British Frigate HMS Surprise Premium Ship Model Kit 1:48

British frigate HMS Surprise Premium ship model kit from manufacturer Artesania Latina

History of the original

HMS Surprise was a British frigate of the late 18th century that gained worldwide fame through its service during the Napoleonic Wars and its literary fame in Patrick O'Brian's series of novels about Captain Jack Aubrey. Historically, it was based on the former French frigate Unité, which was built in Le Havre in 1796 and captured by the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean in 1796. After its capture, it was renamed HMS Surprise and put into service with the British fleet.

The Surprise was a 6th class frigate with originally 28 guns, later upgraded to 32 guns. She was about 38 metres long, had a beam of around 9.7 metres and a crew of about 240. Her armament consisted of nine-pounders on the main deck and lighter guns and swivel guns on the superstructure. Thanks to its slender hull and balanced rigging, it was considered fast, manoeuvrable and seaworthy – ideal characteristics for reconnaissance missions, escort duties and the fight against pirates and privateers.

During its service, HMS Surprise took part in several operations in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. It became particularly well known in 1799 for freeing prisoners from Spanish captivity off Tenerife, an action that cemented its reputation as an agile and powerful ship. In the following years, it served as a courier and escort unit before being decommissioned in 1802 and sold shortly afterwards.

The HMS Surprise became famous in modern times primarily through Patrick O'Brian's series of novels and their film adaptation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) starring Russell Crowe. A faithful replica of the frigate was used in this film, which is now a museum ship in the Maritime Museum of San Diego.

Today, HMS Surprise symbolises the era of British sailing frigates – fast, elegant and powerful ships that secured Britain's influence on the world's oceans in the 18th and early 19th centuries and formed the basis of many maritime legends.

Kit description

The kit contains over 7000 individual parts for building the model. All wooden parts are precisely pre-cut using laser technology. The ship is constructed using a frame-and-plank method, with a two-piece keel. Of course, the planks must be adjusted by the builder. Only high-quality woods such as American walnut and Swiss pear wood are used for the planking. The decks feature laser-engraved planking. All fittings are made entirely of metal and some are particularly detailed, having been produced using an etching process. Everything is clearly arranged in a sorting box. This includes replicas of the decorated stern, the figurehead, the aft deck with carronades and the upper deck with oven and cannons. Also included are 15 model figures, including Aubrey and Maturin, so you can recreate iconic scenes such as their Boccherini duet from the film. The sails are already sewn. The hull can be plated with copper sheets, as in the original. A construction time of 1000-1500 hours should be expected.

This kit includes a walnut model stand and a brass nameplate.

Who is this kit suitable for?

The kit is not suitable for beginners and inexperienced model builders; experience in historical ship modelling is essential.

What else is needed?

Paints, adhesives and tools are required and can be found in our range.

Optional expansion kits for LED lighting and gunners as figures are available.

What do the building instructions look like?

The kit includes 3 large printed plans with views of the model, part identification and drawings for masts and rigging.

A printed instruction book of over 100 pages introduces the history of the model and guides you through the entire construction process with illustrated step-by-step instructions. In addition, all construction steps are also available as video instructions on the Artesania YouTube channel.

Instructions are not available for download.

Technical data

Scale: 1:48
Length: 1495 mm
Width: 550 mm
Height: 1040 mm
Construction time: 1000-1500 hours