Cathead

You could try very light tracing of the seams with a pencil to create a hint of a shadow. As Keith says, glue some wood scraps together and test the idea that way first.

I've read that too. I found it entertaining but pretty loose with the accuracy while being kinda boilerplate (all Follett's novels follow the same basic template and get predictable after a while for me). Evening and the Morning basically felt like every one of his cathedral books with a couple words changed to make it sound like a different era. Bernard Cornwell is a far better writer and takes far more care to get his facts and cultures right. You'll find that the books take far more time to give a balanced portrayal of Norse/Danish culture than does the show, which mostly treats them as barbarian invaders and puts all its focus on the proto-English. I don't know if you meant download ebook or audiobook, but the audiobooks for Last Kingdom are quite good. The first few books especially have a fantastic narrator who understands how to use accents.

Allan, if you want to get more deeply engrossed, try The Last Kingdom on Netflix, or even better, the series of historical novels it's based on. The books are a fairly accurate account of the Anglo/Norse era of Britain around the time of Alfred the Great, and the TV show does a decent job (it's far more accurate than Vikings), especially the first two seasons when it was British-made. Once Netflix took over, seasons 3 and 4 became more gratuitously American and the Viking characters became more shallow, but it's still entertaining and at its worst is as good as the better parts of Vikings. Of course, that's just my opinion. Glad you're interested now! I certainly don't want this to be my last such vessel, I've learned so much that I want to apply from the beginning on a future build.

More detailing updates. I played around with Steven's suggestion of stacking shields under the thwarts/benches and couldn't make it work. The shields are too wide to fit easily and I knocked out a number of the delicate little stanchions supporting the benches. So here's my latest idea: stack some shields in groups of twos vertically between each bench (corresponding to a rower on each side), at least where the mast foot doesn't get in the way: These are loosely placed for demonstration. If I did this for real, I'd glue the pairs together, then glue them to the bench. Then I'd simulate some kind of basic rope lashing holding them in place. I think I like this approach as it lets both sides of the shields be seen, makes them reasonably accessible, and at least makes some functional sense. The rest of the shields I can tuck into corners at bow and stern or maybe hang from the gunwales as suggested above. I'm going to sleep on it before doing anything permanent. I made a cloth cover for the open barrel, lashing it one with some fine line: I think it's good enough for display on the model. Another barrel is underway so I can place one on each side of the mast footing. I made two more bundles of "spears", this time using toothpicks as the shafts. I sanded these down a bit smaller, glued them in bundles around a central dowel, and wrapped them in cloth: The newer ones are at left. I like these a bit better, though I'll use both sets, piling them together. Their length matches the spear held by one of my figurines. The handles are probably still a bit thick, but I think it's close enough for artistic representation. In this approach, the spears and most of the cargo will set centrally surrounding the mast foot. I think this will work out pretty well.

Thanks for sharing that, Balclutha! Samuel Clemens' brother was killed in steamboat boiler explosion along the Mississippi. One of the worst steamboat disasters on the Missouri occurred not far from me, near Lexington MO. Randy, wish I had an answer for you.

Looks like a good start to me.

Bolin, I agree, there's no way they would have been stored like that during actual sailing operation. I'm just really struggling to find the balance between artistic display of relevant details and an operationally accurate model. Again, just the fact that I'm displaying it with oars out and sail rigged blows operational accuracy right out of the water, so the question is how much further do I go?

Congratulations. Such a beautiful model, and so much care and accuracy in the building of it. Thanks for the inspiration and the time spent to share it.

