I bought the Norske kit in 1974 and built it over a period of several years. I am currently restoring it. In 1974 this kit included a plastic lion figurehead as well as balsa to carve the figurehead. Balsa was included for the modeler to carve the stern detail - no plastic option was included. I carved both the stern and the bow figurehead. The lower deck of the stern is curved, the upper deck is straight, and the arch is curved following the curve of the lower deck. I have pictures but cannot figure out how to post them on this site. If I was building this kit today, I would get some balsa and use the plastic parts as a model to carve the figurehead and stern ornamentation. This would be in keeping with the idea of a hand built model and would work better over the curved surface of the stern arch.
