catopower

Kurt, Too late. My book is already signed and inscribed! He offers that on all orders through his website. But, buying the book at his table at the conference is a great way to get the book if you aren't already familiar with him and his work. Clare P.S. Here's a review from another source: http://www.oceannavigator.com/Web-Exclusives-2015/A-definitive-look-at-Japanese-Boatbuilding/ And some photos the author recently posted on Instagram: https://instagram.com/douglasbrooksboats

Hi Kurt, I figured that might be the case, though I wasn't sure how long he'd actually be staying at the conference. For people who can wait and will be at the conference, that's a great way to get the book since they get to meet the author, see the book, and then the inscription will have some meaning. Some of us just have to have it NOW, like me... Clare

Hi Richard, sorry I'm late showing up here. Didn't see your blog until today and you're already so close to being done! The lights are going to look great on this kit. I have one of the mini-yakatabune kits on the shelf and I'll have to check out that source for the LEDs you posted. Looks like a perfect solution. Your model is coming along beautifully – I think your daughter is going to be very happy with it. Clare

Well, regardless of the overall price in the end, I think this is a really wonderful thing. What other effort has made ship modeling visible to so many people all at once? I was blown away the first time I saw a TV ad for a ship model kit. Sure, a lot of people will start and never finish. That's also true about people who spend 100s of dollars on a kit, only to have it sit unfinished in the closet for all time. That's why there's so much unfinished stuff available on Ebay. But this way, at least you'll figure it out before you buy the whole thing. This is definitely a good thing. It's not for everyone, but I do like the expanded instructions as Ulises Victoria points out. That's one of the biggest complaints by Americans who buy European kits – limited instructions. Clare

This brand new book by American boatbuilder Douglas Brooks details his five apprenticeships with traditional craftsmen in Japan. I just received my copy today and wrote up a post about it on my blog. You can read it here: https://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/japanese-wooden-boatbuilding-book-by-douglas-brooks/ The book is $75 plus $10 postage. If you do get a copy, I strongly urge you to buy it direct from the author to help support his research. In return, you'll get a book signed by the author and you can choose to have it inscribed if you like. Mr. Brooks is a scheduled speaker at this year's NRG Conference in Mystic, CT. Clare

mkmossop, nice job painting that emblem. I think that can be easier than iron on because after you do your sewing, you've already got the right colors matched to do your touchup. As JerryTodd points out sewing will be a little out of scale. But then, the printing is probably equally out of scale and I think the sewing stitches will look better. I personally like a tight stitch as it forms a solid line, like the seam of the cloth itself. Use a fine thread. When I have sewn, I'd sewn to the edge of the sail itself. I think I was initially sewing on past it, but then I had to take a needle and pull out the excess stitching back to the edge of the sail. I agree that adding the reef band and reinforcements can look really nice. It's at that point that I personally glue the fabric and do not sew. The extra layer of fabric is enough to give definition to the feature. Same with the bolt rope. The glued bolt rope looks nice, but a sewn bolt rope tends to stand out a lot more than a glued one. With sails, I think it becomes something of a matter of personal taste and use of artistic license. Clare

Hi Richard, The Mini-Yakatabune looks like a really nice kit. Personally, I haven't put a finish on these. I don't worry about dust because I put them into cases, and Hinoki is also naturally mildew resistant. If you check with Bob Riddoch, I think he's using some wipe-on poly on his Higakki Kaisen, giving the wood a nice darker color and sealing it too. Anyway, you really only get the smell of the wood when it's wet or freshly cut, so the completed model won't have that nice smell. If your daughter really loves the scent, you might just get her a small bottle of Hinoki Oil or some Hinoki Soap. Now that I say that, I may just have to get some myself! Clare

Hi Richard, Glad you like the saw. I feel a bit responsible for Kazunori at Zootoyz having ordered a stock of them after I asked him about carrying the product. They weren't selling very well at first and I expect it was mostly because nobody knew he had them. So, I had to "spread the gospel." The towel is something he recently started doing, including small gifts with each order. It's a nice touch. I got a towel with The Great Wave painting on it. Maybe they'll end up being like trading cards "Collect all 10!" Druxey, I love that you know the name of the artist and the actor in that painting. You never cease to amaze me! Clare

