Louie da fly

Nope . . . but I may be able to do something on Paint.

The pictures certainly suggest that's how they were made, but until we find a real one, we can only use "best guess".

No, not Celtic! This is an early Viking style - gripping beasts, not knotwork. (Though perhaps Celtic-influenced). Back in my re-enactment days I did a bit of knotwork. It's amazingly difficult to get it all to work together, and just as you think it's all ok you find this piece of tendril is supposed to go under that piece but goes over instead, and there's no way you can fix it without starting all over again! Oh, come on now. Only 48, really! We still say that in my family. And I love "God in His wisdom made the fly And then forgot to tell us why."

Looking good, Andrew. Nice that the venetians have turned out to be useful. We threw out a whole bunch of these at one point, but I think they were MDF. I'm not sure which are the access holes - are they the ones the red fabric is draped through? And are these frames the same ones you can see right up at the bow in the top photo of the ship itself , or are they the second frames that support the back of the small decks? Lubricity? Yes, I know what it is, but I would probably have said viscosity, though if it's for lubrication I suppose that's a more appropriate word . . .

Well, I'm glad you've worked out a sequence of actions. Did my suggestions make any sense at all? Just be aware that the figurehead on the actual ship isn't squared off, and in fact it's in the form of a serpent, head and all. And the other end is the tail. I think the first photo is quite instructive as to the actual form and layout of the decoration. The source I got the second photo from (Pinterest, I'm afraid) had a note that the figurehead had been "restored" (which could mean anything, I suppose - depends on the condition the figurehead was in when found). But when uncovered the ship looked like this: Presumably the figurehead was somewhere among the spoil pile . . . PS: I grew up with the Ogden Nash book "Versus". It contained such gems as the poems about Isobel and Pendelson Birdsong (a wise child - he knew his own father), and of course the animal poems - "Who wants my jellyfish - I'm not sellyfish" and "The camel has a single hump, the dromedary two: Or else the other way around - I'm never sure, are you?" [Edit: You're probably already aware of the discussion on the Oseberg ship going on at [/Edit]

Thanks Andrew. I'll keep this tip in mind.

I've bookmarked this clamping technique. Simple, elegant and brilliant!

Thanks everybody for all the likes and comments. Christos, glad you like the background. There was a discussion earlier in the build regarding the oarblade width - I was also worried they were too narrow, but (i) they had to fit through the oarports which are copied from one of the Yenikapi galleys, (ii) they were based on Byzantine illustrations (though if I had to do it again I'd make the blades taper more slowly, so the blade would come higher up the shaft as shown here) and (iii) I was assured that this is a representative width for an oarblade propelling a decent sized vessel - I've had a quick look for it in the (45 pages of) my build log but can't find it at the moment. Banyan, that's a tempting thought, but I think I'd be happy just to blow the picture up bigger so it forms a background. There's another one that's even nicer (got it off Pinterest) which I'd like to use even more than the one above. But each of them contains a picture of a dromon that I don't believe is correct. I could probably photoshop it out, though, or just put the model in front so it can't be seen.

I like the blue-red-blue-yellow-blue, 7th from the top. I hadn't thought of the Bayeux Tapestry for a colour guide, but of course all the ships have alternating colours in the planking. Doubt has been cast on th "reality" of the colours in the BT (which has green and blue horses, among other things), but every now and then a discovery comes up that confirms its accuracy - such as the horizontal stripes on the mound (known as a motte) that the Norman fort at Hastings is built on - Turns out that when they excavated one, it was built with alternating layers of different materials . . . By the way, IIRC they found yellow (orpiment) paint on the head of the steering oar of the Gokstad ship.

Thanks, Matle. Von Grünenberg, as is to be expected from a member of the mediaeval/renaissance ruling class, was almost obsessed with heraldry, and I'd be prepared to believe that every coat of arms portrayed is accurate. Yes, that one I knew from the text. But the fortifications shown are not as they are now. Either the artist got it wrong or (more likely) they were rebuilt to cope with the new more powerful cannons coming into use at this time. Tall walls and tall towers were vulnerable, and new, more compact forms were coming in - see the fortifications of Malta which were built in the first half of the 16th century. [Edit]Compare this with the marine gate at Rhodes, built when artillery wasn't such an issue, and the main thing to guard against was people scaling the walls. So walls were built very high, with battlements to deter climbers and infantry. Cannons changed all that - one of the main reasons the Turkish conquest of Constantinople succeeded. And here's some information about von Grünenberg himself - https://www.petersommer.com/blog/another-view/gruenenberg-1486-croatia-greece - apparently he was the artist! And you can find the whole book at https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbhs/content/thumbview/7681 - amazing! I'm very glad I followed this up. Strangely, one of the pics I'm most interested in - of Sibenik in Croatia (because it has a great picture of a carrack in it) in this version the ship is different. This is the one I'd like to get in more detail: it's attributed to von Grünenberg And this is what the above archive has: Same city, same configuration, same coat of arms (though reversed out), but different. Presumably they re-drew the pic for another edition. Dammit! Oh, and if you want some more carracks, the Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctum (Pilgrimage in the Holy Land) by von Breydenbach has some good pictures; https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/von-breydenbach.html [/Edit]

And it's a particularly good reproduction of the "Chinoiserie" style of lion fiurehead that was so popular at the time, right down to the expression on its face.

