Shipyard HMS Rattlesnake 1776 Scale 1:72

If any kit deserves to be called extraordinary, this is it.

The Shipyard HMS Rattlesnake is a remarkably sophisticated 1:72 scale wooden model kit composed of 1,181 precision laser-cut parts.

Shipyard built its reputation producing highly detailed card models. Here, the Polish manufacturer has applied that experience with precision design and laser cutting to wood—with impressive results.

This is not simply a box of timber strips accompanied by optimistic plans. Much of the difficult shaping and engineering has already been calculated for you.

You still have to build it, of course. Shipyard has not yet found a laser capable of supplying patience.

Advanced Hull Engineering

The hull is constructed around an extensively reinforced, interlocking keel-and-bulkhead framework. Internal supports and sub-deck structures help maintain alignment and create a strong, rigid foundation before the hull is closed.

One of the kit’s most important features is its **pre-shaped hull planking**. Instead of supplying only straight strips that must be extensively tapered and edge-bent, Shipyard provides individually profiled, laser-cut planks designed to follow specific areas of the hull.

The planks still require careful fitting, beveling, and finishing—but much of the guesswork involved in establishing fair hull lines has already been removed.

The decks are supplied with precision laser-engraved plank seams and fastener details, producing crisp, consistent scale texture without requiring every deck plank to be installed separately.

Remarkable Scale Detail

The model is filled with the small details that distinguish a serious ship model:

* Gun barrels with finely cut carriages
* Movable swivel guns
* Materials for rigging the cannon tackle
* Photo-etched brass fittings
* Blocks, deadeyes, and hearts
* Metal fittings and wire
* Dowels for forming the masts and spars
* Rigging cord in multiple thicknesses
* Laser-cut sails
* Flags and decorative elements

The standing and running rigging is particularly extensive. Although *Rattlesnake* was a cutter, her sail plan was enormous relative to the size of her hull, with a large gaff mainsail, square topsails, long bowsprit, staysails, and their associated lines and tackle.

There will be rigging.

Quite a lot of rigging.

An Advanced Model Made More Approachable

The finished model may look intimidating. The construction is considerably more approachable than its **1,181 parts** might suggest.

Shipyard’s precision-cut components, interlocking internal structure, pre-shaped hull planks, laser-engraved details, and exceptionally thorough instructions remove much of the measuring, shaping, and interpretation normally associated with a model of this complexity.

The 116-page, full-color manual contains 1,006 photographs and illustrations, guiding the builder through the project step by step and explaining important assembly, gluing, painting, and finishing techniques along the way.

For that reason, HMS Rattlesnake is suitable not only for advanced builders but also for a patient intermediate modeler with some previous wooden ship-building experience.

It is not an effortless project. The thin hull planks require careful fitting, and the extensive armament and rigging will demand time and steady hands. But the kit does not expect you to reverse-engineer the ship from a handful of plans and a bundle of anonymous timber.

Shipyard has already done much of the difficult engineering.

You are left with the merely enormous pleasure of building it.

More Than 1,000 Construction Images

The documentation is nearly as impressive as the model itself.

A 116-page, full-color manual guides the builder through construction with more than 1,000 photographs and illustrations. Instructions are provided in English, German, and Polish, covering not only the assembly sequence but also important gluing, painting, and finishing techniques.

We strongly recommend looking through the downloadable manual before ordering. It is the best way to understand the extraordinary engineering, detail, and scope of this kit.

It may also result in the sudden clearing of a very large section of your workbench.

Download Manual (Part 1)

Download Manual (Part 2)

Download Manual (Part 3)

Download Manual (Part 4)