I was looking through some of my photos and found this, which I thought may interest some on here.
My pal, who I wargame my aircraft models with, wrote a set of rules for Nelsonian naval battles. He said we should build a ship-of-the-line each to test the rules. His effort was a somewhat rough affair made of balsa wood, not rigged and with cocktail sticks for masts...
I turned up with this:
HMS Mars (74), made entirely from scratch, using plasticard, plastic rod, cotton rigging and handkerchief sails. I can't remember the scale but she's about seven inches long from bowsprit to sternpost. The figurehead of the god Mars is made from an N-scale model railway figure, suitably chopped, given a sword and shield and a coat of gold paint.
England Expects...
Beat to quarters!
Run out the guns!
She remains undefeated in battle to this day.