BRiddoch

Hello all,
   My thanks to Clare Hess for inspiring me to get back into my Higaki Kaisen build.  I have been slowly working on it and have completed the railing sections on the starboard side.  More to follow.
 
   Bob R. 

Hello all,
   My thanks to Clare Hess for inspiring me to get back into my Higaki Kaisen build.  I have been slowly working on it and have completed the railing sections on the starboard side.  More to follow.
 
   Bob R. 

Hello all,
   My thanks to Clare Hess for inspiring me to get back into my Higaki Kaisen build.  I have been slowly working on it and have completed the railing sections on the starboard side.  More to follow.
 
   Bob R. 

I really like the idea of the floor lamps and am looking forward to see how that will be done. This is a great kit. Even the stand has a simple elegance. If I remember the Japanese word correctly, there's a Shibumi quality to this.

Clare,
Thanks for inspiring me to get back to work on Higaki Kaisen.
 
Bob R.

Clare,
Thanks for inspiring me to get back to work on Higaki Kaisen.
 
Bob R.

Hi Ken,
 
Please do! It is a short build and it won't take long to see it to the end here.
 
Woody Joe gave me the okay to use images from the instructions in my build log, so we're all on the up-and-up!
 
 
As you can see, there's a lot of imagery will little text. What text you see is telling you things that are really pretty obvious if it wasn't there.
 

 
Step 3  Attaching the Lower Planking
• When fitting the planks, make sure the laser-etched alignment marks line up with frames before gluing the planks into place (The text in red)
• Bevel the bow edge of the lower planks (laser cut parts 2 and 3) using the laser-etched lines as guides.
• Bend planks by first soaking them in water. Bend the wet plank across a plastic bucket or similar curved surface for support.
• When mounting the lower planks, make sure the laser-scribed marks line up with frame 
 
 

 
Probably the main issue here is bending the hinoki, which bends very nicely, but only when wet! Dry hinoki is very brittle, so don't go there without wetting the planks first. Not even a little bit, because I doubt you're going to be able to get replacement parts, and you're probably going to need to fabricate your own from basswood or boxwood maybe. Hinoki is very hard to find here in the States. It's not that it's a rare wood, it's just not something that you can get here.
 
I managed to get a block of it from a Japanese tool shop in Berkeley, CA, but it's not big enough to cut any significant sized sheets from. It was just a piece of scrap they had laying around that they gave me.
 
I've heard that Port Orford Cedar is very similar, but I've never tried it. Luckily, I've never needed to go that far. If I've lost a piece or used up the strip woods in a kit, there has always been enough scraps from the laser-cut sheets to come up with anything I've needed.
 

 
The part of this build that I've been most concerned and careful about has been the position of these first hull planks. The  inside edge of the planks at the bottom should line up with the bottom of the hull. You can see this in the bottom center diagram of the instructions. 
 
The last part of this step is sanding the top edge of the plank so that that the plank is flush with the upper part of the frames. This is necessary in order for the upper planks to lay flat against the frames and the bottom planks.
 
Note the notch in the upper edge of the planks in the photo below.
 

  This notch allows the upper planks to seat nicely against the  stem. Without the notch, I'm guessing the that fitting the planks into place would be much more difficult, require more bending, etc. I don't know for sure if this is a kit simplification, but Woody Joe seems to incorporate this on all their recently engineered traditional Japanese boat kits.
 
Also, if you look at that forward frame, you'll note that there will be a gap between the frame and the lower edge of the upper plank. That appears to be how it is unless I've been doing something wrong with these builds.
 
With the completion of this step, adding the two bottom planks, one might call them the garboards, the hull planking is half done!
 
Clare
 

The reason I'm working on this kit now is that I've been developing a display of traditional Japanese watercraft based on Woody Joe kits (so far). My first display began with just the Higaki Kaisen, but it looked EXTREMELY lonely in a big display window, so I quickly added the Hacchoro. As a matter of fact, I kind of had to rush through completion of the Hacchoro kit, and the result was that I got the sails on upside down! I didn't notice it until it was pointed out to me. They are nearly square, but actually slightly larger at the top than on the bottom, with is opposite of what one would find on Western sailing craft. Embarrassing, but you live and learn!
 

