DenPink

Hi Mark
 
Yes I do like larger ship builds.
The only thing is finding a place to put them when finished ;)
 
Denis.

Hi Ulises
 
Doing a very fine build, this is a build I would like to do.
 
 
Denis.

Hi all
 
Like the cap rails I pre stained the deck fittings and gave them just one coat of satin varnish  when all was glued to the decks I gave the decks and the fittings one more coat of satin varnish.
 
Denis.

Hi all
The ply board that the curves are on require cutting up into 7 pieces, the parts that make up the curves have to be soaked in water then I used an electric plank bender to form the curves.
The decks have 2 good coats of sanding sealer and only sanded them down ( will varnish later  ).
 
The curves have 2 coats of sealer and 2 thin coats of thin black acrylic.
 
Denis.

Hi All
 
Just a photo or two.
 
I still have work to do on the stern and bow hull planking.
 
Also deck furniture to put on.
 
I have put some temporary masts in to see how they look, happy with them so far.
 
Denis.

Hi All
 
Ok this is a sad day for me as my girlfriend of 2 years + has just left me for a mahogany cabinet.
I don't know what I did to upset her, may be I pulled her ropes too tight or sanded her bottom to hard.
 
But the day did get better a new girl is in town.
 
ALL FINISHED.
 
Denis.

Hi I was going to say the same myself.
Also the life boat is the same.
Another build has done the same thing that I pointed out to him.
 
 
Denis.

Hi Mike
 
Looks like the first row of seats are taken up so I will have to start the second row .
Looks like a nice kit to build like all Euromodel kits are.
I think you will find that Euromodels  the best people to deal with if you run into some difficulty, not forgetting Pete he is so helpful.
 
Good luck my friend but most of all have fun.
 
Denis.

Hi Mark
First welcome to MSW.
Dry fit all parts before gluing , if you are not sure ask on this forum.
The most stupidest question is the one you did not ask Ok.
 
Most of all take your time and have fun.
 
Denis.

Hi Graham
 
That is the best one I have seen so far, well done.
I love it.
 
Denis.

Hi Graham
 
That is the best one I have seen so far, well done.
I love it.
 
Denis.

Dear friends, here's the last part of the video series, you can also find in my tutorials previous parts. I must say, this is my older technology, now I have much better way, how to create sculpures and decoration in a higher level of details.
Thank you all for your feedback and "likes", I am pleased and very honoured you like my work. 
I will write more next week and  bring new pics from the progress. 

Best regards,
Doris
 

next job is to fix the bow where butter fingers dropped it...thin veneer repair to hide the damage.

Rudder and hinges.

second planking now complete......needs a few tiny fill in pieces and a repair veneer to the front bow keel where I dropped it and snapped it off....Bellona has become somewhat battered and is full of tiny marks where it has been scratched and banged but I think it adds to the character of the ship. A final sanding down is all that is required now. Included a pic of my revamped work space....shows several minicraft drills and power tools. 

1/50 Viking Longship – Drakkar
Amati
Catalogue # 1406/01
 
 

 
Longships were a type of ship invented and used by the Norsemen (commonly known as the Vikings) for commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship's design evolved over many centuries, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up until the 6th century with clinker-built ships like Nydam and Kvalsund. The longship appeared in its complete form between the 9th and 13th centuries, and the character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat-building traditions until today. The particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations. They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool) and had numerous details and carvings on the hull. Longships were characterized as a graceful, long, narrow and light, with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one meter deep and permitted arbitrary beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages or used bottom-up for shelter in camps. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turnaround; this trait proved particularly useful at northern latitudes, where icebergs and sea ice posed hazards to navigation. Longships were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat itself. Later versions had a rectangular sail on a single mast, which was used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys.
 
