marktiedens

Thanks again Frank for your eagle eye in spotting my mistake.It`s funny how I can look right at something & still get it wrong .

/Mark

Thanks Frank - I have corrected the placement of the tall figures on the sides of the upper stern 

. I had them on the wrong sides.

/Mark

Update - finally got the stern finished.Corel only gave 2 knights to stand guard by the windows in the stern & they were way too tall to fit in the space provided so I used some of the extra figures in the kit instead.They are just a little bit short but at least there are 6 instead of 4.Also built the front railing - I didn`t like the dolphins the kit provided so I used some nice columns I had in my spare parts box.Also built the knightheads while waiting for paint to dry.I don`t have a milling machine so I tried to make the sheaves by drilling & filing but that didn`t work too well so I made them by laminating a number of thin strips glued together to form the sheaves. Then I cut some thin pieces off a dowel to make the pulleys. Not perfect but they look good from a foot or two away.

/Mark

I can reverse the hose on my Kirby vacuum cleaner & turn it into a nice strong blower.

/Mark

You are doing a fine job on this monster. As I recall I knocked down those frames with my Dremel & finished them off with a file. I also recall having to square up those rounded inside corners. Have faith - the hardest part of this build is about done.

/Mark

Hi Frank - I did not add that extra tackle. I`m not too sure ships of this time period had them - just looks out of place. It might be a good question for Fred at the museum.However,it`s your ship,so if you like it then go for it.

/Mark

Hi Frank -the paints I am using are a mixture of Testors model master,a few craft store paints,& some Vallejo paints. Specifically the red is a Vallejo game color called gory red - it`s about the same color as blood out of the bottle but dries to a deep darker red.My camera doesn`t really show the color that well - I may try and adjust the color to show it a little better. Another Vallejo paint that looks really nice is called polished gold - it really looks like gold when dry,not just metallic paint. The Vallejo paint has only recently became available at my local hobby store,so that`s why I used mostly Testors. Even at that they only carry the air brush ready line & the game colors. I don`t know why they aren`t carrying the Vallejo regular brush paints.

//Mark

What a fantastic job you did on this difficult kit,especially considering the condition of it when you started it.It looks like the real ship out on the water.  You have,as they say,made a silk purse out of a sow`s ear.

/Mark

Keith - your RW looks very nice to me. I hope to do as good when I get around to starting mine. As far as the Vasa kits go the Sergal version is much larger than Corel`s - about the same size as the RW. Quality wise the Sergal kit is laser cut & the parts fit together nicely. My Corel kit is an old one so it is not laser cut. The stern area on the Sergal kit is nicely shaped but the Corel`s is way off - difficult to fix because of the way the castings are made. On the other hand the Corel bow is shaped much better than Sergal`s. As far as the castings go Sergal`s are decent - some are spot on while others are way off. The cannons are pretty good - they even have the little lions cast into them. Corel`s castings are awful at best - some look like just little blobs of metal. The wood in both is fair at best. Both kits were designed in the seventies so I can understand why some of the castings are incorrect.If I was to recommend one over the other it would probably be Sergal`s.Both need a lot of bashing to make them at least close to correct. Another choice would be the Billings kit - I don`t have first hand knowledge of it but from what I`ve seen it is the most accurate.Like any kit,they all have their problems.What fun would it be if we didn`t have to re-do anything . Sorry about the long winded response - hope it helps.

Regards,Mark

Thanks Michael.The only reason I am building two of them is because I originally bought the Corel kit & later got the Sergal kit at a really good price,although I may end up in the looney bin before I`m finished . Maybe I should get the Billings kit then I would have a set of three . On second thought - don`t think so.  But then again....................

/Mark

Thanks Keith. I am watching your build of the RW as I have this kit waiting in the closet.

/Mark

Maybe after painting the brass color you could overcoat it with some clear gloss paint. I have done this & it came out pretty shiny.

/Mark

Thanks Mark. If you choose the Corel kit be prepared to make a lot of changes.

A small update - been painting figures. Most of them don`t match what`s on the real ship but they look ok from a distance. The kit did not provide for the 4 port holes in the upper gallery so I made some from some brass eyelets from the fabric store. I also didn`t like the oversize plastic windows so I searched through my spare parts boxes & found a couple of etched brass windows which were just the right size,so I used them.

Now back to more painting

/Mark

oops - I meant the lower gallery

I have some of the Z blades. They are slightly larger but no thicker. The blade seems to have a little better edge to it. Also if you look close at the picture the blade edge has a little curve to it near the end. I am still undecided as to if it is any better. I don`t particularly care for the curve in the blade.

Mark

Hello jollymillar. I am building the Corel kit which is double planked with walnut so I did not do any staining of the hull or decks. I painted part of the hull red according to the Vasa museum 1/10 scale model & info from the museum.

/Mark

Hi Frank - I never really paid that much attention to the level of the tops. After looking at the museum pictures,& pictures of  Clayton`s fabulous scratch build it appears that the mizzen top probably should be a little lower. It also appears that way on most of the Billing kit pictures. It is also lower on my Sergal model. It should be an easy fix - just cut the bottom of the mast shorter so it fits lower in the keel former. It seems that the Corel plans are the most inaccurate of all the Vasa kits. I should have bought the Billings kit - I would probably be finished with it by now. You could also go to the Vasa forum & ask Fred Hocker - he is the the main researcher at the museum. This link should get you there.

http://warshipvasa.freeforums.net/

/Mark

Masts are looking good. Did you use walnut stain on them or another shade?

/Mark

A little more progress - got the lower gallery roofs planked. The tricky part was the angled planks between the lower tower & the side of the ship. The area is the circled area on the picture of the real ship.

/Mark

Thanks Frank - I didn`t mount them perfectly level,instead I planked them a little bit "wonky" as Matti would say. It`s kind of hard to tell in the photos. Also thanks everyone for the looks & likes. Now working on the lower gallery roofs - a bit tricky. I must say I have already changed more things on this build than the entire Sergal build & I`m not even half way through it.

/Mark

Got a Fuji A200 as a gift so that`s what I use.

/Mark

Thanks Jimz. The red is a bit darker in person than my camera shows.

/Mark

Another little update-

After filing down the towers I planked over them to make them look a little better & then painted them. After gluing them in place I planked over the upper roof formers & painted them. The butts in the roof & tower planking will be covered by the figures from the kit. Even after shimming the lower galleries out the lower rear towers still just barely fit.

/Mark

Really sharp - love that planking.

/Mark

Matti - you have done a masterful job of capturing the look of this ship  . Do you have any more ship modeling projects planned?

/Mark