BLACK VIKING

A little better I'm just much of a camera guy?

By this post I declare the model of the reconstruction Helga Holm of the ship 5 in the archeological excavations at the Helgeands islet finished.
 
It has been a very enjoyable, albeit at time tedious, journey. And I'm quite happy with the result.
 





Thank you everyone who has followed, commented and supported with advice and encouragement. You have been a great help.

There are several holes in the hull used for tight different ropes to belaying pins... not sure if i missed these steps but i have not drilled the holes before. Now it is time to do so.. a bit more difficult that needed be but... mark them first and with little help from longer drill bits i managed to drill 10 holes in total, without damaging other parts. So if you are building this beautiful model, pay attention ahead of time..
 

 


Now i am doing gunter iron gantline rope. First started with 2mm single block and made a hook. Simple by twisting the wire at the end and secure it with a drop of CA glue, then form the hook. Hopefully it will hold. Have some challenges making it at this small scale..
 

 


Working on the rope..
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The length of coiled rope is correct, now i need to make few of those..
Happy modelling..

All the lines and reef points has been added to the sail.
To shape the sail I have rigged it up and painted diluted PVA glue that hopefully will dry to a ok shape. The wrinkles should also smooth out as the sail dries.
 

Hi all,   Well I have started  on the Flag Barer  - assembled  and primed.
 
OC.

This is my great great grandfather and g-g-grandmother not too many years after the ACW ended. He died in 1892 at the age of 60. He was a cowboy long before the war started and a natural fit in the cavalry.
 

I have found and brought some  - again paper flags that fold and glue around the pole  but at least they are  54th and 55th  ligne reg.
 
OC.

Evening all,  drummer is finished including his drum  - just needs his backpack fixing and painting.
 
OC.

I saw the MiG-15 and F-86 demonstration at the Chino airshow back in '98 or '99  (time flies). The F-86 leaves a distinct smoke trail that put it at a disadvantage versus the MiG when it came to who spotted whom first.

Thanks for the likes and your notes. It is surprising to learn about how many of them are flying in the US. Surely there are some one-seat specimens flying as I watched them in several videos on youtube. There is at least one where it is flying together with an F-86 (yellow striped). So far, the only opponent I can pose with it is my recent Hawker Sea Fury (although the Dutch markings do not match with it). Yes, rugged and basic aircraft, but quite lethal a weapon for its time.  I was also surprised to note how small it was (likely to contain weight) and how cramped was its cockpit:
 
 
Probably, like the pilot in the videoclip, I wouldn't fit well into it.
 
Best regards,
Dan.

Finally reached the halfway mark in oar-making, so decided to go ahead and finish them. I've seen other models with multi-colored oars, and while I didn't want to paint mine fancily as it wouldn't quite fit what I was going for, I did like the way that different shading brought out the oars' structure and broke up what's otherwise a pretty bland linear feature. 
 
So I stained them with the same color I used for the mast and yards (to achieve a color that fits with the model overall), then lightly sanded them smooth again. I then further sanded the area gripped by rowers (not sure of the right terminology here) to remove most of the stain, as I figured the wood here would be discolored due to use and skin-oil patina. Finally I rubbed dark pastel onto the oars, focusing on the grip areas and blades (in the latter case, figuring these would be discolored by mud and such). I like the way they came out.
 

 
Broader view:
 

 
A couple full-ship views:
 

 

 
These are just set in place right now, so they're not even or consistent. Still trying to decide if I'm going to glue them in, somehow support them in an unobtrusive manner, or just let them be a little chaotic.
 
Time to get up the courage to face 30 more of these things. 
 
Finally, I believe this will be my 2,000th post here on MSW. It's become a valued part of my life and identity, and many thanks are owed to all who have helped me along the way.

Dear all,
being currently interested about cold war, I am starting a new kit which represents one of the protagonists of cold war, the MiG 15 bis. The story of this plane is quite known, so I am not repeating it here. Quite surprisingly, its jet engine, which was a russian copy of the Rolls-Royce Nene,  was practically simply purchased from UK. It was one of the first operative jet fighter with a swept wing for operating in the high subsonic regime. For this iconic plane, I chosed the 1:48 Trumpeter kit, a brand that I never tried before.
 

 
 
My intention is not to spend too much efforts in detailing the cockpit because this is going to be a closed canopy model. However, when I saw the supplied ejection seat, I was disappointed by how the headrest was reproduced. Being the headrest the most prominent detail that can be seen through a closed canopy, I decided to detailing it a bit.
 

