Medium Size by Old Modern Handicrafts. This beautiful model of the HMS Surprise is hand crafted using a plank on frame method. The model measures 27 1/2″ long, 8 1/4″ wide and stands 26 3/4 tall. The Surprise was painstakingly re-created to look like a vessel from the Revolutionary War Era. Rose when launched in 1970 in Nova Scotia, and for more than 30 years it served as a sail-training vessel, primarily along the East Coast. In the movie, a fictional British frigate named the Surprise and a much larger French warship, the Acheron, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. The movie, directed by Peter Weir, was based on a book by author Patrick OBrian. Surprise resides dockside at the San Diego Maritime Museum and is still seaworthy.