[WIP] HMS Leopard (1790) 50-gun fourth rate in minifigure scale

[Achilles099]

Sharing some images and an imgur gallery of my work-in-progress moc: a minifigure scale model of HMS Leopard, a 50-gun fourth rate launched in 1790. Click the gallery link to see more detailed pictures of the build: https://imgur.com/gallery/wip-moc-hms-leopard-1790-50-gun-fourth-rate-minifigure-scale-nVshSA9

After my last project (HMS Diana in minifigure scale), I wanted to build a 50-gun ship, as I think this might be the upper limit in terms of ship size that can be done really well in a close-to-minifigure scale. I wanted this to be HMS Leopard, and I was happy to discover that one of the reference books I found contained detailed plans to build a model of HMS Leopard. The book in question is Rif Winfield's "The 50-Gun Ship". 

My goal with this moc is to stay as close as possible to the real construction of a ship like this and to include as much detail as possible. I plan for everything from the lower gundeck and above to be removable as a single structure. For the masts and rigging I am planning to use the same approach I did for HMS Diana while incorporating some significant improvements I have devised. 

 

Starboard view of the hull. Getting the shaping right at the bow and stern was a massive challenge, and involved multiple re-builds. The bow and stern are also the areas where I have had to compromise the "realism" of the internal structure the most to ensure stability. In reality these areas would have more open space inside them, but that just wasn't possible for me to achieve. 

Full view of the removable orlop deck. Almost all of this deck can be removed to access the various compartments of the hold below. 

The orlop with the removable sections gone, giving views into the hold. 

This is my current prototyping progress for the lower gundeck, which will support the top half of the ship that can be removed from the hull. 

I'm hoping to make a lot of progress in the coming weeks with some new shipments of pieces arriving, I'll post more progress pictures once I finalize the design of the gundecks. 

[Sebeus I]

Great progress so far! Would you make the interior accessible in some way?

[Achilles099]

17 hours ago, Sebeus I said:

Great progress so far! Would you make the interior accessible in some way?

Thank you! 

I'm not sure I follow your question? Right now the hold is accessible by removing the orlop, and the plan is for the gundecks above (everything above the orlop deck, in fact) to be removable to give access to the orlop. The gundecks themselves will not be very accessible, which is just because of the level of realistic detail I am including there. I've been thinking about how I might be able to make some areas of the gundecks accessible, but for the most part they will be sealed up once the build is complete since the rigging requires solid structures that will not shift (since the rigging supports the masts). 

[Sebeus I]

On 3/3/2026 at 4:06 PM, Achilles099 said:

Thank you! 

I'm not sure I follow your question? Right now the hold is accessible by removing the orlop, and the plan is for the gundecks above (everything above the orlop deck, in fact) to be removable to give access to the orlop. The gundecks themselves will not be very accessible, which is just because of the level of realistic detail I am including there. I've been thinking about how I might be able to make some areas of the gundecks accessible, but for the most part they will be sealed up once the build is complete since the rigging requires solid structures that will not shift (since the rigging supports the masts). 

That's what I meant, yes. Getting to the interior is always a struggle with the rigging so I was curious how you would go about it .

[Achilles099]

5 hours ago, Sebeus I said:

That's what I meant, yes. Getting to the interior is always a struggle with the rigging so I was curious how you would go about it .

Yeah that is one of my biggest frustrations, I wish there was a way to do both detailed and accurate rigging and maintain tons of access to the interior, but I haven't been able to figure out a satisfactory way to do that. I've consider things like making the sides of the hull along the gundecks removable, but then that precludes doing things like gun tackle, which I really like having. On my last ship I made sections of the deck removable, but that also proved unsatisfactory as even if those sections of deck didn't have any rigging connecting directly to it, all of the rigging made it extremely difficult to actually maneuver the deck segments off the ship and clear of the rigging. 

One thing I am going to experiment with is having the stern galleries open so that sections at the rear of the gundecks can slide out, but I am also planning on including a functional and accurate rudder linkage which will certainly pose serious challenges. 

[Franco Clarke]

Pictures are blocked over here unfortunately, but this sounds like an epic build. 

[Achilles099]

On 3/7/2026 at 8:42 AM, Franco Clarke said:

Pictures are blocked over here unfortunately, but this sounds like an epic build. 

The Imgur link isn't working? Do you know if Flickr works better where you are? I've used that platform in the past as well, and I'd be happy to put the album up over there if it makes it easier for people to access. 

[Franco Clarke]

Seems like it isn't your fault, imgur has been banned in Britain. Sounds like an awesome model though.