 
Drakkar are only known from historical sources, such as the 13th-century Göngu-Hrólfs saga. Here, the ships are described as elegant and ornately decorated, and used by those who went raiding and plundering. These ships were likely skeids that differed only in the carvings of menacing beasts, such as dragons and snakes, carried on the prow of the ship. These carvings allegedly protected the ship and crew and warded off the terrible sea monsters of Norse mythology. It is however likely that the carvings, like those on the Oseberg ship, might have had a ritual purpose, or that the purported effect was to frighten enemies and townspeople. No true dragon ship, as defined by the sagas, has been found by archaeological excavation.
Extract from Wikipedia
 
The kit
This isn’t a new kit, and in fact I know this was once released under the name Oseberg Viking Ship, again by Amati, some years ago. I know there to have been at least two boxings of this over the years. In fact, some vendors still have it listed as this, or may even carry that older kit in stock. I’m unsure as to when the kit changed its name to the current Drakkartitle. The kit itself comes in a high quality, glossy and attractive box, carrying a colour image of the profile of the vessel on the lid, and accompanying small detail photo. It can be seen on the lid that the 1/50 scale equates to 44cm length. Inside the box, Amati has given some strength to the packaging my adding a card shelf to make the interior shallower and preventing the contents from rattling around because there is surprisingly little timber by the way of sheets, than you might expect due to the way Amati has approached the design. A Plywood sheet contain the keel which incorporates the curved bow and stern, plus also the nine bulkheads that are notched to match their respective positions on the keel. As you see, the construction is quite traditional in this respect, and the shallow draught of the ship is the reason for a relatively low number of ply sheets.
 


Now, whilst there is of course some strip stock in this kit, the ship’s planking isn’t associated with this. Instead of what would be a rather complicated method of planking, this particular model is provided with two sheets of thin, laser-cut planks which are perfectly shaped to follow the contours of the hull, and also sit within the stepped recesses of the bulkheads. These planks are produced from very thin plywood and just require the scorched edges of the parts gently sanded and then sitting into the recesses. Those bulkhead recesses will need to be slightly sanded for the planks to fully conform, and most definitely at both stem and stern. This is clearly shown in the accompanying instruction manual. It is also necessary, again shown on the instructions, to trace a curve to stem and stern, which sets the line against which to plank to. 
 






Also presented in plywood is the main deck, in two large main pieces, and three small sections. With the model planked and the tops of the bulkheads previously sanded to conform to the keel, these can be attached and then planked with the supplied strip stock. Deck planking is done in short pieces that only span between each former. I’m pretty sure that these sections could be removed on the real thing, and tools, weapons and food stored in the void below. 
 




Strip wood stock is included for the deck planking, and dowel for the mast and oars. Timber quality is excellent, with tape holding together the various bundles. A smaller piece of walnut sheet is also included, and this contains parts for the rudder paddle, oar storage frames, rigging blocks, belaying posts and bases etc. Laser cutting quality is nice and fine with only minimal timber to snip through to release each part.

For protection, all timber sheets are placed in a thick, clear sleeve, as are the instructions manual and plans. 
 
Fittings

Sitting on top of the timber sheet is a vac-form plastic box with a removable clear lid. The box has six compartments holding a few loose wooden pieces, rigging cord, as well as the metal fixtures and fittings for the Drakkar. The small number of loose wooden pieces are for the cleats. These just need a little final shaping before use. A large bag of metal shields is included, with their respective bosses and timber details cast in situ. I’m unsure as the metal for these, but they aren’t white metal, and possibly some alloy. They have also been given an aged finish, but I would carefully paint these to make them look more realistic. A single anchor is provided in metal, utilising a wooden stock, and a small length of brass chain is provided for this. A small number of cast white metal parts are included, and these are for the ship’s dragon head (with separate horns and tongue) and a deck bucket (slop outtoilet?), longbow, axe etc. The casting here is very nice and when painted, should really look the part. A bag of brass nails is included, and these are well-formed and sharp, unlike some I’ve used over the years. You are best drilling a small pilot hole before applying these, so you don’t split any timber when you drive them through the hull planks and into the bulkheads. 
 







