Cathead

Looks like a good start. I'm not familiar with this kit, but the final product looks like a good level for a starter kit before tackling something more complex. Hope you'll keep us updated as you proceed!

Kris, I think many (most?) people, regardless of life situation, struggle to balance what they personally want (or are most interested in) with what works for their broader life, including loved ones. Your situation might make it more difficult in certain ways, but you're not alone or unique. So you have that going for you. Presumably your fiancé knows you and loves you, just like any fiancé (and vice versa) so really the question is how well the two of you can work out whatever differences you're going to have as your life together progresses. This model-time question may well be a good chance to start setting up a conflict-resolution system that works for both of you, because this won't be the last time you need it if you're as human as the rest of us. Mrs. Cathead and I have certainly spent a lot of time talking (and occasionally arguing) as we work out how best to share a life together. We each give up some of what we personally want because we're more important to each other than any of those activities. I'm sure you and your fiancé can do the same. For a hobby specific example, when I first got back into model-building, I set up my work area in a spare room in the basement, because it had a lot of room and let me play music and just "get away" in my own space. I assumed this was the best choice because it meant any mess or noise I made was out of the way. Turns out that doing so bothered Mrs. Cathead, because we otherwise spend most of our time together; we've worked together from home for over a decade, most of our living space is a single open-plan layout so we're almost never apart, and we share most intellectual interests. I thought I was giving her space, she thought I was withdrawing from her. So we compromised and I moved my working area to a small table in the corner of our living room. I gave up a significant amount of space, but added the enjoyment of being able to model while interacting with her and our house (for example, sharing the fun of seeing a hawk outside the window). Now we can talk, run ideas by each other, listen to the same music, etc. without being separated by my hobby. I actually like it way more than the old isolated workspace, but got there by giving up what I thought I initially wanted. In turn she accepts a slightly messy, sometimes ugly workspace that takes up space in our small main living area that could be put to other uses. I'm sure the two of you can work together to find a good solution. In my opinion, doing so is nearly the definition of "how to make a marriage work".

In addition to what the others said, I feel it comes down to whether both people in the relationship are being treated fairly. If she's getting the same amount of personal time that you are, to do whatever has value to her, then that's fair. If she isn't, it's not fair. It's helpful if spouses care about each others' interests (for both the interests and the quality of the marriage), but if that isn't the case, at the very least you both need equal time do to uninteresting things. But are there ways you can offer to involve her in what you're doing (with the equivalent offer to be involved in her hobby)? For example, Mrs. Cathead isn't deeply interested in modeling or maritime issues, but we enjoy talking over my projects and she often has good insights into decisions, methods, or final appearances as an outsider because she cares about me enough to care about what I care about. I do the same for her in areas that aren't my core interest (we do a lot of talking during garden-planning season because it helps her to run ideas past me even though it's very much "her" activity). Personally, I've never liked the way "Admiral" is used on MSW because it implies an imbalance in how people are treated in a relationship. Wives (most of us are men) are not, or should not be, considered some sort of bossy harpy forever getting in our way. You're equals, treat each other as such, and the rest should work itself out (or there are deeper problems that need addressing for which model-related issues are just a symptom). Ask yourself honestly if you're giving her the same free time and attention you expect from her, and go from there.

Great choice on the color. I certainly believe that, when fact is uncertain (and sometimes even when it isn’t), there’s room for artistry that improves a model’s visual appeal. After all, looking at it is part of the point!

That's an awfully complex way to make a hairbrush for your wife! Seriously, though, that's really cool.

A quick update as things progress. I decided to add small knees to every deck beam, and am glad I did, as they do add quite a bit of subtle visual interest, tying together the deck and the hull. I then carried on with the rowing benches, now up to 13 out of 30. There are slight irregularities in the supporting posts, but these ships were built by hand and I bet they weren't machine-perfect either. Just need to make 17 more benches! I have my assembly line method pretty well worked out and make 2-4 at once depending on what time I have. This means there are subtle color variations in each batch of benches, but that also seems authentic to me. I'm going to weather them further in place anyway. Thanks for the comments and likes that keep me going. We just hosted my father-in-law's memorial service online this weekend, which was a huge amount of work (Mrs. Cathead and I developed a slideshow covering his life and coordinated something like 10 speakers and a much larger audience). Your support has helped me keep working on this through a very difficult time.