I realized that I hadn't posted any updates on HMS Alert (HM Cutter Alert) in some time. Also, I notice that I haven't posted an overall shot of the project. Time to remedy the situation. The project is still one of those "in the background" projects, as I've got other projects that have a much higher priority. I only work on the model in between other work, so it's slow progress. Most recent work on it includes working on the yards, boom and gaff. But, the big project was making the gun carriages. There are a dozen in all. Because of large amount of small detail pieces, I'd found that the laser cut add-on detail part set that I used for the gratings also had cannon carriages of about the same size. So, I used those to make mine. I've had to learn how to work with the laser-cut cardboard and still working on figuring out best practices. The laser-cut cardboard is a lot softer than the paper parts I build up using layers of printer paper, which is a lot denser in the end. So far, I've just found I have to be a lot more careful with the cardboard. But, it helps to hit with some CA so that it stiffens up. Makes it easier to cut. Now, I just have to decide what I want to do about the cannon barrels. I rolled them up, but they're so small, I managed to get them a little gluey and spoiled some of the pre-printing on them. I'll probably have to just paint them black. But, each barrel also has a round muzzle pieces and 3 round cascabel pieces. More really tiny round parts! One option has been to, at minimum, turn a master in brass and just cast them. I'd have to do the same with the swivels. Oh wait, I'd better get back to one of those priority projects! :0) In the meantime, here's a view of the model as it sits on my shelf awaiting the next steps... Clare

I was going to save Step 20 for next time, but I started to work on the translation to get it out of the way. Now, I might as well post it! 20 Assembly and Installation of the Rudder Support • Assemble the rudder support and attach to the rudder support pedestal. Center the crossbeam on the support posts. • Attach thin rigging line to rudder and wrap line around the rudder support crossbeam. Tie off using a clove hitch. • Install part 9C as per the cutaway view and full size plans. Note that a length of small rigging line needs to be secured to part 9C in such away that it forms a loop a maximum of 38mm long. This actually brings me up-to-date with where I'm at on the model today. Next steps involve the construction of the deck house and its details. Clare

Thanks George. Had to slow down a bit due to meetings and other commitments. Also have other projects people are waiting on. But, we're now on page 10 of a 16-page instruction book, so I've got to keep on moving. Also, I've got some ideas for the next Japanese boats display and planning to make some connections regarding that. I will need this model for that display too, so there's plenty of incentive to keep working on the Yakatabune. Step 19 is another pretty short one, now dealing with some of the stern assembly: 19 Assembly and Installation of the Rudder and Oar Receiver • Insert the rudder from the top of the rudder pedestal Inset: Assembling the Oar Receiver Make 2 pieces Cut piece of dowel, part #23, 4mm long Trim to a cone shape You can see the details of these parts in the photos of my last post. Clare

This may seem an even sillier questions, but why are you using "Pewter Black" on Brass, and expecting it to work? Maybe I missed some of the discussions on Jax and maybe it's supposed to work well on brass? Clare

She's looking beautiful, Bob! Nice job on the lattice work. Did you ever handle a more delicate piece of laser-cut wood? I was never so worried about breaking a wooden part before... Clare

Kind of moving right along here, there are four steps remaining to complete the basic hull. These are mostly pretty quick and involve finishing the stern, building the rudder, adding oar mounts, and finally, adding the gallows-like rudder support and hanging the rudder from it. These were very quick steps and, unfortunately, I managed to get through them without taking any photos until after much of it was done. Here is the next step: 17 Stern Assembly • Fit parts 9A and 9B so that they fit flush with the upper and lower planking While not mentioned specifically in the instructions, you should install strips 18 and 40 so that the inside edges are flush with the hull planks, like the rail in Step 14. Round the corners Not much to add here. It's a quick step. 18 Rudder Assembly There are only notes listed on the plans. The rudder post is made from a length of part 24. 15mm of the top end is square stock, while the remainders is first rounded. The rudder post is then tapered flat so that at the bottom end, the thickness exactly matches that of the rudder. Not shown here is a black-and-white diagram showing the cross section of the rudder post at various points. The tiller is a rectangular cross-section where it attaches to the rudder. About half way down it's length, the cross section becomes more circular. Note that I felt that the rudder seemed rather large for a small river craft. Steering is mostly accomplished by the boatman at the stern who is propelling the boat using a sculling oar. Other boatmen might also be pushing off a shallow lakebed or riverbed with a long bamboo pole. So, the rudder seems a bit extraneous. I went ahead and remove the trailing panel of the rudder, which is about 1/3 of it. The following photos were taken near the end of step 20. You can see the rudder support and other details in place. The rigging line shown in the photos is part of the rudder lifting gear. It's tied into place but just hasn't been trimmed yet. Clare

