Balclutha75

Thanks again Eric. Here is my meager clamp library so far. (I have more than pictured, but those are the only styles.) The ones you pictured would probably do the trick, or in any case be handy to have. Looks like you sacrificed a binder clip in order to make two of your clamps, maybe slid some plastic/vinyl tubing over the arm? I used hot tap water for the first try, but when I practice on the second piece I might add some hot water from a tea kettle, see what happens.

Ditto that! I've wondered about the iron anchor that came with my Amati kit. Didn't feel right, yours looks great. Are these the kind of lace pins you used? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PSFC46/ Thanks.

Eric, Thanks much for the information Here's where things are so far. A couple days ago my wife let me use her curling iron, about the same diameter as those blank benders. I cut a scrap strip from the plank sheet, so I'm using the same plywood. I got the wood wet, but didn't have any luck with the iron. Next she gave me an old aluminum baking pan she never uses. I soaked the strip in there for several hours, then clamped it to the frames to dry. The result is ... ... which I think is a step in the right direction. There might be a small clamp divot, but I wasn't paying attention, hadn't seen your reply yet. It could have been there, but in any case it's minor. I'll experiment with another scrap piece with this in mind. The frames are pre-stiled (thanks for defining that), so yes that will help. Soon I'll bend the real plank, but will rehearse clamping it before applying the glue. The clamps I have tend to slide off frames 3 and 9, so I'll have to figure that out. Thanks again!

Thanks much Matt. I started a build log and can post questions there, but appreciate it. Good luck on your next project.

Nice job on the “Jack Aubrey Frame Jig”. I discovered that after I haphazardly glued my Viking frames. Yours will hopefully turn out great.

Looks nice! If mine comes out half as good I’ll be happy.

bigpetr, Thanks for that thought. The Amati instructions say "Before applying upper strakes it is advisable to make small cuts (along dotted line) ... These cuts will help the wood to bend and to lean into the lower stake for an easy glueing". However your post got me thinking. I just received a pointed divider from Model Expo. I guess I can use that to transfer the distance between strakes from the plans to the model, and make tick marks on the frames, just like a real model builder! - Nelson

Thanks for the encouragement Steven. I have not looked at many scratch build logs since they can be intimidating to a newbie! But I'll take you advice and dive in. Here's my question, which may be answered in a log, but I'll post here anyway. The planks need to be both bent and twisted. Amati says to soak the planks in 50/50 solution of white glue and water, and also to score the center of the plank with a blade. I'm not too thrilled about doing that, as I'm pretty sure I'll mess it up. What if I tried to bend the planks using heat and water? I've seen Chuck's planking video and he makes using the travel iron look easy (ha-ha). I could get one of those irons, or invest in a basic plank bender. Seems like that would be more interesting and educational than the water/glue/score process. I could practice on strips from the plank sheets. Thoughts appreciated. But I will look through more logs. And I am having fun! Thanks, Nelson

For research I purchased these two books. Both are enjoyable and give a layperson background to Viking ship history and construction. There is plenty of stuff to find online and I have a bunch of links saved if anyone is interested, some of which came from MSW. Last night we started watching a 3-part YouTube series “Evolution of the Viking Longship”. That link is the first episode, it’s pretty good. At this point I tried to fit the mast and learned that the slot in the keel was too narrow to accept the dowel, so I filed that out. I realize this is not an exciting photo to you guys, but I was pleased I discovered this before the deck or planks were glued. Learning the importance of dry fitting. Next up: the intimidation of planking the hull. I will definitely have a question or two. - Nelson

Thanks for looking at my first ever build log! For my first wooden model project I chose the 1:50 Amati Drakkar Viking ship for several reasons. The kit seemed challenging enough, but not too challenging, and perhaps forgiving of beginner errors. We shall see. Being optimistic, I have a perfect shelf to display the finished model. We recently finished binge watching “The Vikings” and “The Last Kingdom” mini-series, so we’re on board the Viking craze bandwagon. Criticism and comments on my build or log are welcome. Praise is also accepted, but only if warranted. 😊 For starters I wanted a dedicated workbench and found a nice one on amazon. The kit and a few preliminary tools came from Ages of Sail. More tools were ordered from Model Expo. The folks at both of those two shops were extremely helpful. I checked the kit’s “List of Materials” and everything was present and accounted for. The first step in the instructions is to draw a guideline for the strakes at the stem and stern. I copied the 1:1 scale drawing and used cutouts from that. A part not listed in the kit is a more ornate curve for the stern. James H’s MSW build log pointed that out to me. This curve is apparently based on the Oseberg ship reconstruction, which itself comes from images on 9th century coins and picture stones. So, my very first cut was to remove existing curve from the stern. The replacement is on the right. The next decision was how to square the frames to the keel. On my kit the frames were rather loose fitting. I looked through several build logs of this kit but didn’t find a precise answer. Matt H suggested using Lego blocks, which seemed good. But I don’t have any, and didn’t want to buy a huge set of them. I found some 59-cent hardware store brackets in my household tools. I convinced myself, probably incorrectly, that these were square. I used one and cautiously started gluing with Titebond II. Here is Captain Aegir watching the progress. When done I dry fitted the deck and realized that I screwed up two frames: #7 was tilted several degrees to port, and #5 was 1 mm above the level of the keel, creating a gap between the deck and keel from frames #4 to 6. I tried ungluing with 91% isopropyl alcohol, but that didn’t seem to work. That stuff is hard to come by these days anyway. After thinking about it, I decided to use my new razor saw to cut through the joint. After cutting the four legs of the “H” I easily squared off #7. Repeated gentle wiggling on #5 allowed me to remove it and file the slots so it’s level with the keel. The frames are now all glued, no doubt not perfect, but hopefully good enough. After going through all that I discovered jack.aubrey’s build log of a Dusek Viking boat. He posted a simple solution to squaring the frames that I wished I had seen earlier. Live and learn. - Nelson

WOW! I just chanced upon this thread and it is exhilarating! Jim, to my eye you have captured the essence of being at sea. If I can offer a comparison, a few years ago I was in an Alpine Museum and saw an exhibit of Gabriel Loppé paintings. This artist was completely familiar with his subject, including its most subtle nuance, and is able to convey it on canvas. A viewer is transported to the place and time. Your work is similar. Thanks much for sharing.

