*Hans*

Not only the sails look like sails.
The whole model looks like as if its real and life size!

Not only the sails look like sails.
The whole model looks like as if its real and life size!

Just a note that I finished the man-of-war. These are the results:

Not very spectacular from the side view.
 


The quarter views are OK though.
 

And the sails look like sails. I'm a happy man.
 
Ab

NOW the stern decking is finished with the addition of the two railings shown here.  The resin pillars have nice detailing.
 
Regards,
David

I have added the deck fittings for the stern area aft of the main deck (except for those associated with rigging).
 
In the long shot, you can see the main mast double knighthead, two singles, plus the ladders and pinracks.
 
The other shots show the knighthead painted details in closeup.  The heads on the main mast knighthead (the double) are fiendishly small.  I did better with the one closest to the stern.
 
Now on to the bow area forward of the main deck.
 
[EDIT:  Not so fast.  There are two railings that need to be added running across the deck from side to side.  ]
 
Regards,
David

Here's the decoration for the upper part of the stern.  
 
I'll go on to the port side railings now.
 
Regards,
David

You might have noticed the bulwarks are pretty solid now, after you have glued the ribs in place. 🙂

Finished installing and painting the spars between frames 9 and 12.  The little jig made the alignment come out well.
 
Built and installed the cabin bulkhead at Frame 14.  Now I'll do the spars between 12 and 14.
 
As you can see, I'm working my way back to the stern, after which I'll paint the exterior hull and do the railings (which promise to be a real challenge to get right).
 
Regards,
David

I made a jig to help with installing the spars to keep them properly spaced and parallel.
 
Regards,
David

Ab,
 
Thank you for your positive comments on the new Kolderstok model 🙂 Much appreciated!

Built and installed the cabin bulkhead at Frame 12. 
 
The three pillars are made of molded resin.  There are a lot of these parts, and this is the first time I've run across this material.  It's a joy to work with -- easy to separate the pieces, and they clean up easily with a file.
 
Regards,
David

It has been a while since we had the short conversation about the material to choose for natural looking sails. I jumped into several experiments after wefalcks suggestion of using paper for sails and I managed to get all the paper I needed. However, I never succeeded in creating the result I was looking for. So I went on searching for the right kind of textile. Thanks to one of my former collegues at the museum I managed to get some stuff called 'voile cotton' that answered my needs.
Since the hull of the man-of-war I referred to earlier in the thread was finished, I decided to try my hand on an experiment with almost windless conditions like on this Van de Velde painting in the Rijksmuseum:

Because I don't want to hurt my back too much I prepare my masts, including blocks, sails and lines on the table.

In this picture sails and blocks are in position, lines still have to be added.
 
Here the sails are sprayed with starch and dried with a hair-dryer, while modeling them in the shape I want. Purpose is of course to get natural shapes, expressing the weight of the sails together with the little wind that furls them. Hard to explain I'm afraid. All the lines are temporarily belayed at the mast-foot, they will be attached at the right locations later. 

And this is how it will all look after completion. The main mast still has to be done. The shrouds and stays of the foremast can be fixed now, after which braces, bowlines and tacks follow. Sorry for my lousy photography techniques.
 
By the way, my pleasure vessel experiment, the subject of this (a bit confused) thread, has led to a kit, produced by Kolderstok (http://kolderstok.nl/speel-jaght.html). Kits are not my cup-of-tea, but this one is unusual in the sense that the traditional egg-box system with its terrible straight-planks-method has been replaced by a sort of shell-first technique. Because Rene Hendrickx, my super-Belgian partner-in-crime, created the shapes of all the planking for the boat, the kit is built by using a pdf-mold, used to temporarily support the laser-cut planking. Thus  an empty shell is created after lifting from the mold, which can be finished like a real hull. A new development in kits in my (limited) vision for a very reasonable price. Sorry if I overlooked kits which followed the same method, as I said, kits are not really a point of interest for me. 
Here a page from Kolderstock's three language manual, showing what I mean.

You are going top speed, David!

You are going top speed, David!

Bluebeard -- Glad to hear it.  This means that my many mistakes will have some lasting value.  😄
 
Regards,
David

Hi David, Am I glad you are tackling this build.
Im buying this model today so I’ll be your number one fan and will follow every step of the way on your posts.

Hello Everyone,
 
We just wanted to let folks know that we are still open for business and shipping regularly in this odd reality of the COVID-19 outbreak. As we posted on our own blog last week, while we are taking measures to keep both employees and customers safe, we shut down our showroom to the public. 
 
Also, while we have a very large inventory of kits, fittings, and supplies, some imported items are running low or are out of stock. Given the problems in Europe, we're expecting it may be some time before we get some of these shipments in. 
 
