This class of sailing ships dates back to the seventeenth century, with the advent of artillery (cannons) capable of conducting linear combat (simultaneously from all onboard guns from the side line).
In shortened form they are called “battleships”.
Model drawings can be downloaded for free from the website or from other sources.
In May 1715, the Russian 3rd rank cannon battleship Ingermanland (64 guns) was launched from the Admiralty shipyard in St. Petersburg. Peter I himself took part in the development of its drawings. The battleship had impressive dimensions for that time: length - 52 m; width – 14m; hold depth - 6m. Peter's golden standard soared on his mast. This ship was the flagship of the Russian fleet for a long time.
Ship ranks in the sailing fleet:
Frigates were military ships with one or two decks and three masts. They differed from battleships in their smaller size. Their purpose is cruising service, reconnaissance (long-range), a surprise attack on an object with the aim of further capture or destruction. The largest models were called linear frigates. According to statistics, more frigate models are downloaded for free than battleships.
Making ship models is the oldest of man's "technical hobbies": for almost six thousand years people have been immortalizing their ships in miniature. The oldest model found during excavations - a ritual silver boat with oars from a tomb in Mesopotamia - is dated by archaeologists to the beginning of the fourth millennium BC.
Russian professional ship modeling is much younger, but it is already three centuries old. The production of ship models began with the Petrovskaya “model chamber”, in which the “Admiralty” models of all new ships under construction were stored. These were exact, detailed copies of the hull design with the plating partially removed, serving as visual aids for ship carpenters who were poorly versed in drawings.
In fact, Peter I himself was the first serious Russian modeler. At the age of seventeen, having returned from the “Grand Embassy” to Europe, he built such a model of a frigate. By order of Peter, all models were kept as samples for posterity. The collection of our Naval Museum.
Probably, many people, and especially those living in St. Petersburg, with its history and traditions, at least once had the desire to build a model of some sailing ship with their own hands. However, without the necessary skills and tools, this can hardly be done at home, guided by special literature and ship-modeling sites. The technologies described there are often quite complex, require special equipment, materials and almost always already require certain experience, so making a ship is not an easy task. As a result, for someone whose skills are limited to school labor lessons and folding paper boats, the difficulties that arise when work, they are more likely to discourage desire than to create interest. It can be difficult to find recommendations that allow you to create something significant, starting from scratch. But still, if you wish, it is quite possible to build a fairly decent model, having at your disposal the simplest tools available in any house where there is a man with “hands”, and a minimal set of materials. You just need to initially set yourself up for the fact that everything will work out, definitely (!), but almost never right away. That a failed operation, a screwed-up part (it’s good if there’s only one!) is the norm, a necessary acquired experience, and not an emergency. 
Serious professional modelers, whose works, sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars, take first place at international exhibitions, as a rule, have a rather skeptical attitude towards models made of papier-mâché. This is understandable - paper, even well-glued, will still remain paper. But for someone who is trying his hand at modeling for the first time, this working technique will be the most preferable. It does not require any expensive materials or tools, and as a workplace it allows you to limit yourself simple table with a piece of plywood placed on it and a grill for the bathroom, so as not to create dust in the room. It’s great if you have an electric drill with a tripod that can be mounted on fresh air. But if not, then the conditions described above will allow you to start, and most importantly, finish your first model. All the models presented in these photographs - from a Roman galley to an armored cruiser - were built using this technology and precisely in these conditions. Fifteen years ago, after an injury, suddenly finding himself isolated from environment, I had to remember my childhood hobby and try to turn it into a profession. After reading a fair amount of literature, I realized that none of the techniques given there pure form it does not suit me. As a result of many trials and experiments over the years, a technology has emerged that allows it to work independently of any external circumstances. However, with all the accessibility of the method, it still won’t hurt to acquire something before starting work. The most important thing, of course, is what and how all this will be built. So, what is needed in order to make a ship out of wood with your own hands:1.1
Array- i.e. ordinary wood, necessary primarily for making spars. For mast columns, pine slats of the appropriate section are best suited. Birch is worse: it is more difficult to select even sections from it and more difficult to process. The thinner parts of the masts - topmasts and flagpoles, yards, the rest of the spar are perfectly made from birch kebabs, which can sometimes be bought in various super-hypermarkets. It is worth paying attention to the fact that they come in different thicknesses: 3.5 and 3 and 1.8 mm came across. For the smallest parts, it is good to use wooden toothpicks. Other wooden parts; in theory, and in theory, those made from solid wood are easier and better obtained from 2-3 layers of veneer of the corresponding species glued together by “Moment” in 2-3 layers.
Glue. Optimally - furniture PVA. Proven - Novgorod PVA-M "Akron". If there isn't one, another one will do. The main thing is that the purpose should indicate “for gluing” wood products, and not “for gluing” - this one holds much worse. When buying, ask to try it - glue two pieces of veneer together by squeezing them with a clothespin, wait 30 minutes until it dries and try to tear them apart. If the glue is good, the veneer will tear, but not the glue. In addition, apply a smear to the surface - a matte, but absolutely homogeneous, transparent film without a milky tint should form. Estonian PVA is good, but sometimes it doesn’t stick to our dried one and falls off. Those. Having started working with one, it is better to continue with it. And, of course, the ordinary “Moment” is also irreplaceable. 
