admin Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Hello everyone Can you help us in finding the original paint scheme for the french corvette Unite, which became HMS Surprise after capture. This ship itself or ships that were very similar to it. Paintings or descriptions or references on where we can find it will help a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malachi Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 The most probable colour scheme for a french frigate of the time would be black/yellow ochre like in this paintings: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11987.html http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13719.html The first one was made by Pocock, a famous maritime painter. His works often were commisions for naval officers, so they show their subjects in great details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Loe Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2705/4474508826_42467be547.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Loe Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 http://books.google.com/books?id=PS-DcaCMnR0C&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=hms+surprise+painting&source=bl&ots=-GGMR-NK_s&sig=BCeOQ_YISDccC_G3yBxM9ZxyLwA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yP1fUtbiCZHa9ATf-4CYDQ&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=hms%20surprise%20painting&f=false Book about HMS Surprise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BungeeLemming Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 well.. The Cpt. Jack Aubrey's Pain scheme was lord Nelson's paint-job. he made the yellow strokes famous. That means you can find the HMS Surprise's paintjob on HMS Victory. The exact colourscheme was more a captain's choice. The richer the captain, the more he can spend on the Ship's paint and gold-inlays/plates.. Altho the Navy didnt deliver all sort of colours. black and white was most common in the Napoleonic war Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adair Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 In the books, Surprise was in the Nelson Chequer as often as possible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Chequer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weirdguy Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ships of the time don't have to be painted the same. It was up to the captain to paint his ship the way he liked it, and often he would also have his personal boat pained the exact same way, and even uniforms made up for the crew of that boat. However, most French ships I have seen usually have blue along the top railing if you had to pick a "national" color scheme for the French fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destraex Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 http://www.larsonweb.com/Transfer/Miniatures/Sail/NAPSHIPS.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destraex Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 i will ask on some modeller forums... But hope the above link helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicked Mouse Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 With a bit of googling I found this picture: Already captured, but note the more blue part on the top gun deck Maybe this model of La Gloire helps: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Connor Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 (Credit to Wicked Mouse for finding this picture) I think you have based the ingame HMS Surprise paintscheme on this painting? It is not Surprise in British colors but rather Unité immediately after her capture by HMS Inconstant, as shown by the British flown flown above the French flag to denote capture. The artist, Geoff Hunt, is well known for not just his skill but also accuracy to the subject, so I think you can view this as an accurate depiction of Unité (Note the blue bulwarks and stern gallery). To distinguish HMS Surprise from Unité you could perhaps use the Nelson Chequer paintscheme for her, as seen on HMS Victory and the HMS Surprise movie replica? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Armstrong Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Paint scheme is dependent upon era, the blue stripe scheme on French vessels dates to before the French Revolution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destraex Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Unfortunately I do not have this book http://www.amazon.com/The-Frigate-Surprise-slipcased-hardcover/dp/039307062X This may be as close as you are going to get, looks like the painting depicts her just after capture: http://www.militaryartcompany.com/military_art.php?ProdID=13504 edit: Oops, already provided by another poster above. http://www.tallshipmodels.com/tall-model-ships/hms-surprise-wooden-ship-model-lord-nelson.html Later on it may have been nelson checker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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