As Viking Drakkar were of a very shallow draught, the mast needed something substantial to hold it in place. Under the deck would have been a keelson to locate the base of the mast, but above deck, this was achieved via a hefty wooden block. That had a wedge as part of its structure. As far as I can tell, these were called the mastfish and wedge, respectively. For some seriously interesting information on these vessels, check out this link: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/norse_ships.htm
 

As well as two sizes of rigging cord for standard and running rig, a piece of sailcloth is also included. You will need to make the sail yourself, including the diagonal strips that run at 90 degrees to each other. You need to sew along the edges after folding them in, replicating the looping stitch that should be seen. One thing you’ll need to do is to buy some fabric paint for the sail stripes. Aging the sail can be done with the age-old method of soaking in tea, should you wish. However, another method is to soak in a Potassium Permanganate (KMNO4) solution. Only a little is needed, and you can gauge the finish on a test piece as the colour develops when you remove from the solution. Also included is a chest that can be sat on the deck as extra detail. This is cast from a cream-coloured resin.

 
 
Plans and instructions
 







Amati include an 8-page basic instruction manual for this model, guiding you through the principle steps of the model and explaining the various key areas of construction. Illustrations are in line drawing format and are clear to understand, despite the Italian text. A separate sheet with English annotation is also supplied for those of us who haven’t grasped the rudimentary elements of that beautiful language. 
 


Of course, a plan is also included for the model which describes things in greater detail, including the rigging stages. This is also typically easy to understand and also contains the shapes for a good number of kit parts, so if you were to screw up, then with a little extra timber, you can right your wrongs. 
 
Conclusion
As I originally stated, this isn’t a new kit, but it is one that has stood the test of time and for me, still ranks as the best-looking Drakkar you can buy in kit form, and certainly the most authentic in appearance. I know some people don’t like the plywood planking, but as you shouldn’t need to thin the planks much (if at all), then this doesn’t feature as an issue for me. Some timber edges will need to have the charring from the laser cutting removed, but again, this isn’t a problem as far as I’m concerned. Amati has designed this kit to be relatively straightforward and they have succeeded. As far as price goes, it can vary, but I’ve seen in in the UK/EU for around £90 to £100. I’ll start my own building log of this on Model Ship World very shortly.
 
My sincere thanks to Amati for sending this kit out for review here on MSW.
 
 
 

 
 
 

Hello everybody , my name is Rory and I’m an addict plastic aircraft builder who has strayed into the world of wood. I was told about this site by a Mr James Hatch and though I’d swing by and pick some brains, ideas and tips to help with my first build. Hopefully , in time , I will be able to give something back to the forum. This is what I’m building at the moment, it is my first attempt and I’m enjoying it immensely. Helpful criticism is always welcome. Please excuse the phone photos, I’m worse at photography than I am at models.

After a long interlude...Several cannons need to be fixed in place prior to placement of the side gun port patterns.  2 small cannon carriages are placed at the stern.  No issue here with the barrels temporarily placed
 
the plans call for one small carriage at the bow.  Problem here is that in the picture of the finished model on the box, this cannon seems to be a large one and there is no way it will fit in this space and be centered in the port.  This one is on the same deck as the other large cannons.  I ended up using a small one here as the instructions say to do.  So I will be short one small and have one extra large.   Not an  issue now, but easy enough to deal with...just could have one port closed.

 
next issue was the 2 large carriages  towards the stern.  When placement was tested, the bulkheads interfered with centering of the cannon in the port.  next 2 photos illustrate the problem.  
 

 

 
The fix was easy enough...trim back both bulkheads in order to make them more like frames.  Luckily, the MDF is muhk easier to trim than plywood!
 

Since i had to make a few small and large cannons, I figured I may as well make them all.   This way I can test cannon placement with the gunport patterns.  one of the aft ports was a bit off so about 1.5 mm was taken off the lower edge.  Before trimming, I checked that this would not affect the wales as one comes close to this port.  Should have room to spare above the wale.
 

 
The cannons...
 

 
Next step is to affix the side gun port patterns.  
 
Jeff
 

Hi again.
 
Ready for the rigging now after completing the anchors. The kit provided metal pieces to be painted brown to simulate wooden stocks. Had a go at it but they were awful in my opinion:

so I used some spare wood to make my own:

The instructions specified using 3mm diameter rings for the anchor but even if I could manage to fit two loops and the anchor head in there - which is a big ask - it would look naff so I bought some 4mm faded gold rings from a jewelry craft shop and used those instead. I also finished tying up the launch boat at the stern:

Finally, I wanted to upgrade the deck furniture a bit so I made cannon balls out of those beads you find in the sink plug chains and arranged them in trays around the deck.

