Louie da fly

Wonderful! Is this a reproduction of Skuldelev 2?

Straight out of the Cowdray engraving! which also contains this picture of the Great Harry - unfortunately the original painting was destroyed in a fire and all we have is this 18th century copy, and I have my doubts about its faithfulness to the original - the copyist wasn't all that good at portraying ships. Steven

I only just saw this thread - sorry for not replying sooner. I'm afraid that picture is not from 1550 but much later. It depicts neither the original version of the Great Harry nor the later rebuild. This type of ship didn't come into use till at least 50 years later. This was discussed here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24505-the-great-harry-1511/?tab=comments#comment-720739 and here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24505-the-great-harry-1511/?tab=comments#comment-720739 The picture is taken from an 18th century print by Isaac Robert Cruickshank that can be found at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, claiming to have been taken from an engraving by Hans Holbein the Younger, who was contemporary with the Great Harry. Simply from the anachronistic details of the ship this is obviously not true, but it became the accepted idea of her appearance. A model based on the painting appeared in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and spawned a huge number of mass-produced copies - one of which is currently being restored by the Central Ohio Shipwrights - see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24658-great-harry-henry-grace-a-dieu-restoration/. This ship is close to my heart because I built a model of her way back in the 1960s, based on the reconstruction drawings in Björn Landström's book The Ship and I am currently restoring her. See https://modelshipworld.com/topic/12426-henry-grace-a-dieu-great-harry-by-louie-da-fly-scale-1200-repaired-after-over-40-yrs-of-neglect/?tab=comments#comment-376471 1. Regarding your question about the rebuilding, I believe there was a discussion on the forum not that long ago about this subject but I didn't take a note of it at the time. We can be pretty sure the hull was kept much the same, but it would have been pierced for large cannon and the upper works would have been changed to some degree. The Anthony Roll and the Embarkation at Dover, the only surviving depictions that are contemporary, show how she was after the rebuild. The Embarkation, though showing an incident of 1510 is thought to have been produced in about 1545. So in 1545 she would still have looked like a very large carrack, but with a flat stern rather than the round one characteristic of carracks before about 1510. And we are fortunate nowadays to have the Mary Rose - a "sister ship" launched and rebuilt at the same time as the Great Harry but somewhat smaller - anything that applies to her would apply equally to the Great Harry. 2. According to the Anthony Roll, these are the guns the Great Harry was supplied with in 1545 (this info is available from a google search for "Anthony Roll Great Harry"). The numbers are in Roman numerals Gonnes of brasse Cannons - iiij Demy cannons - iij Culveryns - iiij Demy culveryns - ij Sakers - iiij Cannon perers - ij Fawcons - ij Gonnes of yron Porte pecys - xiiij Slynges - iiij Demy slynges - ij Fowlers - viij Baessys - lx Toppe pece - ij Hayle shotte pecys - xl Handgonnes complete - c This includes large and small guns. The brass guns were usually big, the iron ones often smaller, but the bigger ones were first in each list. The descriptions of Henrician guns is a whole subject in itself and is much more detailed than I can answer here. 3. For the belaying of the lateen topsail sheets, neither the Anthony Roll nor the Embarkation at Dover give any information. Björn Landström's reconstruction in his book The Ship shows booms angled out from the mast to take the sheets, but he was of the opinion that these sails were probably only for display, not for use. I hope this helps. Unfortunately the picture is not of the Great Harry of 1545. When I built my own model the Mary Rose hadn't been discovered, and there wasn't an internet, so it contains a lot of errors. What you decide to do with your own model is up to you, but it might be nice to see someone else take her on based on up-to-date info. If there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask - or PM me if you wish.

Haven't had any updates since September. Is this one still going? I certainly hope so. Steven

Yep - here's the Mary Rose And a couple of others . . .

Looks good, but I'd say the tiller should be higher - it looks like the helmsman would be working inefficiently if he had to move it at that height. More like chest height, I'd say - then he can use all his strength in the horizontal direction, rather than wasting some of it downward.

And have a look at surviving Viking ships to see if the rivets are even visible! Putting them on may make it look less accurate rather than more.

Just subscribed. I have the wholes series - occupies a place of honour in my bookshelf. I re-read them on a regular basis.

What, and get rid of the jousting sticks? Tell 'im he's dreamin' . . .

Mind if I pull up a chair? Carracks are one of my favourite vessels. I've collected a bunch of contemporary pictures of them which you might find useful - at https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/carracks/

Looks like this is going to be a fascinating build. Steven

That's a major milestone, taking her off the mould (British and Australian spelling - Americans spell it mold). She looks very good - very graceful hull shape.

Yes, that looks good, Dick. Coming along nicely. Steven

Welcome to MSW BranPie (interesting name . . . ). You've already got the right idea with starting a build log and looking at other Polaris logs. That should help you a lot. Perfectionism can be a bit of a curse for ship modellers - you will make mistakes; we all do (the better modellers just make more interesting ones). Just remember that each model is a learning experience and each mistake will teach you something for next time. Also that wood is a very forgiving medium - if you stuff up totally, there's still hope. If all else fails, you can throw the kit piece in the bin and make a wooden replacement (though I hope that doesn't happen to you.) I don't think Cathead will mind me mentioning him like this, but he hit all kinds of problems with his Dusek Viking longship kit, but with persistence and ingenuity he overcame them and now his ship is looking magnificent. So hang in there - ask questions or for advice if you hit trouble. The people here are very friendly and helpful. And enjoy the journey!