 
Trumpeter moulded a 'boxed' headrest, probably copying one of the restaured MiG flying in US, but the original one was actually quite different. Above, you can see the difference and the little improvements that I made with some Evergreen strips (the kit comes with two seats). To give a little 'busier' look to the cockpit, I also added few wiring along with the engine throttle which cannot be absent in a pilot's office.
 

 
Before a coat of paint, I embellished a bit more the seat adding two side handles which can be well spotted from outside:
 

 
This is my first Soviet aircraft, I know little about russian aircraft, hence I am curious to see how will this one turn out. I hope you will be interested too.
 
Best regards,
Dan.
 
 
 

Evening all,   I  have done a bit more this evening  - Painted on the  Yellow chevrons on the arms  - bit fiddly  getting the spacing  and just putting on thin lines  - but I think it will do,  also  the Red was applied to the cuffs/collar  and  epaulettes,  then the buttons were added in Brass.
 
OC.

Hello,
Update on bow area work. Images self-explanatory so will keep text to a minimum.
I am very appreciative of your continued interest in this log – thanks so much.....
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought you did something like this a while ago .......thankfully what we did wasn't that drastic.   although......it did lead to a lot of chaos in the apartment.......

this is what table black looked like.....
 

even the dining room looked like a hoarder's den.....

the room that was our bedroom,  used to be our computer room when we first moved in here.   I finished the Nordkap in this very room......

I didn't take any pictures of the bedroom.......totally aqualung   but here's the beginning palette for the new shipyard

the room is smaller.......the admiral's computer was on the wall beside the heat register...mine was on the wall next to the door.  I know I have a picture of me standing next to my computer,  but I can't find it.  I was also building the Cux 87 at the time......that model was built when we lived on Spruce St.  I was waiting on the fittings for 'ole Nordie.  I ordered them from Tom's shop in Wisconsin......Harold {the model's original owner} found the fittings kit that he had,  so I ended up with two sets.  anyway.......I thought it fitting to put table white back where she belongs.  she was rather new back then, in looking at the above picture......she has a few battle scars now.

the five plane kits,  the four boxes under the tables,  the progress and the two steingraber boats....and times the United states by two {the Connie kit}, and this is some of the active and stash kits I have.  there's more in the closet.......and even more in the closet by my computer.  I think I have enough to play with for the time being    I plan to do some thing with this wall......a sort of 'berth' for models that I'm not working on at a given time.  

so this is where I'm at .......the bedroom is totally done,  with the exception of the closet.  the shipyard is still in the molting stage....things are still falling into place.  won't take me too long,  and then I can get back to work  

With the arrival of good weather I no longer want to spend much time in my backroom basement workshop. But in order to continue working I put a few items into a cardboard box so I could sit on the patio and make the oars.
 
Nothing much to report here except I learned from another build log to use tape on the dowels to reduce the chances of splitting the wood when cutting the notch. Reduce, not eliminate.
 

 

 
I've also been thinking about sail color. I bought a book from the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde about the Sea Stallion. They say, "In scaldic verses it is sometimes emphasised that the sail is coloured blue - perhaps it was considered to be a particularly prestigious colour", because of its expense.
 
On a rainy afternoon I played around on the computer and came up with this.

 
I kind of like the blue and yellow stripes in the upper left. I've purchased some Tulip fabric paint and will experiment.
 
Finally, I tried making a chest based on a link Steven has posted in other logs. It was looking reasonably OK for a first attempt at something like this, although the dimensions might be off a bit. But then I broke one of the legs off when I was sanding the corners. The wood is basswood, maybe I need something denser (?) or a steadier hand.
 

 
 

Another fast forward, this time for deck layout.   The Swift kit has two cabins, fore and aft.  I don't much like how heavy the kit ones look, and didn't really like the look with two.  So I decided to replace the forward one with a deck hatch cover, not unlike how the OcCre Polaris looks.
 
I like the look a lot more where the deck structures are not on top of the deck planks, but the deck planks butt directly into the coaming.   And one note - it's a LOT easier to lay the deck coaming and other such things down onto the sub-plywood first, THEN apply the planks.  Live and learn.
 
I started by using a sharp knife and straight edge to cut out the bounds of the front hatch. 
 

 
Then I started making some 1/8" x 1/8" coaming with little lap joints. 
 

 
To illustrate how I made the lap joints, here's a few step-by-step pictures of one.
 
First, score where the cut will be...
 

 
Then use a sharp knife to pre-cut just a bit of a notch.   Then you can use that notch as a guide for a fine toothed saw.  The notch gives you both a clean edge, and good saw blade alignment.
 

