 The "Unicorn" was inspired by the 64-gun "Brillant", built in 1690 at Le Havre, France by the shipwright Salicon and then decorated by the designer Jean Bérain the Elder.In 1942, Hergé had decided that his latest "Tintin" adventure, "The Secret of the Unicorn" (1943), should depict images of his fictional "Unicorn" as detailed precision drawings.He used the services of his friend and local model ship maker Gérard Liger-Belair, son of a former naval officer and who owned a shop in Brussels that specialised in model ships, to find an appropriate historical vessel that he could customize to meet his historical needs.