Bellona; Warship 18th century (1760); Third rate; 74 guns | Relaxing classical music

Scale: 1:38.4 (5/16 inch to the foot). A model of the 74-gun ship Bellona (1760), made entirely in wood with wood, metal, and organic and inorganic material fittings and painted and varnished. The vessel is depicted on a slipway with a drawer at the stern end of its scenic carrying case, which opens to extend the slipway to twice its length so that the model can be launched. The hull is coppered below the waterline, and varnished or polished wood above and the broad closed wale is painted black. The gunports are all depicted open and the interior faces of the lids are painted red. The three channels are shown above the two principal gundecks, complete with deadeyes. Some deck and stern gallery fittings and embellishments are made from ivory and windows are glazed in mica. Forecastle fittings include stove pipe and belfry, waist includes a capstan with bars fitted, upper deck houses the double wheel and the poop has a skylight. Some deck planks have been removed to show interior structure. Other fittings include an elaborate figurehead with a green glaze and three stern lanterns. The model is displayed on a launch cradle and slipway within a stylised section of dock. This is set inside a travelling case with side panels in dark, polished wood to which is fitted two pairs of brass carrying handles. On the counter of the stern ‘Bellona’. Date made: circa 1760. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Relaxing classical music