This month I am starting with the next ship (or ship class) in the Pirate Fleet builder series: The sloop!
During my research I found that most Pirates did not have the classic huge Pirates of the movie screen ships, but rather had smaller vessels like the previous gunboat and the sloop. The sloop with it's simple yet effective sailing rig is the forefather of the modern recreational sailing boats. It was small yet fast and agile, so it was quite a match for larger vessels. But it was larger enough to carry cannons! So this will be my first ship with gunports and cannons.
Here is a first concept sketch I made to summarize my research.
I then started to work on the geometry and made a first prototype build (and also sketched some details on) at half scale (= for 15mm minis) as here all parts fit on on the pages unsplit.
I will make some minor adjustments. I find the stern cabin section is a little to short. But other than that one can see in which direction I am going.
I will start working on the finalized geometry and start to build a 28-30mm version with the larger parts. And then I am really looking forward to put some of the cannons I have built some time ago on deck!
In the meantime,
happy building!
Chris