That vertically movable rudder is really cool! Was that unique to Chinese ships? I don't think I've seen that elsewhere (not that I'm an expert).

Great job with the tape, makes very realistic iron. One suggestion on the rusting, I love using simple artists' pastels for that kind of weathering. You can easily get a cheap box of different colors at any art store, and hobby suppliers sell sets weathering pastels in subtler shades of color (I have one box that's all shades of red and brown and another that covers the black-white spectrum). They're very handy and add lots of texture to materials like wood, tape, and paper.

What don’t you like about it?

Welcome from this Central Missourian and Royals fan! You've made an excellent choice in starting with simpler kits to learn skills before moving up the ladder. When you start a build log, let us know here as well so we can follow you over.

Personally, I feel like individual planks always look better; the eye can distinguish a real gap from a fake one. However, that's obviously a lot more work. If you do decide to mark rather than cut, perhaps consider using a file to score a "gap" at each plank end that you then darken with pencil; that way there's at least a hint of three-dimensional joint there. It'll also be more consistent, as the eye will probably notice the difference between the actual junction on the long side and the fake junction at the short end. This is something you could practice on the reverse side of the veneer until you work out a method you like.

So what I'm doing is definitely a hybrid between the rather inaccurate kit and the "real" thing. For example, the kit has you place a long stringer along the inside of the hull as a bracket to support the benches on, which doesn't seem to appear on the real thing. I hadn't noticed that until after I'd installed it. Grumble. There should also be some kind of knees both above and below the benches. I definitely plan on adding the former, not sure I whether I want to mess with the latter. In addition to Petr's image above, see drawings here and here. I sort of wish I could go back and start over, I've been inconsistent in vacillating between making this a simple out-of-the-box build and a more involved, reasonably accurate, build. It's partly the tension between my goal for this build to be a relaxing project in a stressful time, and my inherent interest in learning about the actual prototypes and liking to get things "right". I think this is a learning first build, and maybe someday I'll go back and build another one with more attention to detail from the beginning. Certainly, my first steamboat was nothing to write home about compared to later efforts. So all that being said, I'm just going to press forward with what makes me happy and not crazy. In this regard, I started playing with making the bench support posts, as these add a lot of visual interest and aren't too fussy. I started by carefully marking each post location, in a straight line along the hull's long axis, based on a good estimate of where they're shown on the drawings and reproduction. Then, one bench at a time, I drilled holes and widened them slightly with a round file: I then took a very thin piece of square stock (pre-stained dark brown) and cut two appropriate lengths, then filed one end just enough to slip into the holes: As the hull isn't uniform, these need slight adjustment for each bench. The goal is for them to just touch the underside of the bench. First example resting in place: First five: Nothing's glued, just test-fitting. Also notice that I stained the benches and darkened them with black pastel. I think I like how these look. They're not turned into the fancy spindle pattern you see in the drawings, but I'm not doing that. Now I have to decide if I'm going to add any deck-level knees, as those would have to go in before the benches. Will think it over. Getting the angles right could be really fussy, and they'll be somewhat hidden below the benches. But the supports definitely add visual interest and a more logical appearance (nobody would expect those benches to stretch that far with mo support), and are already an upgrade to the kit. Thanks for sticking with me.