Some more oarsmen, and a nice background picture. It's a reconstruction of the Byzantine harbour of Theodosius (where the Yenikapi ships were found). It would be good to make one of those background pictures big enough to look like it's a real background, but I'll have to wait till lockdown is over so I can get to a shop that does it. My wife tells me I have to stop making these figures, otherwise I'll go blind. I've decided I'll only do it till I need glasses. Oh.

I'm following your log. Coming along well already. That's a very cute photo of your daughter and grandson.

I'll pull up a chair, if you don't mind.Looks like an interesting project, and you're off to a good start. Regarding the orientation of the photos, I've had success saving the photo to a file on my computer, then rotating it and re-saving it if its orientation was wrong, and only then uploading it to the build log. Sometimes it's up the right way in the file but wrong in the build log. If that's the case, I delete the uploaded one from the log and go back and rotate it again till it all comes out right. Others who are more tech savvy might have a better way to do it, but this seems to work for me. Regarding rigging, there's a whole section in this forum just related to it. Just go to the home page and you'll see it about halfway down the page. Rigging is very date-specific - twenty years can make a big difference. There are books out there which others should be able to refer you to (not my field - I know nothing baout the rigging of this period) which should be able to help you a lot. Also look at other Thermopylae build logs, and perhaps others from ships of the same time like Cutty Sark, which should give you some pointers. BTW, just a bit of historical interest, "Thermopylae" means "hot gates" in Ancient Greek. The "gates" were the narrow pass across the mountains, the "hot" was because there were hot springs there. Looking forward to watching progress on this one.

Well, certainly no problems with your ship modelling abilities - I'm impressed! I agree with Bruce D - once you've settled on a powerplant you will narrow down the list of kits considerably. You could also consider scratch-building if there are no kits that fit the bill sufficiently. But that means going over to the Dark Side . . . Nothing to do with the subject, but I remember the Two Ronnies TV show back in the 70s, where Ronnie Barker answered "viewers' mail". A Barking viewer wrote in to ask how to stop barking. He was referred to a Tooting viewer with a similar problem . . .

You may already have these, and not so much to change anything in your model, but for additional information that might be of use in resolving questions about construction details, you might like to look at https://www.academia.edu/19499820/Construction_Features_of_Doel_1_a_14th_Century_Cog_found_in_Flanders?email_work_card=view-paper https://www.academia.edu/27506746/Doel_2_a_second_14th_century_cog_wrecked_in_den_Deurganck_Doel_Belgium https://www.academia.edu/40371597/The_IJsselcog_project_from_excavation_to_3D_reconstruction

Very true. I have to force myself to stay focussed on my current build - otherwise I'd be starting all kinds of new ones. I have a list a mile long of models I'd like to make, and it takes a considerable mental effort to keep on the same one and get it finished, particularly when I'm doing something repetitve and boring, but necessary to finish the model. Even now I've got two under way rather than one, but I've at least put one on hold till the other is finished.

That's a very nice bit of planking, Lapinas. You can be justly proud of it.

All right! Onward and upward! (Oh, and welcome back!)

Ok, but my coffee's getting cold . . .

Very interesting and attractive colour scheme, Binho. As far as I know there's no archaeological evidence either way on colour so you've got open slather . . .

Amazing work, Siggi!

That'd be great, Paul. Make sure you announce the build log here so we know you've started and can follow your build.

Hi Trent, and welcome to MSW! Is that your new grandkid in the avatar? Very cute. Once you receive your kit, make sure you start a build log. It's a great way to get help and advice and encouragement, and we get to see your progress in building a beautiful and gracious ship. To start a build log for a kit, loo here: Good luck with it. Sounds like you'll be kept busy for quite a while . . . and don't be afraid to ask questions if you get stuck or need to find something out. That's what the forum's all about. There's plenty of experienced modellers here, and they're very happy to help. And there is NO such thing as a stupid question

Welcome, Strelok. Make sure you make a note on this thread when you've started your Golden Yacht build log. I for one would like to watch the progress!