So, that's the structure pretty much done...on to finish up the standing rigging:

I will give Artesania Latina credit at this point: the instructions for the rigging are well laid out with scale diagrams for each section including some annotations to guide you on specific techniques for rigging the string.

Bowsprit is now completed minus the rigging which comes later.
 
The instructions ask you to use a two pieces of string connected by a 3mm diameter ring to make up the bobstay. However the picture on the cover of the booklet clearly shows a gold chain being used  and I didn't like the look of so much string being used in that area so I elected to use a chain instead. I used part of a cheap chain necklace painted Vallejo "oily steel" mixed with black acrylic:

Also, not sure about the cap, the instructions do specify to paint it black but I decided to dye it a dark walnut colour for now. I'll check out the forum for tips but any guidance on that is much appreciated.

Hi,
Just finished the copper cladding!
I was struggling to see and apply some of the smaller cut plates needed to fill in gaps along the keel and waterline on the first side of the hull so I decided to invest in an illuminated head loupe.  I wish I'd bought one earlier as using it for the first time resulted in me having to re-work several areas as I was not happy with the gaps between some of the plates already in place.
 

 
Also in this picture is the most useful tool I found to hold plates in position for marking out and then positioning whole and cut plates when gluing - Blue Tack on the end of a short length of brass tube.  Even the tiniest pieces could be located accurately although the tip of a scalpel blade was needed occasionally to apply final pressure until the c.a. glue had dried. 
 

 

 

 

 
I followed the kits instruction's and the guidance in The New Period Ship Handbook for the layout rather than more historically correct patterns. I also went with Keith Julien's advice in this book about getting a cleaner looking edge at the waterline by adding 0.05 x 1.09 mm polystyrene strip pre-painted black.
 
The rudder, made from oak from Victory, was the last piece to be tackled. Rather than paint the top, unclad, section I 'ebonised' it using the wire wool and white vinegar technique I described on another thread. This was followed by a couple of coats of satin varnish. The result is a black finish that still allows the grain of the oak to be seen.
 

 

 

 
The three 'Victory' copper plates on each side, just under the entry ports, can be seen in these two views although they are actually less conspicuous than the pictures suggest. There is a little c.a. residue still to be carefully removed with acetone and cotton buds. Fears that I'd run out of plates proved unfounded - just.  Mistakes, re-worked sections and experiments with forming plates to fit around the keel took their toll. Got to the end with about half a dozen whole plates left!
 
I'm happy to have completed this aspect of this model - but you can have too much of a good thing and at this moment in time I can safely say that any kit I attempt in the future will be copper plate free, probably cannon free too.
 
This site is full of pearls of wisdom and two of them that are lodged in my mind at present are:
'Buy your toys before you retire' and 'it's probably best to seek forgiveness than permission'
... just maybe there's room in the 'stash' for a different type of vessel, possibly one rarely found 'outside the Straights of Otranto' ..... waiting for the day when Victory is finished - no rush!
 
Cheers,
 
Graham.
 

Hi
Re gold leaf, when I did it we always burnished the gold leaf with a smooth piece of plastic to make it smooth and shiny.
 
Denis

Yay! The parral dividers are done and the first one is already mounted! Dad made the cutting blade for the router and then made the boxwood rods which he then sliced. The booms for the spritsail and spritsail topsail are up😊

Peter, you are hilarious,  you just made my day! 😂😂 I am sure Dad will get a kick out of that reply!

Wow! Something else. Monogrammed letters on the whole row of buckets. These are things I have not seen before. Staggering.
Like a hidden treasure suddenly coming to light.
I am sure there is a museum somewhere who would love to have it.
There is a wonderful model in the Melbourne museum of the Cutty Sark, which a local man spent his whole adult life making, and so the museum has put it on display.
I feel this model also deserves the same treatment.
 
Tim