Steven, Swords: Yeah, I know they were high-value. Especially any Ulfberts. The barrel idea was artistic license to have a chance to display some. I knew I couldn't justify putting a bunch of axes in a barrel given the physical logistics of it! But you're convincing me it's just not plausible enough even in that context. I think I'll cover the barrel with "oilcloth" since they wouldn't want seawater slopping in no matter what it contained. Spears: Those were the thinnest dowels I had on hand and I was hoping they would blend in to the overall presentation. Though it just occurred to me I could try rounding some toothpicks. Axes: I know these were more common than swords but haven't figured out a good way to make some or display them. Seems wrong to just have them lying around the deck. Viking safety regulators would issue a citation for sure. Shields: My justification for the "turtling" layout was that they were lashed to the thwarts from the underside, so they wouldn't be sliding around. I'm having a devil of a time figuring out what would make sense operationally, since as you observe, shields just don't stack and they have to be accessible but not in the way. And I want to have a bunch visible since I put all that work into making them. What do you think of the few lashed to the side fore and aft? Mark, Shields hanging from the sides really did happen, since some vessels have been found with shield racks built on. The question is really whether it's acceptable to decide that this ship only did that fore and aft of the oars. Various mistakes in construction mean that I can't hang shields between the oars like otherwise might have been done. Balclutha75, I can't accept the museum-quality complement because I know the workmanship level isn't there. It definitely looks good in photos, but any in-person examination would find lots of ways this isn't anywhere close to that level. And I've made various compromises between authenticity and practicality that wouldn't stand up to a real museum examination. But I appreciate the sentiment, as I am pleased with how it's coming together visually. On the oar jig, two notes: It will create a slight paint boundary where the handles go into the jib, because you can't paint all the way down in one go. This is one reason I went with the "rubbed" handle look, because it hides that issue! Also, be careful not to apply to much paint/stain, because if it runs down the handle at all, it can pool where the oar meets the jig and create an unsightly blemish that can't be fully gotten rid of. I have a couple oars where I made this mistake and will be careful to display that spot facing downward.

Mark, I agree that in reality there's no way swords would be stored in an open barrel like that. I was thinking of it as an artist's license way to display some weaponry more openly (same reason why the oars will be run out with the sail hoisted). Haven't decided. It may be best just to cover it, as you say. Did a little more staging, trying to work out how to display the shields. Thoughts on having a bunch run along the centerline, and a few hung along the gunwales fore and aft of the oars? Apologies for the photo quality here, the idea is just to show the layout.

Playing with some detailing this afternoon. I made up some test parcels wrapped in simulated cloth. Who knows what they are, but they represent supplies the crew doesn't want getting wet. I also made several bundles of "spears", with stub-end shafts sticking out from the end of the wrapping (meant to keep saltwater off the metal tips). I might have wrapped these a little tight, I'm not sure there's actually room in there for the full spears and spearhead, but I don't think it's noticeable in the broader context of the model. The wrapping is the kit's original sailcloth weathered with pastels. What do you all think, tie up the "parcels" like the front two or leave them untied like the back three? And here are details test-placed in context. Large chests at the stern: Large and small chests at the bow, along with an open "barrel" I was thinking of filling with swords. Or maybe it's just a water barrel, like a scuttlebutt? I made this by gluing thin wood strips to a piece of plastic tubing: Parcels and closed barrels tucked into the thwarts: \ Spear bundles just aft of the mast: I like the complexity these add. Not sure how many more I need, I also don't want the model to be too busy, and I still have to figure out where/how to display a bunch of shields. Thoughts on this arrangement?

At this point you should consider starting a build log, that's the best context for asking questions about actually building the kit. Here's a thread about how to start a build log. When you do so, let us know here so we can easily find it. Also, it's really hard to diagnose and answer questions without photos of the problem. As for clamps, that really depends on what you're doing. Here's a good thread with some suggestions and photos for different clamps in different contexts. The Modeling Tools and Workshop Equipment section of MSW has lots more information.

Oops, just realized druxey did suggest essentially the same thing and I somehow read past it. Sorry, didn't mean to duplicate.

That's high praise coming from you. If it was anyone else I'd say read more build logs, but I think you've read them all! So thank you, though I do think there are many other really nice ones out there. I'm really excited to see how various other details I'm working on come together.

In an unusual burst of productivity, I made the other 30 oars today. So here's how the ship looks with all 60 set loosely in place: I took one shot of the oar-making process, here's the basic painting jig I set up by drilling holes in some scrap wood: This is really exciting, as now the focus turns to final details, which I haven't wanted to install until I was sure I had the oars right. Now I just have to decide how obsessive I'm going to get about said details. Since I started this log on July 5, 2020, I think I'll be able to have this done by its one-year anniversary. Not bad for a project I foolishly thought would only take a few months.

So exciting to hear! Thanks for keeping us updated. You're doing a great job.

