mid 1860’s between the Italians and Austrians a major warship was lost after being rammed by an opposing vessel. Studying the battle, theorists of World’s Navies concluded that ramming would be an effective battle tactic for these new steam powered warships. As a result, a host of ships were built with ram bows. The French and apparently the Russians both launched warships where the ram bow was carried to extreme. This fad was decisively ended by the Royal Navy’s launch of Dreadnought in 1905. After this, navies realized that battles would be fought at long range.

The bow on your model is one of these exaggerated rams. It’s, therefore, possible that this model might have been made during the years when these ram bowed ships were in style.

Roger

 

[Davidp]

Roger, i think you mean 1860's not 1960's.

 

[iutar]

Typical French school. For example Dupuy-de-Lôme:

 

[Pt109]

That’s amazing thankyou . That is some ship . All of you are right on , thanks

 

[Pt109]

Doing an image search quite a few things came up that are similar but nothing definitive. It may very well be a figment of someone's imagination much like the thousands of other massed produced decorator models in the first half the last century. The bulbous bow came into use over 100 years ago and today is very common but they have nothing to do with breaking ice. To the contrary, icebreakers often have overhanging bows to ride on top of and then crush down on ice. The bulbous bows similar to the one in the model you posted are designed to change the way the water flows around the ship, this reduces drag by modifying the action of the bow wave. Less drag, better fuel efficiency. They are akin to a porpoise's nose.
Allan

Thank you . Great information . Rodger writes about another model from 1860 being built now I need to check out . I should have remembered that though . ( about crushing the ice ) thanks again . J.P.

 

[AllanKP69]

major warship was lost after being rammed by an opposing vessel.

Dopey me should have thought about the old rostrums. Like using them in the scene in the movie Ben Hur rowing at ramming speed! They certainly have been around a long time.
Allan

 

[iutar]

 

[iutar]

Small awkward cylindrical towers with long guns, a long ram on the stem is typical of many French ships. Unfortunately, due to the fact that the model is very primitive and is unlikely to have survived intact, it is hardly possible to identify the prototype.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Good / Bad :

Bad . Yer the model is primitive.

Good . The unusual subject, virtually unknown today means that there is a strong likelihood that the model is old. I would try to see if the model is hand made. If not it might have been made as a child’s toy.

Roger