Billy Ruffian

HMS Bellerophon was an Arrogant class (and doesn't that just tell.you everything you need to know about the Royal Navy?) 74 gun ship of the line.

It was affectionately known as the 'Billy Ruffian' by the crew and was noted for being tough, fast and very maneuverable. The Bellerophon fought at all the major actions of the Napoleonic period, from the Glorious first to the Battle of the Nile to Trafalgar. In the last battle, the Billy Ruffian's captain was killed but the ship fought on, accounting for a number of French and Spanish opponents. After Waterloo, Napoleon intended to escape to America but found his way blocked by the Bellerophon. It was aboard the Billy Ruffian that the man who once bestrode Europe like a colossus was forced to surrender.

The Bellerophon may have been small, and the title may be technically correct, but you can't really call the Billy Ruffian a Third Rate Ship.

This was the last of the 1/1200 ships I bought and as soon as I realised it was a third rater there was no doubt how she would be painted; the only ship of the period I love more is the Surprise and that's not real.

This one suffered from a fairly serious miscast down one side; as you can see my painting wasn't quite enough to even up the gunports.

Rigging was done the same as the others except by now I've got it down to a single piece of thread.

So that marks the end of another project. I've completed the four ships I picked up and I have to say I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished. I've turned them from this:

Into this:

I've learnt a few new techniques into the bargain which came in useful in some other projects. Next up:

Think positive, baby.