Hi Dan, and welcome to MSW. One of the best things you can do is to start a build log - it's a great way to get feedback, advice, help and encouragement. The members are a pretty friendly and helpful bunch. The instructions are here: As you're already part way into your build, maybe you could star by posting any photos you already have of the early steps in the process to bring the log up to "today", and then continue from there, posting updates as you make progress. Have fun with it! Steven

Welcome to MSW, Bill. I'd also recommend you start a build log when you begin your build. A great way to get feedback, help, advice and encouragement. The instructions are here: Steven

Hi, Scott and welcome to MSW! There are quite a few member on MSW who are very knowledgeable on the frigates of the War of 1812. Use the search function (top right of this page) - maybe type in "Constitution" - and see what comes up. And for more advanced questions, look in https://modelshipworld.com/forum/13-discussions-for-ships-plans-and-project-research-general-research-on-specific-vessels-and-ship-types/ And when you start your build, make sure you also start a build log. It's a great way to get feedback, advice, help and encouragement. The instructions for starting a scratch build are here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/8-before-you-post-your-build-log-please-read-this-starting-and-naming-your-scratch-build-log/ From your CV above you should do well in building this next model. But by all means ask questions whenever you need information or help.

It's my pleasure. In fact I've learnt a thing or two while doing this The only two contemporary sources I know that show sails on Viking ships are these runestones and Viking coins. And [almost?] without exception the sails seem to have these criss-cross patterns. Looking at all these pictures raises the question - were all Viking sails like this? I know the modern stereotype is for Viking ships to have striped sails, but where does that come from? Perhaps the sagas contain more information, and perhaps they mention striped sails - but that would be another study which I'm not prepared to chase at the moment. Another point to consider - were the Viking sails really made of homespun wool? Is there any actual evidence of this? I got it from a book, but it certainly didn't mention any evidence to back the assertion. The Vikings were fully conversant with making linen and even used stinging nettle fibre to make cloth. Why would they have used wool to make their sails if it stretched like that? Final point - the great majority of depictions on picture stones have this kind of rigging at the foot of the sail - some is a lot simpler than the example you posted, but nonetheless they're there - and perhaps the simpler ones (often a Y shaped arrangement) could give an idea of how the more complicated ones work. If you look at the middle picture on the third row in my previous post, perhaps that gives a hint of how it was done - a loop around the upper rope leading to the next rope down. I'm reminded of crows-feet on bowlines in 17th century ships which perhaps performed a similar function.

No, but it will be very interesting to see it being done. As I understand it, the idea of all these ropes was to even out the forces on the homespun (wool) sails, which had a tendency to stretch. And in this picture and others, there are (usually diagonal) criss-cross patterns, probably reinforcements also to reduce stretching. Steven

Dafi, that's amazing! Thanks for showing this - really creates the scene.

A very interesting paper. I've only had time to skim through so far, but the proposition seems to hold together well. This was a period of transition, with quite major changes occurring over a fairly short time, and I was surprised to see such a late survival of a feature that I'd have thought had already been abandoned by the time this ship was wrecked.

I have a giant matchstick that serves the same purpose . . .

What a wonderful model! I'm sorry I can't answer your question, but there are a couple of members here who've made junks who might be able to help. Perhaps if you put a question up in the "Masting, rigging and sails" section of the forum you might get some success. Steven

Welcome to MSW! Sounds like you've got your ideas planned out well in advance, with a minimum of 6 ships to do after you've finished the AVS. That should keep you going for a while Pequod is of course a fictional ship, and as far as I know nobody does a whaler kit - but I could be wrong. Whaling ships had some very interesting characteristics that distinguished them from other ships at a glance, such as "crow's nests" on the masts instead of a normal top. (see https://modelshipworld.com/topic/15552-what-is-a-crows-nest/?tab=comments#comment-483331 ). I'm not sure how much description of the Pequod is in the book, but you could certainly build a model that is as much like her as it is possible to get with the information available. The others are all real, and many have kits available. I think your first project, the AVS, is a great way to get back into modelling. You'll probably find it easier than the first time you did it, simply because you've done it before. And make sure you start a build log when you begin you model. The instructions are here: It's a great way to get help and advice - and encouragement - as you build your model. Best wishes with it, and have fun. Steven

Welcome to MSW, Hugo! That's a wonderful project you're undertaking. I'd agree with Jim Lad - do no more than you absolutely have to. You might like to use the search function (top right of this page) for the word "restoration" to see what others have done in this line with much-loved old models. (I'm currently restoring a model I made when I was 17, and it's been quite a journey!) And start a build log - so we can all see your progress, and so you can get help and advice with your project. And ask questions if you hit problems - everybody's very helpful and friendly here. Instructions for a "scratch" build log are here: Best wishes with it, Steven