Le Sphinx
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The Sphinx, launched in Rochefort in 1829, was equipped with an English engine (Fawcett steam engine) which turned two 16-paddle wheels of 5.94m diameter (approx. 19’ 6”). It could attain a speed of 7 knots. We learn that she towed the barge carrying the Obelisk of Luxor, which now stands in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, from Alexandria to Cherbourg. The Sphinx is schooner rigged." (Source: AAMM “Association des Amis du Musée nationale de la Marine”) I started this model in 1967. The Maritime Museum’s large 1:40 scale model was an unparallelled resource for the creation of a model as faithful to the original as possible. - The frame is constructed in plywood. - The planking is mahogany, painted with black india ink for the topsides. - Sheathing has been done in nailed brass plates of about 1.5/10ths thickness, much too thick for the scale, but I had not found any other solution (stick-on copper strips did not exist ...) |
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- The deck and the bulwarks are in boxwood
- The mastage is in pine, the yard arms painted in black india ink.
- The rigging is dyed DMC cotton.
- The paddle wheels are made from brass, cut out and soldered. The whole thing has then been painted in green (Umbrol).
- The chimney: soldered copper plate. The rivet effect was achieved using a punch.
- The mastage is in pine, the yard arms painted in black india ink.
- The rigging is dyed DMC cotton.
- The paddle wheels are made from brass, cut out and soldered. The whole thing has then been painted in green (Umbrol).
- The chimney: soldered copper plate. The rivet effect was achieved using a punch.