1/2400th Rochambeau Scratchbuild: The Hull

I had a pleasant half an hour or so to myself this afternoon, so settled down to cut, scrape and sand the hull for the French ironclad Rochambeau, ex-USS Dunderberg. I worked out the scale length as 45mm and the beam as 9mm, so I aimed in that rough direction when cutting the basic hull shape. It was trimmed and sanded down to the approximate plan and profile using various files and sandpapers, so that it is now just about the right shape if not quite the right length and a little bit wide.*

I have a spare Tumbling Dice sea base that I used as a tester for the sea shades, so I thought it could be used as the base for the Rochambeau, with the hull glued over the central recess and blended in with green stuff. It might sit a little high in the water but I don't think that will be too much of a visual issue, especially if I add some green stuff bow waves. Next up will be the armoured casemate, which will sit on top of the hull once I've cut it and sanded it to shape.

* I have subsequently thinned out the sides towards the stern so that the hull is more tear drop shaped and has a more distinct taper.