Thanks Steven. I'm not far along in the build, just finishing the frames and starting to think about the dreaded strakes and fairing! I'll try to cobble a build log together later this week, no doubt it would be good to have one. I'm moving slowly on it, especially as it's summer on our side of the world. Thanks again for this informative log Jack. - Nelson

Discovered this excellent build log the other day. Thanks Jack, excellent work and description of the build. Too bad I didn’t discover it a few days earlier! I am building the Amati 1:50 Drakkar as my first ever model. Your post #26 would have saved me some trouble because I skewed one of the frames. It was fixed with a little saw work, but your method would prevented the problem in the first place. If I ever do a build log I will include a link to yours at that step, so hopefully others may benefit. Nelson

Sure Rod, here you go. It's been in a box for quite a few years, but when I set up my workbench to get into this hobby recently I finally hung it on the wall. Now I'm planning to print that picture of the Chuck on prop and put it in there. As mentioned above, I'm not sure where on the wreck this came from. Actually my wife recovered it. It's possible, even likely, it came from near a room we called "The Captain's Quarters" due to the nice table now hanging from the floor. I'll throw that photo in as well. I had a really nice porthole from one of the Japanese wrecks in the Kwaj lagoon, but I donated it to the Pacific War Museum in Texas. Really amazing work you are doing on this model. Thanks. Nelson

No, that's my friend Chuck. I was driving the dive boat. The woman in the second photo went on to become my wife, I guess known as The Admiral around here. Great collection of books you came up with.

I've read through this with fascination. For one thing your model skills are fantastic and the ship looks incredible. I worked on Kwajalein in 1973-74, did a lot of scuba diving during that time, including on the wreck of the Eugen. It was one of our favorite dive locations. I'm hoping you won't mind a couple of photos. The first one was taken before the prop on the right was returned to Germany, and the second shows one of the portholes that came up in your discussion. This one must be near the stern on the port side. On the wall at my workbench I have a small brass porthole from the Eugen, but unfortunately don't recall the location it was from, possibly an interior wall. As I recall the large external portholes were aluminum (?) not brass, were corroded and not coveted by divers. I have more photos if you are interested, but you can probably find better ones online. Hope you don't mind this intrusion. Nelson

Thanks Matt, much appreciated and everything made sense. I don't have Legos but have some small square wood blocks that could work. Hopefully I don't glue them in place. I have the similar clamp issue, which could be an excuse to buy a clamp that works! Look forward to seeing the rest of your build. Nelson

Matt, Thanks much for this build log. I am just starting this as my first ever kit, so every step of the way is something brand new. I’m currently in the afraid to apply glue for the first time stage. On other MSW logs of this kit some folks have said the bulkheads were snug and others were loose. Mine are the latter, very loose fitting so I’m coming up with a plan to try to keep them square. I like the detail work you did on your shields. You too, snowy. And I’ll check out Steven’s link. How did you blacken your nails? Something like Birchwood Casey Brass Black? Thanks, Nelson

I contacted Amati out of curiousity, I'll see what happens. Thanks Chuck. Hopefully the repair will be successful. I was considering a darkish oak stain. I was a bit concerned about structural issues when bending the planks, since the board is thinner there. No doubt the kit will suffer far worse indignities at my hand before it's done. - Nelson

Thanks much Chris. Of course you are correct and that was the backside. But the line is also visible on the front.but not as much of a depression. See photo: I'll probably contact Amati just to see how that goes. But I could chalk it up to damage from a sea battle with those pesky Saxons. - Nelson

I am starting my first ever build, an Amati 1:50 Drakkar. I was planning to start a build log and ask questions there, but maybe this stands alone as a point of general interest. In looking at my kit, the starboard side planking has what could be interpreted as a manufacturing defect. I think the photos below will show it. When I run my figure over that obvious line I can feel a slight depression along the length of it. The wood is 0.6mm thick. Is this normal looking, should I be concerned about it? Since it's my first kit I have no real point of reference. Thanks. - Nelson

Toni, Thanks much for the detailed explanations, really appreciate it. When I read the post either there was a typo or I was misunderstanding something, the latter being a distinct possibility. Now it all makes sense. I just researched the power tools you mentioned and that fills in all the gaps. This page on the drawplate by Byrnes was informative and entertaining, "one of the very few hand tools to be in continuous use for a span of years measured in centuries" https://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/drawplate5.html Not anything I have to aspire to immediately, but nice to know it's out there. Thanks again, Nelson

This is my first post outside the new member intro forum. I have never made a ship model. Now I’m (possibly) about to make a correction on this thread. 😳 In post 55 should the #75 drill bit be 0.021 diameter instead of 0.21? I don’t understand how you used bamboo to make the trunnels, but no matter, it looks fantastic to me. Thanks.

Back at ya - welcome from another newbie, at age 70 with no glue under my fingernails, yet. I like your models - they do bring out the kid in us!

Thanks again guys. The package with my kit arrived today. The journey begins.