 
Then I cut down the part to be removed with a knife.  You have to be super careful with non-straight grain wood like walnut, as it won't just split off a nice flat section.
 

 
Lastly use a small square file to clean up the joint.

 
Here's a dry fit of the pieces in place.
 

 
Now about this time, little red scale ship guy showed up and took one look at that tiny coaming and said, "That's not going to do much if the deck is awash - it has to be taller!"  So the whole thing got reworked with 1/4" x 1/4" walnut, much to his satisfaction.
 

 
I ended up hand cutting all the joints and rabbet.  I'm starting to see the allure of those tiny table saws.  Here are two closeups of the corner joints with the rabbet...
 

 

 
Lastly, here's the whole thing with a thin piece of inset plywood that will be the gluing surface for planks covering the hatch.
 

 
This now brings me up to the present time.  Next post in a few days ought to be that hatch finished up.

A Dog and Vosper 
16" X 12" Watercolour

This plastic model set made in Japan is out of print. This is what I did when I made it 15 years ago.
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Evening all,   the Tirailleurs  are done  and I have built the Drummer.
 
OC.

Thank you Sirs 🙂
 
Once you take a look at the whole thing manned, you immediately see how tight it is inside and out.
 

 

 
Seen from above, it's clear that even the diving away under the swifter and running back that some people assume will be somewhat difficult here, and could quickly throw the others out of rhythm. If, while the bars are being inserted, the rest of the crew is heaving the guns over, a smooth work flow is guaranteed while turning. I'm not talking about work safety here but of a smooth rotating flow 🙂
 

 
The Swifter was led by a notch at the end of the bars. Whether there was only ever a knot in front and behind the bar or whether it was secured for example by a half hitch I will still find out.
 
Interesting also in the lower perspective. Jumping over the guns wasn't possible there either, the deck beams were only a few centimeters above the
heads, and the outer sailors probably have to watch out with the hanging knees anyway ...
 

 

 
Here you can see it nicely what I mean, at 0:15 - This action combined with deck beams one would then hear a rhythmic "Klock" when hard wood (sailor's thick head) hits hard wood (deck beams) ... 
 
Jumping the gun
 
Simply delightful to see. 
 
And for the naval officers in the boats finally a possibility to look unpunished under skirts, as the girls up there come along on the spar ...
 
It remains exciting 🙂
 
XXXDAn
 

Well that’s the main deck planked apart from the edges waiting for a power? saw to do the curved pieces. Not sure why a couple of planks appear darker after applying Danish oil, never mind it’ll be covered by the quarter deck if  another coat of oil doesn’t reduce contrast.
 
Next up two additional gun ports towards the bow and holes for the oars

With 99% of the PE railing completed, I am ready to move on to the final details including the ship's boats, the aircraft, life rafts, flag staffs, and rigging. A few other odds and ends as well. Almost there.
 

It's one of the things I've done in the last 20 years. Inside is a miniature music box made in Japan. Shake the handle, tighten the inner spring and make a wonderful singing sound. In the Internet search of the same picture, I calculated the approximate size of the production.
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Kevin: Yes indeed very nice bits from Amati as well as vintage Sergal  – and regarding Doris – beyond genius work – I’ve called her the Michelangelo of this hobby. Oh and thanks so much for following this log as well – you were more than kind with your comments on my Vasa log back in the day….
 
Robp125: So encouraging – thanks so much – Indeed a beautiful ship in its first iteration. SO appreciate your interest
 
Ulises: The complete Amati kit can be purchased as a set or piece by piece. Got mine from:
 
https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=amati seas sovereign&PN=1831-Sovereign-of-the-Seas-Cast-Decoration-Set-A1831.html#SID=353
 
You can also buy the Amati plan sheets as well as the Flag sheet (their flag sheet is excellent) Ok Ulises you asked lol – for the 144 individual pieces by their part numbers I will send you a PM –
 
If other members are interested let me know I will just copy and paste the item numbers on this log…… It will just be a sea of Amati part numbers with no reference to what the bits actually are - once the part # is copied and pasted to Cornwall (or other Amati retail provider) it with return with an image as well. PS: I tried ordering several fittings directly from Amati in Italy -the purchase was rejected in the USA - I needed to order from a retailer.
 
Here is one last image of Amati bits FYI
 

 
Here are images of Amati and Sergal flag sheets FYI:
 
Amati - double adhesive sided  
 

 
Sergal 
 

 
Vintage Sergal after so many years in box looks perfect on both sides