La Reale (1694) was built in two years and launched in 1694. It was finally decommissioned in 1720. It took a team of 360 rowers (all slaves and prisoners of war) and two massive diagonal sails to keep the ship moving in the Mediterranean Sea. Over 57 m in length and the pinnacle of galley technology, this flagship of the French galley fleet was hopelessly outclassed by full sailing ships armed with many more cannons. Only the stern decorations survive, and are displayed in Paris' Marine Museum.
The last great sea battle between galleys took place off Cape Matapan (southern Greece) in 1717.
The model is incredibly small, but most parts are robust except for the frame for the canopy on the rear deck. It was replaced with card stock as it shattered in the box. All of the paper banners are printed as part of the kit. This model was a gift from a fellow IPMS Ottawa member who said he wanted to give me the kit because I built weird things.
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| La Réale (1694) |
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| This model placed third in the giant CAPCON biennial model contest on 28 September 2019 at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. (non-powered ships) |
