Cathead

Although I'm not familiar with this kit, it's pretty normal for hulls to rise toward the bow. Putting the double bend into planks is difficult, because wood doesn't like to bend that way. Many prototype (and model) builders "spile" planks instead, which means pre-cutting the plank to what looks like an awkward shape when flat but actually allows for the proper curve lying naturally along the hull. You can read more about this (and other planking methods) in MSW's various planking tutorials. Spiling doesn't help with a kit unless you replace all the planking, though. What you're doing is what I've done before, add some "vertical" bend off-model using a jig, then the "horizontal" bend on-model. It's really helpful to plan out how all the planking lines will run, and to start tapering planks toward the ends so they keep following a nice curve. Otherwise you'll likely suddenly end up with a really awkward joint as the hull starts to narrow. You may also find that sanding the upper/lower edges of the planks will help them fit better together edge-edge and make the planking look nicer. Keep working at it, as you said, practice is how you get there! You don't want to see my first planking!

I'm learning so much from this. I bookmarked the post on your special stopper knot. Thanks!

That's fantastic, Roger! We, too, have some models handed down, but in this case they're decades-old tourist models from my grandmother-in-law's world travels as a wealthy widow. The kind of thing people sign up on MSW to ask what they're worth. Not nearly as meaningful, but still cool in their own goofy way. They're barely "models", but they'll have a long lifetime simply because there isn't much to them. Lesson: If you want your model to last 100 years, build a barge, not a square-rigger!

This is so true, and so well stated. It can be a challenge, I keep getting yanked in different directions by all the projects I want to do, but that's a good challenge to have. This is a lovely build that will look great displayed wherever you choose. Great job and thanks for sharing.

I'll say! It's already lost 1/6 of its letters! Carry on.

Are you talking about the extra material between bulkheads near the keel, fore and aft? The remaining surface likely will help with plank adherence, even if it feels like a waste. Also, slow gentle pressure is definitely another key to bending planks!

It appears to be what the Skuldelev 2 reproduction did. Makes more sense to me than a hole through the keel, even though that's what I did in blindly following kit instructions.

Are you soaking in cold water? Hot water can be more effective at helping planks take a bend, as heat is what really loosens the fibers. Some folks use planking irons to add additional heat, even without water, but if you don't have one hot water would likely help at a minimum. Keep at it!

You're a far better carver than I am!

Use the NRG website. Go to thenrg.org and log in, then go to Account > View Profile. It will list the date you joined and your current renewal date. If you don't think you have an online account, go to https://thenrg.org/about/contact and write the Office Manager at the email listed there. Mary is great and will help you out. If you forget how to get to the NRG website, use Google or follow the link in the top banner of every page on MSW.

Nice start! Your opening line was a bit vague, I assume you mean this is an actual OcCre kit and you built a Chinese kit before this?

My apologies, when I commented this was a separate thread and I did not realize it was a continuation of another thread (which has now been combined, making my comment look bizarre). Please disregard. I still look forward to following your future work!

Looks like a beautiful start! And that's a very nice workshop. If I may make a suggestion, please consider renaming this to follow MSW's naming conventions for build logs (see this link). It will help people find and recognize the work you're doing. You can do this by clicking the three little dots at the upper right of your initial post, then selecting Edit. That will give you an option to change the title of the thread.

No, I don't like using fixatives as they always seem to change the character of the surface and I like the raw wood. These won't be handled much so I don't think they need any further permanence. As for sails, I just responded on your log, giving away part of my surprise but sharing some links I've collected in my research on the subject.

Yep, I went through the same learning process and same conclusion. One of your photos shows the top of the beitass on the Skuldelev 2 reproduction (prototype for my longboat). Here's how it looks on my model based on following the instructions. This was a dubious decision but I couldn't find a photo of the block on the reproduction, so had little choice. And it seems to match that shown on other vessels, as you show above. Somewhere I read a possibly apocryphal account of a beitass coming loose and knocking a chieftain overboard to his death. Seems believable, that much stress on a loose pole.

I've been contemplating sails as well. No one really knows just how Viking sails were put together, but here are a couple articles I've found interesting. This one suggests that the diagonal striping was made of walrus hide, as a stiffener: http://www.amscan.org/app/uploads/2016/11/SR_Autumn16_Viking_Ships_article.pdf This one has a good background to Viking-era textile production and mentions a rare example of sailcloth being found: https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/no-wool-no-vikings/ And Steven shared these two with me that talk about stitching and clothing making: https://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/viktunic.html https://bjornthisway.wordpress.com/2019/11/05/needlework-in-the-viking-age/ My current plan is to make the sails out of paper, following a method I laid out here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/15584-a-method-for-making-panelled-sails-using-paper/?tab=comments#comment-484457 Hope that gives you a start, I'm sure Steven will weigh in with more.