I decided to move on with the rowing benches. The kit's version of these is really simplistic, while the reproduction's are far more interesting. The kit just wants you to lay rectangular planks with no other bracing, like this (from the Dusek website): But I want to do better than that. On the reproduction, you can see various other details, such as knees connecting the benches with the hull, the rounded surface of the benches, and the thin posts supporting the benches from the deck. It's hard to find photos of the reproduction's interior; the best ones I can find are part of a copyrighted stock photo collection, so I won't embed them here. But this and this are representative of the look I want to replicate. My first challenge was that adding my own wooden deck raised the deck surface quite a bit, given its thickness relative to the kit's paper-thin insert. So if I rested the benches on the bracing added by the kit's instructions, they'd be too low. In addition, since I raised the hull's sides a bit, the benches would also be too low relative to the gunwale. I could have added more bracing all the way along the hull, but decided that an easier and interesting-looking way would be to raise each bench individually, also making this build a bit more unique. Here are the first two test benches: I simply cut and glued two small pieces of the bench material at each end, then sanded them into an attractive curve where they join the bench. This raises the bench top to about the same height above the deck as a modern seat would be (slightly lower, but then again people were shorter 1000 years ago). I think it looks cool. Notice that this also raises the bench surface right to the next interior strake, making it easier to add knees later on (no need to notch each knee over a plank joint). Encouraged by this, I did three more: In the above photo, note that the right-hand two haven't yet been sanded into their rounded shape. This shows how much proper rounding adds; the square planks (a la the kit version) just don't look right to me. Here's another view of the difference: And here are two views of five fully finished benches: So far, so good, I think. If you looked closely at the stock photos linked above, you'll notice thin posts supporting the benches from the cross-beams in the deck. I'm going to need to integrate those into the benches as I install them, as it'll be a huge pain getting them just right if I try to do it after all the benches are glued in. So right now the benches are just resting there. But that's a detail I definitely want to include. I'll keep working on these, assuming someone doesn't see a major flaw in this plan! 5 down, 25 to go.

Larry, there were other ways to stow the shields for a voyage than lashing them to the rail. I'm with Steven, shields in that position would seem more hindrance than help in most normal operation. Also keep in mind that Viking shields were not actually that strong; they were thin wood held together by a single brace in the middle and generally a leather (not metal) rim. They were designed to absorb impact, not live forever. So it seems to me that the horizontal forces of wind or waves levering on one of these thin shields, partly wedged in a shield rack or otherwise lashed on, would more likely lead to the shield breaking. And I'd guess that the Vikings cared more about having intact shields upon reaching their destination than getting a bit wetter and colder than they already were. The few references I know of to shields being set up this way tends to imply it being done for show rather than for function.

I'm no expert, but leaving the ports open (and the oars/rudder in the boat) seem like reasonable examples of modeler's license for improved visual appeal. After all, in various other ways the model probably won't resemble the ship in an exactly accurate operational state, so why worry about these small details?

Those are really helpful shots. It seems very clear now that the basic problem is not enough twist in that plank. As someone mentioned, those are thicker planks than one often sees (possibly because they're balsa), and that probably is making it harder for them to take the twist naturally.

I'll repeat from your earlier question thread, I really think you need to properly bend the planks using soaking and/or heat. Your plank looks like it is bowing away from the bulkhead when it should be sitting tight against it. At a minimum, when you glue them on you should be clamping them so that each plank's surface is fully in contact with the bulkhead. Prebending them makes this much easier as it reduces stress on the glue joint. In the vertical photo you give above, the plank is properly sitting against the lower (in the photo's orientation) bulkhead. But when it continues up toward the next bulkhead, it maintains its orientation from the lower bulkhead rather than twisting to make proper contact with the next one up (note that the inner edge sits against the bulkhead next to the previous plank, but the outer edge veers away to form a wide gap). That's a problem that is best solved by properly bending the plank. Most hulls require this sort of thing due to their complex 3D geometry. As also mentioned in your last thread, tapering the plank could also help, though the instructions you showed made no mention of this common practice, so I'd suggest trying bending first as this is reversible and repeatable (unlike tapering). It's hard to say this in written words, so if you're not sure what I mean, I can try to come up with a visual example.