Fortunately, we've recently added a number of products to our inventory recently, which you might be interested in checking out if you're looking for your next project. These include:
 
Shipyard's Laser-Cut Kits:
Hanse Kogge - Bremen, 1380
Wütender Hund Kogge
 
Kolderstok Kits:
De Zeven Provencien
Batavia
Duyfken
Statenjacht
Exploration ship of Willem Berentz
 
Master Korabel Kits:
Schooner Polotsk - Plus Edition
Brig Phoenix - Plus Edition
St. Gabriel
Tender Avos - Special Edition
Cannon Jolle
Double Boat
Secret Vessel Morel
 
We're also working on getting the new wooden kits from Shipyard, but this may take several weeks to process and ship.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular kits right now, OcCre's Essex and HMS Beagle kits, are out and we're just about to run out of HMS Terror kits.
 
But we have a very good stock of Billing Boats, Caldercraft, Constructo, Corel, Disar Model, Mantua, Nordic Class Boats, other OcCre kits, Turk Model kits, and others. 
 
Plus, of course, we have tons of Amati, including all the kits of the Victory Models line.
 
Hopefully, the situation will be back to normal soon. Until then, please stay safe!
 
 
 

Haha 😋 - I was around 20 years old then. Eyes were good (and still are - I don't need glasses or a loupe or whatsoever...).
But my skills were not yet that good in those days.
 

My experience when I build a model is that it's always having a "good" and a "bad" side.
But looking at the models I build some 40 years ago (like the Norske Löwe from Billing Boats) I don't see a good or bad side anymore. 🙂
 

Hello folks, exciting news for us!
 
Ages of Sail is now carrying the line of 17th century Dutch wooden ship model kits from Kolderstock of the Netherlands.
 
We're pretty excited about being able to provide these kits here in the U.S. and abroad.
 
 
The Kolderstok Line of Kits
 
Batavia

 
Duyfken

 
Statenyacht

 
The Expedition Ship of Willem Barentsz
 

Zeven Provinciën, Flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter

 
These kits are designed for experienced ship modelers: 
 
The aim of Kolderstok is to offer a high quality range of wooden model boat kits for ships not available elsewhere. Models of famous ships of the Dutch Golden Age, such as those belonging to the VOC (Dutch East India Company), but also ships famous for the great battles in which they served. Ships under the command of well-known names: Michiel de Ruyter, Marten Harpenszoon Tromp, Jan and Cornelis Evertsen and Adriaen Banckert. Kolderstok models are created using old images and existing models as guidelines, thus ensuring the best possible accuracy.
Kolderstok kits consist of laser-cut keel, frames and decks, planking for the hull and decks, masts, yards, rigging and a full set of hand-cast resin ornaments. The ornaments will need a finishing touch.
 
Sail kits are available as a separate kit for the ship model kits that do not already include them. Sail kits include necessary material, instructions, blocks, and belaying pins to mount them. They are not pre-sewn.
 
 
Check them out at Ages of Sail: https://www.agesofsail.com/shop-cat/kolderstok-wooden-ship-kits/
 
 

[NOTE:  Pictures loaded in reverse order relative to the text, which this site sometimes does]
 
Continuing with the galleries, I have finished the port side gallery.  The port side is slated to be facing the wall, so it's my "try it first" side for complex parts of the build or things I'm not quite sure how to work through -- and this was one of those.
 
The galleries are a fun detailed challenge, and something of an engineering challenge to be sure they fit on the boat properly.  I posted the frameworks in my previous post -- I then planked and decorated them off the ship -- you can see that in the attached picture.  Note the end of the top rail that you can see at the top right.  This rides along the top wale and if you have followed the "tic marks" on the frames during planking (see my earlier posts), then the galleries line up with the stern parts (at least at the bottom).
 
There's also a pic of the port gallery mounted on the ship.  The top side planking that joins to the ship at the stern is the only part done on the ship, and you can see why -- I had to plank down a bit to get the alignment right.
 
This gallery begins to show the color scheme of the ship -- and it will pick up some additional fancy decoration later on when I glue on the resin figurines provided in the kit.  They will be yellow and that will look terrific against these colors.
 
Regards,
David
 

David; looking fantastic!  Thanx for sharing...Moab

Now we begin to get to the reason I was interested in this model.  The colors are beginning to go on.  Side planking turns green from here up with red and yellow accents.
 
Regards,
David

Tip for a "natural"  dark look with walnut:  Take half a jam jar with vinegar (6 or 7 fl. oz. or so), dissolve a tuft  (one inch size) of steel wool in it (this can take a few days) and spread this mixture on the walnut. This will immediately darken the wood.  Of course this does not work on varnished wood, and try first on some rest wood.

Tip for a "natural"  dark look with walnut:  Take half a jam jar with vinegar (6 or 7 fl. oz. or so), dissolve a tuft  (one inch size) of steel wool in it (this can take a few days) and spread this mixture on the walnut. This will immediately darken the wood.  Of course this does not work on varnished wood, and try first on some rest wood.