Made some nice progress on the shields over a few weekday evenings. To further consider different designs, I cut apart the single sheet of six designs into individual units (like paint sample swaths) so I could shuffle them and see how different combinations looked. For example, here are two sets where each row of three is fully complementary (each shield has a fully different combination of colors between background, swirl outline, and swirl center). Between the two rows, something always stays the same (e.g., two black swirls). I started with my favorite pattern and made ten as a test batch. Here's a sequence showing how I went from raw laser-cut shield disc to fully colored shield: From right to left: Raw shield Shield with planks scribed on using a shard-edged file Plank joints darkened with a pencil Swirl traced around a tool of the right diameter Swirl darkened in with black pencil Swirl border drawn in with red pencil Background filled in with yellow pencil After this, I blackened the tiny metal parts for the shield bosses and attached them using trace amounts of CA, weathered the back sides using grey pastel, and attached basic handles. The final touch was using brown pencil to gently color the rim on both surfaces and around the edge, hinting at leather binding used on the real thing (may not be visible in images, but definitely is in person). The image below shows ten shields of the first design (two showing their backs) and current progress through seven of the second design (Mrs. Cathead's favorite). These are ending up pretty dark, as handling them inevitable smudges a bit of color and the pencils aren't as vibrant as paint. But I kind of like this deeply weathered look, it matches the model well. I think they'll look really nice in a full set. They're also not that hard to do once I worked out the production sequence. I'm very happy with this approach, both because I think it looks good, and also because it means I can use the kit's shield discs. I had initially intended to make my own shields out of strip wood, thinking that would be more realistic, but this is so much less work for a result that is probably easily as good as I'd have struggled to cut clean circles and unevenness would have been pretty noticeable. I'll keep plugging away at shields. I'm also starting to think about sail-making and have had a good conversation with Steven (Louie) about this over PM. I have a fun idea for making this a bit unique as well. EDIT: Meant to say that I do think the plank seams show up more strongly than they would on the real thing, but I like that effect here because it emphasizes how these were really made. It might be more accurate to have these be much finer (or covered with a leather facing), but given that part of a model's role is to capture the "feel" of the real thing, I like how the strong seams emphasize the nature of shield construction. For the average viewer, this is more interesting and informative while not being "wrong". Sort of the same reasoning why I think it can be ok to have sail stitching be a bit more visible than in real life, depending on the intended purpose of the model. I like the idea of average/uninformed viewers to realize "oh, those shields are planks" or "oh, those sails are stitched panels" by looking at the model rather than having to be experts about it. I guess this is the teacher in me, but I want my models to inspire interest, not just be perfectly accurate to an expert.

Having little experience with either wood, I can't answer that directly, but a related question is whether you plan to paint the hull to match the real vessel or to display it as raw wood? If the former, the choice of wood won't matter nearly as much and you can supplement something else with little difficulty. As for your concern about filler use, it's part of the natural learning curve. It's pretty normal to need filler on your first planking attempt. Time and practice will help you develop the skills that allow for planking with minimal filler. However, this could be another reason to consider painting the hull rather than leaving it as raw wood, if you're not sure about being able to do the second planking with more than minimal filler (which will likely show up more strongly on a natural-wood hull).

Welcome to MSW, we're glad you found us. I suggest you read this post, pinned at the top of the New Member Introductions section, which directly addresses questions of this sort. In short, Roger is correct, its only value is whatever personal connection you feel to it (which is not a dismissal, that can be quite powerful). If you wanted, you could read up on some the tutorials here and put some time into upgrading the model. There are simple things that could improve its condition and appearance, such as revising the rigging. This could help it feel more "yours" without a lot of investment.

Hope you can sort out the contents and get started soon. Lots of folks seem to enjoy this model, so I hope it serves you well. Looking forward to seeing how you make it your own!

Great story! That'd be a really neat model if you were able to decide on some parameters. Sadly, so many of these boats were pretty obscure and faded without a trace.

Have you made any further progress? Surely that house is built by now!

Binho, how's your project coming? It was a hard winter for many of us but I hope you've come through ok and will be able to work on this model again soon. It's been such fun to follow!

Mark, good idea, but it's already reversed from the symbol in question (whose arms bend to the right, while mine bend to the left), but it still strikes both of us as resonant. However, we also both feel that (a) flaring the ends, (b) using colored pencils to mute the colors, and (c) using multiple designs tones down the resemblance enough.

Brian, I can't fully answer that. My sense is that shield symbology could represent allegiance (such as to your jarl or employer) but I'm not sure to what extent it could represent family lineage or personal identity. Here, I like the idea of a consistent theme related to the vessel's owner, especially given that this is an unusually powerful and expensive vessel. And artistically, I think a consistent theme will look better even if a bunch of individual shields could be accurate. For example, some green/grey shields would look cool on their own, but might clash with the consistent color-theme presentation of the model, and the average viewer would be more likely to notice the clash than to recognize that it's an accurate nod to Viking individualism. I certainly contradict myself here as I've painted my Viking figures as distinct individuals, though that's partly because they came with different designs cast on their shields, so I had little choice. I'm sure Steven could help inform both of us on this matter, and hope he does!