If they aren't contacting the bulkheads, they're not bent properly. Based on your photos, shimming isn't going to help because the plank is bowing away from the bulkhead and the next one's going to be much worse. I'll head over to your build log from now on (link here for others interested).

Interesting. Those aren't the most helpful instructions I've ever seen. They say nothing about tapering, though my instinct is that it would help (though without actually handling the model I don't really know). I think I'd start by pre-bending the planks and see if they sit right (as that can be undone, unlike tapering). Some people soak them and clamp them in place to let them dry, others apply dry heat with a planking iron or other source, then clamp them in place, or even both (soaking followed by heat application). Either way, again, the idea is to get the plank to hold the shape you want before glue is used. If it won't sit right on its own, it'll put too much tension on the glue joint, especially with so few frames providing support. If you're wondering how to do the clamping, there are really good photos and examples of different methods in the tutorials (my favorite is to use simply office-supply binder clips). The good news here is that all you're going for is a solid surface; the planking doesn't have to "look" good as it gets an overlay, so you have a lot of leeway. Unlike, say, if this was a wooden sailing vessel hull where accurate planking runs are a core part of the appearance. Try bending a few planks and let us know how it goes! Edit: Meant to say, if/when you start a build log for this, let us know here so we can follow you over. Otherwise it can be easy to miss a log being posted in all the activity on MSW.

Andrew, Thank you for sharing this shattering news. Although it's not the same, in November my wife and I lost her father, who died while we sat with him, and to whom we were both very close (he was another father to me). We, too, are buried under a mountain of paperwork and bureaucracy, while helping a mother in law with cognitive challenges. I had to pause while typing this as I broke down. I say all this simply to note that, in some small way, we recognize your grief and struggle and will be thinking of you and wishing you well. I wish I could offer more.

It looks like the planks aren't taking their intended curve properly, maybe helped along by the lack of frame fairing. Did you pre-bend them using water and/or heat? That's the standard approach, which rearranges the wood fibers to hold their shape when dry/cool. Most planks won't want to lie in their intended curves without doing something along those lines, it's the nature of hull geometry. Gregory is right that adding some thin material to the frames can fill that space, but that's not necessarily going to fix the problem overall, as each successive plank may keep bowing outward unless you get them bent properly in the first place. I.e., it looks like those planks are bowing outward, not sitting in the proper orientation with just a thin, even gap above the frame. Kits sometimes do get bulkheads wrong, requiring such spacers, but the first step should be assuming that the plank needs work, not the bulkhead. For example, you may also need to be tapering these planks, which helps them take the intended curve (as most hulls narrow toward the stern, each run of planking has to get thinner than it is at the full width amidships). I can't tell from your photo angle if you've done this or not. Rule of thumb, test-fit every plank using clamps before gluing. If it doesn't sit properly with the right bend, something needs to be addressed. Can you share with us a photo of the directions for this step and what the planks look like at the transom? Do the directions say anything about tapering planks? Is there a drawing of how the kit is meant to look at this stage? More information will help us give you better advice. Other broader suggestions: Read through a few planking tutorials here in MSW to ensure that you understand the general principles. Search for other build logs for this model and consult their photos and methods (for example, here's one not on MSW that has lots of detailed photos that I found in 30 seconds of searching). Start your own build log that tracks everything you do on this model. Starting new topics for every question you have on this specific build (looks like this is your third) clutters up the forums by repeating questions already asked and answered elsewhere, while making it harder for people to answer your questions (as they don't know what else you've done or asked on your model). We'd love to help you learn the skills of this really fun hobby, so keep at it and help us help you by providing more information and organizing your questions in a way that will be easier to answer as you progress.

Looks a bit like my bedroom as a kid! What a wonderful gift! Life certainly gets in all of our ways, thanks for the update.

Thanks for the update, good luck with the surgery.

Lars, how are you coming along? The model looks great so far.

How's your model coming? You got off to a nice start, I hope you can keep working and keep us updated.