Louie da fly

Thank you, Keith , and thanks everybody for the likes.

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Thank you, Keith , and thanks everybody for the likes.

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

To be honest, Druxey, so am I. I keep thinking "Did I really do this when I was that young?"
 
Maybe I don't give my younger self enough credit, but I seem to remember I was a bit of a twerp back then.
 
Or is it that if I could do that when I was that young, why haven't I progressed any further in all this time? 
 
Interestingly, I did carve three figures for the ship out of bamboo back in the day, but they got lost sometime in the interim. It would be instructive to be able to compare them. But I do remember they didn't have the level of detail the current ones do.
 
Steven

I was working on the Great Harry when I was about 17. I'd just changed the scalpel blade so it was nice and sharp. I knocked something off the table (I'm still just as clumsy today) and it bumped on my foot.
 
I looked down on the floor, thinking 'I don't remember having a bottle of dark purple ink on the table".
 
Oh.
 
The blade had landed point first on the big vein that feeds blood to the toes. So sharp I didn't feel any pain. A very nice clean cut. Just needed a band-aid.
 
Steven

Steven, she's really looking nice. The shields turned out great. Your childhood memories have a bright future. 

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, it's a very attractive piece of wood - and much more likely to be a good representation of what was actually used than a smooth, machined piece bought from Bunnings(!)
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Well, I discovered that all those nice shields I made a while ago were ok for the rails on the tops but turned out to be too small to go on the railings at the sides of the weather deck. So I had to make a whole lot of new ones. So there's been a bit of a delay while I did that. But now I can happily say they are all finally in place.
 

 
 

 
And another small milestone. When I first made the model I'd put the lower starboard shrouds in place on the main and fore masts and added the ratlines (glued, not tied, in place) - but I hadn't done anything about the deadeyes - I'd put that off till later.
 
Well, now it's "later", and I find I really made problems for myself doing it that way. I've made deadeyes for the main shrouds and put in the lanyards. I've intentionally left the lanyards with some "play" in them so I can adjust them when I attach the deadeyes to the channels. It's all a bit (as we say in Oz) "a*se about face" and once these two sets of shrouds are done I'll be doing the rest more conventionally.
 

 
As I mentioned earlier in this log I'm not bothering with making chains - when I first built the model I didn't even know chains existed, and at 1:200 scale  I feel it's all a bit too much. So thick thread will take their place.
 
I've hit the wall a bit with knowing what to do next, so I made up a spreadsheet with a list of all the things I can think of that still need to be done, then shuffled the items around - obviously, the masts have to go in before the stays can be added etc etc - until they made a fairly logical sequence. I think this will help.
 
Steven

Thank you, Gentlemen.  Those are some great resources.

I don't have much to add to Cathead's excellent set of links, except to refer you to representations of Viking sails on contemporary runestones at https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24335-gokstad-viking-ship-by-bigpetr-148-card-cca-900-ad/page/4/?tab=comments#comment-776214
 
 
Your pavesades (shield rails) and oarports look very good.
 
Steven 
 

Today I finally got the last two frames installed at the bow and the aft end. All frames have been tree nailed to each plank it crosses.
 

I was working on the Great Harry when I was about 17. I'd just changed the scalpel blade so it was nice and sharp. I knocked something off the table (I'm still just as clumsy today) and it bumped on my foot.
 
I looked down on the floor, thinking 'I don't remember having a bottle of dark purple ink on the table".
 
Oh.
 
The blade had landed point first on the big vein that feeds blood to the toes. So sharp I didn't feel any pain. A very nice clean cut. Just needed a band-aid.
 
Steven

I was working on the Great Harry when I was about 17. I'd just changed the scalpel blade so it was nice and sharp. I knocked something off the table (I'm still just as clumsy today) and it bumped on my foot.
 
I looked down on the floor, thinking 'I don't remember having a bottle of dark purple ink on the table".
 
Oh.
 
The blade had landed point first on the big vein that feeds blood to the toes. So sharp I didn't feel any pain. A very nice clean cut. Just needed a band-aid.
 
Steven

He may well do - that is his right and privilege. But in common with many movies and TV series based on history, there are glaring inaccuracies in relation to such things as armour, equipment and costume, (though the swords look ok). Justin Pollard, the historical adviser on the series is a "popular historian, historical consultant and screenwriter" according to Wikipedia. But if he gave advice on such things I doubt it was followed. Unfortunately movies very rarely worry about such things - the director and costume department get a bigger say than the historical consultant. 
 
I've also spent years researching Viking history and artefacts, and though I may not be an academic, I do know when something is as wrong as this. Strangely enough, the shields are among the "least worst" of the gear on the show.
 
Steven

Unfortunately, nothing in the Vikings TV show bears any relationship to what Vikings ate/wore/did/carried/used. And most of the "Viking Shield Designs" that can be found on-line use a fair bit of imagination (i.e. they're made up) or extrapolate from Viking decorations in other contexts (i.e. they're made up).
 
What is known about patterns on Viking shields appears here: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisandpeter/shield/shield.html
 
The ones you're making look good, but as there seems to be no evidence of standardization in shield decoration, you could mix and match patterns and colour combinations as much as you like within the colours available at the time - https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-history-society--culture/how-to-decorate-like-a-viking/1455997 .
 
Steven

I was working on the Great Harry when I was about 17. I'd just changed the scalpel blade so it was nice and sharp. I knocked something off the table (I'm still just as clumsy today) and it bumped on my foot.
 
I looked down on the floor, thinking 'I don't remember having a bottle of dark purple ink on the table".
 
Oh.
 
The blade had landed point first on the big vein that feeds blood to the toes. So sharp I didn't feel any pain. A very nice clean cut. Just needed a band-aid.
 
Steven