Initially, this was only a display of my Higaki Kaisen model.
 
 

As you can see, it was pretty sad all by iself.
 
 

Two's company. Better, but next display needs more to it.
 
 
The display was set up in the window of the Community Room of Union Bank in the Japan Center Mall in San Francisco in Spring. The bank people were very pleased to have the display, so it was easy to arrange for version 2, or what I call Wasen Display 2.0. That is currently running from June 3 through July 10. Version 2.0 features new display pedestals I threw together to raise the models up and to create more contrast. I also took some decent photos and created some posters which I then hung from the back wall using plastic clips I had to make for the occasion.
 

I learned I need to add more visuals for Wasen Display 2.0.
 

Viewing this from a distance, people can see something to attract their attention.
 

This is just a view of the models being prepped for the display.
 
The Yakatabune will be part of Wasen Display 3.0. Probably that won't be much more than an augmented version of Display 2.0. No set dates for that yet, but I want to be prepared.
 
Clare

Someone out there is thinking "catopower is starting another build log? When's he going to finish the ones he's started?" Or maybe that's just me thinking it... Well, no matter, I need the model for my next display of Japanese traditional boats and I might as well write about it for others to enjoy. This is a pretty simple model and a quick build. Woody Joe calls it a 50 hour build. Its similarity to their fishing boat kit, the Hacchoro, leads me to think this sounds about right. 
 
The Yakatabune was a pleasure boat that became a popular way for commoners to enjoy leisure time during Japan's Edo Period, which began with the rise of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 and continued until the fall of the Shogunate in the 1860s, prompted by the arrival of Commodore Perry and the forced opening of Japan to the West.
 
 

 
 
The Edo period was also the time of the closing of Japan to foreign contact and trade that ended with Perry's arrival. Under the single military ruler known as the Shogun, Japan had entered a period of relative peace and with it, economic growth. The period saw the rise of the merchant class and the fading influence of the Samurai. Prosperity brought with it leisure time.
 
The Yakatabune was one way for commoners to enjoy a warm summer evening, floating along the river and maybe being entertained with drink and song. Today, Japanese people still seem to think of the Yakatabune as a symbol of the Japanese "Good Life". My mother, who is Japanese, talks about how people would float along Tokyo's Sumida river to watch fireworks at night. The boat may not seem as interesting to Westerners, but it seems to have a lot of meaning to many Japanese people I've talked to.
 
 
The Kit
 
The kit is from Woody Joe of Japan, which was revised last year about this time. It relies heavily on laser-cut parts and is built to 1:24-scale, making it about 25" long. Woody Joe kits aren't marketed in the U.S., so it usually has to be purchased on Ebay or Amazon. For the last year and a half, I've bought all my Woody Joe products from a Japanese online seller called Zootoyz. The store is a small one run by a gentleman by the name of Kazunori Morikawa and I like to send him business to help him out. His prices and service are good. The Yakatabune kit cost about $165 shipped by EMS, an Express service.
 

 
As with all Woody Joe kits, the box is nicely illustrated, and the kit is well packed. No room for things to slosh around and get broken, and parts are all bagged and labeled. There is nothing loose in the box.
 
The turn-off for a lot of people is that the instructions are written in Japanese. But, they are extremely well illustrated, and this kit appears to have no surprises the would be hidden in written warnings. I've found the same to be true of their 1:24-scale Hacchoro fishing boat, their Hobikisen mini-kit and their Utasebune mini-kit.
 

 
Parts are easily identified by part numbers and these are relatively simple designs, and engineered so that just about anyone can build them. That's probably one of the biggest differences between Woody Joe and wester ship model manufacturers. Their models tend to be a little bit simplified in detail, so that any person who is interested in building one of their models, can be successful. Details on their kits can be on the light side. But, anyone who wants a more detailed build, can very easily add any level of detail desired.
 