Thanks for the comments Jason. I'll be posting the next update some time today. Clare

Brings back fond memories of studying and tutoring algebra, but it's not something you need to know about in terms of ship modeling. The "modeling" the narrator is speaking about is Mathematical Modeling, not physical construction of hulls. These days, I think the only time polynomial mathematics come in to play is all "under the hood" when using CAD and illustration software. The computers use the math, not the CAD operators or the architects. Important stuff, but mostly when developing the computer software. Of course, not really being into CAD myself, maybe someone with more experience on the subject can chime in on that. But, if you enjoy the math, study it. It can be fascinating stuff and great mental exercise. Clare

Hi Marc, Seems that you're the second person in Japan to send me that same black & white graphic. Thanks for the images of the paintings showing the hanging lanterns. That did come up and it really does make a lot of sense. Wiring to the ceiling isn't impossible, it just has to be carefully hidden. Or rather, it OUGHT TO BE carefully hidden. The kit doesn't tell you to do that. I know there were floor lanterns on ships. Someone sent me a photo from a museum. Looks like a Higaki Kaisen in the background. But, this one seems kind of big for the Yakatabune. I'm still going to be giving this some thought. Personally, I think the boxy-shaped floor lantern will be easier to make and light than the round hanging lantern. By the way, I got a neat surprise in the mail today from Japan. Woody Joe recently released a third wasen mini-kit, a mini-Yakatabune. This was sent to me by my friend at Zootoyz, which sells these kits internationally (and I highly recommend his simple online shop). This is a simple mini-kit that lists for 5500¥. Build time is supposed to be about 8 hours. For 18000¥, the larger Woody Joe kit is a better buy. But, the mini-kit seems nice if you want something small or something quick to build. I'll probably make a more elaborate post in the thread I started elsewhere on Woody Joe kits on MSW. Right now, I'm mostly distracted by a brand new book release by boat builder Douglas Brooks. His book will be available through normal online channels, but you can buy a signed copy now direct from him through his website Douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com. Brooks is an American boatbuilder who, in an attempt to preserve the disappearing art, studied Japanese traditional boatbuilding through five apprenticeships with master Japanese craftsmen, where he was their final and in most cases, their only apprentice. He is scheduled to talk about the subject at the NRG conference in Mystic, CT, this Fall. If you prefer to wait, I'm sure you can get your signed copy from him there. Clare

Hey George, Ken, Buck, thanks for the nice comments! Buck, I had to look that word up, I don't actually know very much Japanese. But, I think you're right, about the stand and all. I'll be playing around a bit with the lanterns. I think it's harder to figure out what would have been in use than it will be to actually make them. I'm looking forward to that part. Been away on business most of this week and have events last weekend and not much time to do fun stuff, so no updates until later this weekend. But, stay tuned! Clare