Great description and detail! Those were really common for decades until steamboats finally did them in. They had a long tail of use since it was often still easier and cheaper to slap one together and transport goods yourself than deal with steamboat rates and schedules. They were common on the Missouri, too. Another benefit was that they could be broken up into salable timber in New Orleans, adding to the collective income. Here are two versions of a painting by contemporary Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham. The first is from 1847, during the actual flatboat era: The second is from 1877. Bingham apparently repainted it, changing some details. This was done after the flatboat era had ended. The second one looks especially like a Missouri River setting. I was amused at the following description of the painting from the National Gallery of Art: This was written by someone with no knowledge of river transportation. These men certainly did NOT row this craft upstream. There aren't even oars in the normal sense. The long pole sitting lengthwise is a sweep, used for navigation and gentle propulsion, but in no way capable of fighting the current of the Missouri or Mississippi Rivers to any meaningful degree. They're clearly floating downstream, as shown by the man at the steering oar at the center back of the flatboat.

Sorry, I have a very dry sense of humor. Hope it was clear that was a joke. I'm a fan of both. Back on topic, I'm now looking into one of those cases for me.

There are a lot of logs for this kits that will give you a good idea what to expect, also some inspirations for how various builder have adapted the kit to add their own personal touches. Have fun!

So I take it you're a Star Trek fan? The model looks great in your case, nice choice.

I have a seen a great home-made version on MSW, I wish I could remember where so I could credit it. I think it was in a Viking ship log (which have the same internal-clinker problem). Basically, you cut a series of strips from stiff card, each about the inner width of your planks. Then you use a clamp (like a paper clip or clothespin) to hold them together in a fan shape. You match the end of each strip to one of your planks, resulting in a fan with a very close approximation of the inner hull shape. For non-clinker hulls, just make the strips thinner and they'll still approximate the curve. Now you have a pattern to trace that doesn't require endless trimming of a single piece of card. Does that description make sense, or do I need to figure out a sketch?

Good eye from EotL, I didn't even notice that in your photo and just assumed you were using vertical grain but snapped the delicate piece anyway. If you do rotate the grain (which is definitely the right way to go), do the sanding and shaping when the trunk is already assembled as otherwise you could still crack the piece longitudinally. With vertical grain, the trunk's floor will go across the grain and prevent that, unlike with horizontal grain where the leg just sticks out below any support.

Reread my first post. Open Access is becoming increasing popular for publishers because it's good PR, but the cost just gets shifted elsewhere, such as higher fees for scientists (which suppresses publication by those without sufficient funding) or through sponsorships (which introduces conflicts of interest). Don't be fooled by thinking that "free" equals "virtuous". There's always a catch.

If you build models too fast, you'll run out of places to put them! Seriously, everyone else is right, you're doing fine. Every mistake you recognize now is one you'll learn to overcome later and be proud that you did. I'm still a bit stunned at what I can do now when I look back at my first models.

I work as an editor helping non-native-speaking scientists improve their scientific writing and get their research published in international journals, most of which are in English these days. I've helped papers get published in over 100 peer-reviewed journals from major publishing houses, so have a fair amount of experience with this aspect of the publishing world. It can cost thousands of dollars for a scientist to get a research paper published, whether or not the journal is open-access. And if it isn't, it can still cost the public a quite high fee to access that research unless they have a subscription, which usually means they're part of a major research institution themselves as the cost is way above what individuals are likely to pay. Which usually means that journalists and the public are mostly locked out of what's actually happening in science. I find this extremely problematic. That being said, it also really does cost money to publish a journal. Journals get inundated with submissions, all of which have to be reviewed and responded to. Much of this gets sloughed off onto unpaid peer reviewers (another abuse in the system) but there's still a lot of in-house work. Expecting anything to be free requires defining where you expect the money to come from, because there is no such thing as free. If it's not publishing and subscription fees, then where? Donations or sponsorships? That puts you in conflict-of-interest territory. Government funding? Kind of the same thing. There's no one clear answer in a world where people increasingly expect information to be free online but either aren't willing to pay for it or haven't figured out the right model for paying for it. I do tend toward thinking the current journal publishing model is on the scam side of the spectrum, especially where some of the big corporate publishers are involved, but it's a very complex system overall without easy answers.