Oseberg Viking Ship - Billing Boats - Scale 1:25

My wife writes young adult fantasy novels. Her next book features Viking witches, so I just had to build a Viking ship. This was a quick, 2 month build for me. There are several excellent build logs for this kit and similar kits by Dusek and Amati, so I didn't bother with a build log.

I made a huge beginner's mistake in building the hull before staining the pieces, so every little spot of CA shows through the stain. I know better but did it anyway. I touched all of those spots with a brown marker but they still show. That does make the hull look a little old and battered in a crude sort of way. As the programmers say, "It's not a bug, it's a feature."

The kit includes laser etched carvings for the bow and stern that look very nice. But like other builders I was disappointed by the use of plywood for everything else in the kit, so I remade the stand, rudder, mast fish, oar holders, and W-shaped blocks out of hardwood. The real ship was nailed together, so I put about 1,450 brass pins through the hull. That wasn't as painful as you'd think - it only took about 8 hours, but it was tedious to trim the pins that poked through the open areas at the bow and stern. You can't see most of the pins on the bottom of the ship so I'm not sure if it was worth it.

Billings includes a piece of white muslin for the sail. Most builders mask it off and paint stripes that invariably bleed under the tape. I went to the fabric store and bought a piece of striped outdoor fabric. Nicest sail the Vikings ever had. Billings also includes a spool of rigging line that looks like cheap string. I ordered 40 feet of handmade rope from Chuck at the Syren Model Ship Company. Nicest rope the Vikings ever had.

This is a BIG model - almost 34 inches long. I'm not sure where I'm going to put it in the house. When you're thinking about buying a kit, never ask where you're going to put it.