Glad to be of some help, Bob. Heck, your build helped inspire me many times, so I'm glad to return the favor! Well, the last couple of days, my brain has just been all fuzzy. I'm not in a ship modeling rut, just a general rut. Looking forward to our local gathering of forum ship modelers in Vallejo tomorrow. Maybe that will wake up my brain a little. Am managing this post, though, so I guess I'm not totally fried... Okay, so about that walkway platform. The kit instructions translate this to either railing or parapet. I'll just call it railing. Here's the translation I worked out from the instructions for this step: Step 15 Installation of Railing, Part 1•Refer to the plans in the installation of the walkway. Cut (planks ends) flush with the edge of the beams Trim off the protruding ends of the beams This step requires a little soaking and bending of wood strips. Again, definitely wet the wood thoroughly before trying to bend it. Bends very nicely when wet, no heat required. Walkway planks added. Closeup of the walkway planks. You can see the beam sticking out a little at lower left that will need to get trimmed flush with the planking. Also, I think you can make out that the outer planks here are the L-shaped ones. This creates a little lip against which the posts of the side railing fits against. Carrying on to complete the rail installation... Step 16 Installation of Railing, Part 2• Please assemble the handrails according the full size diagrams. Mount the railing to fit up against the lip With pre-cut parts for the rail stanchions, this step is pretty simple. It just requires a little pre-bending of the rails themselves, and the stanchions should be kept vertical, so they aren't all perpendicular to the rails themselves. Rails assembled according to the full-size plan sheets The stanchions aren't pegged in, just glued. I'm using Titebond, so I want to clamp them firmly in place until glue sets Both rails now in place Closeup of the rail detail. It's at this point that I really started to look at this model as a really nice example of a very Japanese boat. The concept of the pleasure boats with several people out on the water for an evening and watching fireworks over the river on a warm summer night is a very charming image. In a previous post, I mentioned Japanese lanterns. Then, the person who suggested them had a though about how maybe these standing floor lanterns might not have been used by a boat that might rock and they might tip over, which I really did wonder about. Then, I spoke with my Japanese music teacher (I have been a student of the Japanese 3-stringed lute called a "Shamisen" for about 10 years now), who used to live in Asakusa, which is a part of Tokyo with a traditional Edo period theme (well, that and lots of old style shopping). As far as Japanese people go, my teacher is pretty connected with traditional culture and she's been interested in my traditional Japanese boats, but especially the Yakatabune. I think it's a real cultural symbol of "the good life" and very important to many people when they think about it. Anyway, I mentioned the lantern to her and about the possibility that they might have had to use hanging lanterns because it was in a boat. She pretty confidently dismissed that idea. I guess the idea is that floor lanterns were classy and the hanging ones, not so much, except outdoors. Probably the boatmen worked pretty hard to not rock the boat. Thinking about it, it's not like there were any power vessels at the time to create big wakes, so not much reason for a decent sized boat to rock. So, I'm sticking with the floor lanterns idea, which I'm really glad about. Clare

The Yakatabune has a walkway platform on either side of the deck house, allowing the boatmen to travel more easily between the bow and stern ends of the boat. In building this, I'm noticing the use of parts which aren't laser cut and aren't simply cut strips of wood. There is a strip, Part 19, that has an L-shaped cross section. So, this is a milled piece of wood. In fact, as I look through this kit, there are several parts that are milled so that they are notched or slotted. This is kind of a carry-over from the older Woody Joe kits, before they had laser cut parts. But, it's kind of nice. On a Western kit, I think one would be expected to make an L-shaped cross section by gluing together to strips to for the L. Slotted pieces I expect would have to be built up similarly. But, not only are there these parts, but also a fair number of pre-cut parts as well. I also notice some parts are simply pre-cut, again not by laser. It doesn't affect the build in any way, but it's just interesting to see, since we don't often see this in American or European kits. Some milled parts. Pre-cut parts And more pre-cut parts Actually, looking back, I realize the parts for the stand were milled and machine cut too. But, the parts are perfectly cut parts, clearly it's not like the old days of die-cutting. I'm guessing they are actually CNC milled. Woody Joe does make some other wood products including castle and temple and small structure kits, plus Japanese flower holder kits and I don't know how much other stuff. Clare

Well, that was easy. All the images and links were there, I just had to resubmit the post. Hi George, that's my hope. The instructions for this kit are short enough to be able to detail them here – We're nearly half way through the build. More soon! Clare

Chris - Doh!!! Why, I oughta...