 
This will be my fifth Woody Joe kit, having built the HIgaki Kaisen, Hacchoro, Hobikisen mini-kit, and Iwakuni Castle. Details to follow...
 
Clare

Marc, thanks for the photos. As Clare says they are very helpful. I might just have to install a shrine and add some cargo. Had the model in New London today and received many positive comments. I will try and update my build this week.
Clare, pm me so I can give you my new email address. I need to ask you a few questions.
 
 
Bob R

Completed the poop deck area. Left an open area to view interior details.

Marc,
 
Thanks for those latest photos. I think I recognize that model as the Kitamaesen kit that Woody Joe used to produce, but it's been upgraded quite nicely. I love the cargo on the deck, what a great idea!
 
It's actually a shame that they stopped production. I liked the large size of the kit. I think they are trying to make kits that are easier to build, and the older kits are very much more like the kind of kits we'd expect as ship modelers. I have one of their Sengokubune kits, which they still produce, and it's of the older pre-laser cut and less engineered style. It's actually quite a neat kit, but requires a lot more of the ship modeling skills. While less accurate perhaps, the nice thing is that it's a much larger model at about 25" inches. I wanted to get it before it too disappears from production. 
 
Because the kit is not laser-cut, I thought it would make a good pattern to build to a larger scale like 1/4" (pardon me... 1/4 sen scale).
 
 
Marc, as you pointed out, the Higaki Kaisen operated between the large cities of Osaka and Edo (Tokyo) on the Pacific side of the main island of Honshu. I have a DVD that my friend sent me of a symbolic trade journey the Michinoku Maru, a Kitamaesen, made along with Japan Sea coast from Aomori at the northern end of Honshu. That seemed to indicate (gathering this from context rather that from my bad Japanese language skills) that Kitamaesen differed in that they travelled from port to port picking up and dropping off goods along the way. More of a general trade ship.
 
Another friend I play music with likes to study and learn about Japanese music and dance and has often explained how certain kinds of Japanese songs and dances had different names in different parts of Japan, but were related because they were carried by the sailors that travelled up and down the coast. 
 
We really don't hear much about these ships (well, not at all in the U.S.) but it appears that they had a significant role in spreading of Japanese culture and the growth of cities in the relative peace and economic growth of Edo period Japan.
 
 
Bob, hope you don't mind this discussion in your thread. It just seems like th place to bring it up!
 
Is it still early enough in your build to add those interior details? One thing I wanted to add, but never got around to was to make a little Tenmasen, the small cargo boat that was often carried on deck. Don Dressel made one on his model, but I never quite got the hang of the design, though it should be pretty easy to build. PMing you!
 
 
Clare

Hi Clare
 
Thanks for your very interesting explanation about the Kitamae Sen.
You are right, we do not hear that much about those amazing ships, even in Japan. It is very difficult to find information and books about them.
 
All the best for all Higaki Kaisen builders.
 
Cheers
Marc

Marc, thanks for the photos. As Clare says they are very helpful. I might just have to install a shrine and add some cargo. Had the model in New London today and received many positive comments. I will try and update my build this week.
Clare, pm me so I can give you my new email address. I need to ask you a few questions.
 
 
Bob R

Marc, thanks for the photos. As Clare says they are very helpful. I might just have to install a shrine and add some cargo. Had the model in New London today and received many positive comments. I will try and update my build this week.
Clare, pm me so I can give you my new email address. I need to ask you a few questions.
 
 
Bob R

Completed the poop deck area. Left an open area to view interior details.

18th Century Longboat?
 
       Bob R.

Got your message.  Thanks Steve.
 
 Bob R.

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.

She is beautiful Bob. --- OK----You talked me into adding this one to my "must have" list. 

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.

Started planking the upper deck.  Leaving openings in places to see into below deck areas.
 
            Bob R.