Model boat kit

HMS Surprise

Kit by Vanguard Models

Surprise was a 28 gun frigate captured from the French, and her fame comes largely from Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, which the kit is set up to represent.

The kit is 1:64 scale with laser-cut pear wood, lime and MDF parts and a hull double planked in lime and pear. Photo-etched brass, copper plates and 3D printed resin fittings are included.

What building a HMS Surprise actually takes

Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.

Build logs

Launched

n/a

Median hours

n/a

Median months

Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.

Builds of this boat

Nobody has logged a HMS Surprise here yet.

If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.

Start the first log of this boat

Boats like this one

Same type, closest in length.

Kit	Kit maker	LOA
HMS Victory	Occre	46″ (117 cm)
HMS Diana	Caldercraft	46½″ (118 cm)
Santisima Trinidad	Artesania Latina	47″ (119 cm)
Independence R/C Sailing Model	Chesapeake Light Craft	48″ (122 cm)
USS Constitution	Model Shipways	48″ (122 cm)
Cutty Sark	Billing Boats	43½″ (110 cm)