Varnishes, paints. Varnish is best suited "Aqua" - i.e. on water based. Dries quickly and does not leave streaks on paper and cardboard. And, which is essential when working in an apartment, there is practically no smell. It makes sense to purchase both colorless and tinted to match dark wood. Paints - after trying several options, I settled on acrylic ones. Of these, the most necessary is gold. Proven - "Inca Gold". Where possible, it may be easier to stick the above-mentioned colored paper. In general, in the traditions of the Russian modeling school, painting models was not very common. Unlike Europe, where they strived for one hundred percent similarity with the original even in shades, in Russia they tried to select valuable types of wood so that their color, although not exactly, approximately, would correspond to the color of the painted original.
Fabric and thread. Any white one is suitable for sails cotton fabric. Naturally, the thinner the thread and the tighter the weave, the better. The main thing is that there is no synthetic admixture, otherwise it will not stick well. The same applies to threads. Pure cotton, however, is now difficult to find, but if the percentage of synthetics is small, then you can try them. For standing rigging you need black threads, for running rigging it is better to use light beige threads. In terms of thickness, all possible numbers are useful: from the maximum - 10 or even 0, if you can find it, to 40 - 50. In the literature, it is sometimes recommended to tint the fabric with a weak solution of tea for authenticity. I tried it and didn’t like it: it may be more reliable, but the pure white sails look much nicer. But if you don’t find the right color for the threads, it’s better to lightly tint them with wood stain.
Wire and foil- preferably copper or brass, but any will do, even from tubes. Small carnations, plasticine, self-adhesive film, etc. - This is not an exhaustive list; new ideas can come to mind at any time during the entire work process.
In addition to the standard set of tools that does not need comment, such as a plane, pliers, wire cutters, a screwdriver, clamps in pairs - larger and smaller, a hammer, a hacksaw, chisels, etc., there are several specific things that are worth mentioning separately .Electric drill. If you have an idea to get down to business seriously, and not limit yourself to one test copy, you should definitely get a drill. It is advisable to choose something more powerful - 500 watts, no less. Very good if with a tripod and adjustable speed. Extremely useful thing- grinding disc. Those. not a sharpening one (that wouldn’t hurt either), but a grinding one - on the surface of which you can attach sandpaper. Saws. A jigsaw is a useful, although not essential, thing. A hacksaw for metal will come in handy more quickly (albeit for working with wood). It’s good to have two blades for it: small and large. Files. Four or five pieces different shapes and it’s worth having notches, but, from my experience, the main and almost irreplaceable ones are flat, small, the largest you can find. It’s also a good idea to have a set of needle files. Knives. I made my most beloved and necessary knife (pictured) about 25 years ago from fabric for metal. There are no such things on sale. There is no work without it - only it can cut veneer into strips with high quality. It was about five (!) centimeters longer - it was worn down... So, if you make a similar one, then with a margin in length. When choosing a blade for a blade, try to bend it: if it remains bent, it is too soft. If it breaks, it will fit. You can make it out of the debris. Take a longer blade so that it goes almost through the entire handle. The rounding at the end of the handle is also not accidental: it is convenient for them to rub in parts being glued (especially on the “Moment”), and to simply smooth out unevenness. 
Pay attention to the sharpening - it is one-sided, while the right side of the blade is ground off - that is, if you cut it along a ruler, leading like a pencil, then the flat side is pressed against the ruler, and the ground chamfer faces away from the ruler. Blade angle - approximately 30, sharpening - 15-20. From the same cloth it is worth making small thin cutters, like chisels, of different widths: 4, 6, 8, 12 mm - although not immediately, but gradually they will all come in handy somewhere. You can find wood carving kits with semicircular cutters on sale. They, too, sooner or later, will definitely be needed. Awl. Ordinary shoemaking. But you will have to do one more thing yourself - from a long thin nail or from a thick sewing needle (conveniently a machine one) on a long (15-20cm) handle. Well, while we're on the subject, a set of sewing needles different sizes will also be needed. Brushes. It’s worth getting a dozen and a half at once - all sizes: from 2 to 20mm, different hardness for different needs. Sometimes instead of a glue brush when small jobs It is convenient to use a thin wire wound to a stick. 
Scissors. It is worth having at least two, and preferably three pairs: a separate one for fabric, for foil, and for paper, veneer and cardboard. Sanding paper. A minimum of three numbers is required: from the largest for leveling the body blank for veneering to the smallest for sanding for finishing. Well, the average one is for intermediate work. Sharpening stones for cutters - it’s worth getting three of them, including the smallest whetstone for final finishing. 
Little things - necessary, and simply convenient to use: drawing supplies, large tweezers, small pliers with long thin jaws, clothespins, rubber bands "for money", a crochet hook, a table vice, a transparent plexiglass ruler 50 cm long, indelible black and brown markers, wood stain. But you never know what else you can come up with with a creative approach to business! 
And forward. So, having acquired all of the above, or being confident that you will get what you need at the right time, you can, inspired, get started! I won’t advise you where to get the drawings - there is a lot of literature, the Internet is huge and dynamic - sites are born and die. And I myself Lately I wasn’t interested in this direction... In any case, since you got here, you can get to the drawings. Study several projects of different ships, comparing their designs and details. Often details missed in one set are perfectly presented in another - for a similar ship of the same class, and vice versa. Their stories are worth reading too. It’s good when the debut is not the first thing that catches your eye, but the fact that as a result of the selection you like more than everyone else - it will be much more interesting to work. Such a model has a much greater chance of being finished - it would be a pity to leave it unfinished... Well, let's start, of course, with the body. 
Author - Dmitry Kopilov
Exclusively for the site
