The HMS AJAX 38-gun frigate in the Euromodel kit is supposed to be the one from Trafalgar. However, in all the Trafalgar ship lists that I could find, the Ajax is a 74-gun ship. In fact I can't find a single 38-gun AJAX mentioned anywhere (except Euromodel's, of course).
I am now pretty sure this is NOT the Ajax so....what ship is it?

Hi, Oke!
Well, I can see three 74-gun Ajax between 1767 and 1809 :
http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/A2.HTM
About the 38-gun "Ajax", it is a fictional representative of the type (captured French frigates), itself based on a French design.
http://www.modelships.co.uk/model.php?pag=models
Michel.

Thank you for your comments, Oke, I changed the description in our Gallery :
http://gallery.drydockmodels.com/ajax
Michel.

An interesting note on the Ajax. It's Draught Plan was a design class of two ahips, Ajax & Kent. Launched in 1798. The design was a copy of a French ship, 74 Gun Invincible built in 1744, the only change apparently was an icrease in the hull's length. Invincible was captured by the British in 1747.
Rather interesting that in our time, last years war technology was obsolete 10 months ago.That a warship designed nearly 55 years earlier was a suitable design in 1798 is rather amazing.

Sweet model, wouldn't turn down the chance to build the Ajax.

John

One last try at this and then I think I'll give up the search....I've mailed Euromodel and there's no answer, as I kind of expected.
This would be the first fictional model kit I've ever heard of. If that is really the case, what's with that quite elaborate story about Toulon and Trafalgar and sinking Spanish ships?
I do remember reading once that old kits (meaning before WWW was really world wide) were sometimes insufficiently researched or even simply "invented". All for marketing reasons. I imagine that back then one could get away with it, as it was rather difficult for the modeler to check the historical accuracy of whatever kit he was building, without the Net and with the archives holding the original plans halfway around the world. And kit manufacturers probably had the same problem.
I think this Ajax may well be such a kit, and the lack of any response from Euromodel only reinforces my opinion. If they "made it up" or simply made a mistake back when the kit was designed they should say so.
Now, my last try at identifying this ship... Has anyone seen a 38-gun frigate similar in design to the one in this kit? (The continuous quarterdeck-forecastle should help.)
Thanks anyway.

Longridge's book lists the 38's ( if there are any ) at Trafalger.. I'll look for names tonight unless someone else has quicker access..

Hi, Oke!
Compare it with Artois class frigate, and Caldercraft's 38-gun HMS Diana :
http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/Nelson_Front.htm
Michel.

Hi Oke,

I've heard of the fake ship kits theory and from what I know of, plastic models tend to fall into this problem. Every ship thatI've been asked about so far has turned out to be actual historic ships, one I did a search on was the 1637 First Rate Ship of the Line Sovereign of the Seas, a ship with a 60 year history in the British Royal Navy. The information I wrote about the Ajax came from 'British Napoleonic Ship-of-theLine' Written by Angus Konstam. Among Konstam's credits are having served in the Royal Navy, practised underwater Archaeology, and curated a Maritime Museum. The information presented in the book are bassed on his experiences in these fields. I'd say the odds are in favor of the Ajax's historical information being truthful and historic.
Accuracy of the informatiom may not be 100%, but the ship did have a place in history. Fake or not I'd still would build this model. Even with the Internet finding information on ships is not always easy. the person claiming the Sovereign of the Seas was a fake was based soley on his inability to find info online through Museums. I had the good fortune of having seen the SotS listed among the first first rate ships of the line, second after the Mary Rose. Most of today's wood kits are of historic ships, they may not always have accurate data on a given ship, but the ship was once upon a time.

john

That's precisely my point. The kit may have been designed starting from the draught of a real ship. The story is also real, but it's stuck on the wrong ship. I was only trying to find out the real name and story of this particular type of frigate, in case it matches a real ship.
I have only established so far that it's not an Artois class, nor does it match the few other draughts I've found.

I am perfectly aware of the current limitations of the Internet, but it never hurts to ask. And allow me to quote from a classic, that is... yourself
"Every day more information on history finds it's way onto the internet. We just need to know the right questions to ask, and to keep asking until you finally get the information you need"
Patience is a modeler's virtue and I think I'm one.

Anyway, I've just started work on the 1790 Leopard as a sort of training model for next year's predicted "invasion" of Victory models, wich I plan to counter by building the Santisima Trinidad, so I'm not in any hurry with this frigate.

OK, let's refine the search. Is someone familiar with a 38-gun frigate with 5 windows on the stern and 2 on each side?