Now, getting back to boat construction. The deck planking is complete since the center section is the area for the deck house. The next step is to cut and fit the beams. On a real traditional Japanese boat, the beams would be mortised into place. On the model, they're not really structural members and just glue in place in the laser cut notches of the upper planks. If the upper planks were mounted too low, the beams wouldn't fit properly as there is little clearance for them once the deck planks are installed. The beams are among the included strip wood supply, so they have to be cut to length. This was a good opportunity for me to use the Japanese hobby saw I got from Zootoys. The saw isn't cheap, but if you're buying a kit from Japan, it shouldn't add much to the shipping cost since it's so light. This is the first Japanese saw I've owned and it is a treat to use. Unlike Western saws, Japanese saws cut on the pulling stroke. This keeps the cut very straight and allows the saw to be very thin. This is, in fact, the thinnest hobby saw I've ever seen at only 0.1mm thick. All in all, the cuts are very straight, very quick, and very clean. This photo may make the saw look a lot bigger than it really is. It's just under 8" long and is very light weight. Anyway, cutting and fitting the beams was very simple. The short beams were a bit more of a challenge since the inside edge is sanded flush. Below, you can see how the battery cover section of the deck is left so that it can slide in and out of place. I recommend removing this section while working on steps 13 and 14 to better avoid accidentally gluing it into place. Note that all the photos show the caprail in place. That's actually step 14. Basically, full length strips are shaped to fit at the stem, but the won't be long enough to reach the full length of the boat. At the aft end then, short pieces are put into place. The caprail fits so that the inner edge is flush with the hull planking. This is a very straightforward part of the build. Roughly Translated Text (some of this required a little more interpretation to make sense): Step 13 Installation of Beams • Cut and install 17 to dimensions shown and install. Short beams should be mounted flush with the inside of the hull planking Cut a part 18 to fit the laser cut area at the bow deck as illustrated. Fit of short beams on starboard side is the same as on the port side. One line I can't quite translate exactly, but can only interpret. On Bing Translate it comes out as: "3 mm difference between narrow the scope" On Google it comes out as: "3 mm Masu Plug" What do either of these mean? This is a straight forward step where a 2mm hole is drilled in either end of a beam and a 12mm long dowel piece is fit into them. The exact positions can be viewed on the plans. The only thing that I can figure about the “3 mm” reference is that 3 mm of the dowels will fit into the beam. I should point out that Bing seems to translate better than Google – At least for Japanese text. The above text makes more sense with the instructions illustrations. Again, with permission from Woody Joe. Step 14 Installation of Deck Edge (Caprail) Bend pieces to shape of hull. Please add short sections at stern. (Japanese instructions are quite polite and often say "please") Align inside edges of rail to inside of hull. The model is looking more like a traditional Japanese boat now and I'm really finding that I am enjoying this build perhaps even more than the last one, which had sails and oars. This one, somehow feels culturally significant, if that makes sense. Clare

David, I agree with CWG that this is not the SeeAdler kit. I don't know what kit it is, if it's a kit at all. The tall lower masts suggests to me that this is probably a 3-masted schooner. You can probably finish it up that way rather quickly and easily. Clare

In my last model photo posted, you can catch a glimpse of the stand that is included with the Woody Joe kit. This is a nice feature that is included in all the Woody Joe kits I've owned. The stands are all made of Japanese Magnolia, called "Ho" in Japanese. It's kind of a light grayish brown color with very little grain. It's a somewhat plain looking wood. But maybe that keeps your eye focussed on the model and not the stand. On other models, I've drilled the stand out to add a brass rod that runs into the bottom of the model, helping to keep it from sliding around. I haven't gotten to it yet, but I think I will use a piece of brass tubing in one of the stand pedestals to allow wiring to pass on into the bottom of the model. This step really requires not translation or explanation. I think every ship modeler understands that the top ends of the supports need to be tapered to fit the hull of the model, and the base of the supports need to be trimmed to sit flush with the bottom of the stand. Translated text: 12 Stand Assembly • Stand is assembled to fit the hull. • Trim the hull supports, parts 33, to fit the shape of the bottom of the hull. Then, trim to bottom of the supports to fit flush with the bottom of the stand. Note: See full sized drawings for mounting location of hull on stand. Cut to fit the lower hull planking. Bottom of hull rests on the stand. Cut the bottom of the supports. On the name plate, I decided to try to fill in the text. The plate is a piece of wood and the text is laser-etched into it. The etching is darker than the rest of the wood, but it doesn't stand out all that much. So, I tried to seal the wood with Danish Wood oil. I didn't know if this would actually seal the wood, but it seemed like it should give a couple good coats. After giving it time to dry, I used some black acrylic paint and filled in the etched areas as cleanly as I could. Some paint did get out of the flat surface of the name plate and I had a difficult time cleaning the excess paint off completely. After a couple applications of black paint had dried thoroughly, I lightly sanded the surface of the name plate to take off any smudged paint. This worked well enough, though not as cleanly as I would have liked. People who can read Japanese can probably make out the characters. People who can't read Japanese can't tell what's readable and what's not, so all is probably well! No photos of the nameplate yet. Also, I haven't added the wiring tube or brass rods to the stand yet. I figured I'd wait and give myself time to think the wiring process through. Clare