catopower

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

Over there, they're saying "some countries use decimal points instead of commas. And I have no idea why." 
 
Chuck, I know what you mean. Yes, mine had the commas too – I eventually just adapted. But, I of course first read a ratio of 6:0??? Followed by a 25:0 and a then a 5! 

So, I ended up adding the ribs, which was a change from all the planking.
 
It was hard to keep track of them as they are all different. I had it all worked out, but try as I might, I managed to lose track at one point, so I just had to figure out where I went wrong and do the best I could.
 
The ribs are each numbered, but number is engraved on the part itself. It's so tiny that someone looking at the model would NEVER see it. Unfortunately, that also made it really difficult to tell which number rib I was looking at, even when wearing magnifying lenses. But, they are in order on the sheet, so I just went down the line and, near the end, found that I was off somewhere. I don't think it's a big deal. I ended up fashioning a pair of the pieces from scrap card stock.
 
It's too soft to cut easily, even with a scalpel blade, so I hit the paper with a shot of thin CA, which made it stiff as plastic. Then, I could shape the part fairly easily. The only difficulty was the small size of the part. But, I managed.
 
Now, the one thing about models where parts are all pre-engineered and pre-cut is that at some point, you find out how far you were off in the laying down of those planks. Because it's a clinker hull, the ribs are shaped to fit, like a shallow saw tooth, against each plank. Clearly, after all the planks have been laid down, I'm off by a couple millimeters, as the shape of the ribs doesn't quite match the lay of the planks. 
 
Again, I don't think it's a big deal, as you can't really see any of this at this scale once the planks are all in place. Still, it's a little disconcerting when you get to this step. You just have to ignore the need for perfection.
 
This isn't a feature of just these card models. I've found this is also true on some of the Woody Joe kits of traditional Japanese boats, in which all the parts are laser cut. If you don't build it precisely as intended, you end up with little imperfections. And, it's nearly impossible to build a kit like this without having little imperfections. It's just the nature of the kit.

Hmmm.  My book said "6:0,25:0,5".  The commas threw me.  I agree that ratios with less than 1 are strange.  The 24:1:2 makes more sense.  Thanks.

Depending on the country, commas are used instead of decimal points.   And I have no idea why.

Chuck, check the ratios again. They're really weird the way they are written.
 
My instruction book actually says 6 : 0.25 : 0.5. I've never seen rations written with numbers less than 1 like that. In the first place, it's really hard to read, and even harder to measure "6:0.25:0.5".
 
So, I "Normallized" it by multiplying everything by 4. So, now it's 24:1:2 Same ratios, but easier to work with. 

Thanks James. 
 
Captain Hook, thanks for the comments, but those aren't my sails – I have yet to make mine!
 
Tim, send me a photo and I can tell you if I had similar problems there. Not having the instructions anymore, I don't know what section 24 is  
 
Edit: Tim, I just looked at my own build log and there's a photo of step 24! So, I know what you're talking about. Yes, I had some issues there too. I have the lower hull painted black, so some issues are pretty well hidden. Also, I found that because the ship has a chine hull, imperfections in the seams between planks are not so noticeable as well.
 
A strip of wood behind any gaps is the most useful thing to do, as it will keep any stray light from shining out through the cracks. I had to do this in many places, and now I'd even forgotten that those gaps exist. This would be a bigger issue on a hull that's round with fair curves. This ship has a lot of stuff sticking out.
 

Hi Tim,
Actually, I managed to get some scans of the last few pages. That was all I needed. Turns out at this point it's pretty much identical to the Higaki Kaisen instructions. But, thanks for the offer! How is your build coming along? It's nice to know that others are building this and the Higaki Kaisen kit. 
 
Hi Druxey,
Unfortunately, at 1/72 scale, I can't do a whole lot of detailing to the sails. I can only simulate the overall appearance. I'm going to have to model a smaller craft that has significant sails so I can really show the details of the Japanese sails. Probably be a subject in 1/20 or 1/10 scale, but it's not at the top of the "Next Projects" list. 
 
Ekis, cog,
Thanks for the nice comments. I'm nearing completion. I already have the main yard ready to go. Just have to make the small one for the bow sail. Then, I just have to decide on how I want to make the sails. 
 
Right now, I'm thinking I might just sew most of the seams, but the sail panels are grouped into four sections, and these sections appear to have more noticeable lacing between them, particularly the seam at the center of the sail. Found a photo I took of a model – I think it was at the Sea Folk Museum in Toba.
 

 

This model was built at 1/30 scale I believe. Maybe it was even 1/20. I don't recall, and unfortunately I can't find a photo of the whole information card at its base. But, you can see in the last photo that each sail panel is folded over, so the modeler could successfully tie the panels together. Then, you can see the lacing between the groups of panels. 
 
Also, most models of Kitamaebune show black sections on the sail, usually in the form of rectangles. These markings identify the ship owner. I found some examples recorded somewhere. I'll try to incorporate this on my model. Higaki Kaisen belong to the Higaki trade guild, so you don't see the sail markings on them. They're identified by the diamond shaped lattice work on their bulwarks.
 
Off to meditate on the sails...

Managed to misplace the instruction booklet for this Woody Joe kit. Fortunately, at this stage, the model is nearly identical to the Higaki Kaisen kit, which I've built before and still have the instructions for.
 
I haven't needed to deal with the sails yet, but I have been studying some photos I took of museum models to get some ideas.
 
I went ahead and added the main mast and worked out a way to fit the small bow mast. The main mast, I had built months ago, so it's been ready to mount for some time. For the bow mast, I fashioned that out of some of my hinoki supply and fit it into place. I placed it just forward of the foreward most beam at the bow, which allowed me to lash the mast to it for strength. I added a very simple rectangular piece of wood for the mast step, and fit a piece of brass rod into the base of the mast to help secure it to the deck.
 
I also added some lines to chocks I made for the tenmase, the small boat I placed on the foredeck. 
 

I forgot to mention that I added a pair of small eyebolts on either side of the bow and made a piece of red and white rope that's used to hold the sagari (the tasssle hanging from the stem) from swinging about.
 
I used white line that I'm told is cotton, but I'd swear it was linen line. Anyway, I used some red gouache paint on one length of line. It gave me the brightest looking color for the rope that I've been able to get. I then twisted this and a piece of white line to make the final red and white rope. This worked well enough, but had to be careful with the gouache, as it stays water soluble even after it dries. I'll be spraying the whole model with some matte laquer, so this will hopefully stabilize the paint in the rope.
 
I also got out the mini drill press and drilled holes to add bars to the windlass barrels. These would actually have been wood, but it seemed to be a lot simpler to use some wire I have on hand. They look pretty good here, but I'm sure these wouldn't have been iron, so I'm going to mix some paint to try to match the rest of the wood and paint these.
 
Securing the main mast was easy enough. There is a pretty simple lashing that makes several turns around the whole assembly. I'd seen one photo that had this nice crossing of the rope behind the mast, so I thought I'd work that in. Looks a lot less plain this way.

Finally, here's the tenmasen up close, now secured to the deck, with excess line trimmed off.
 

Next, it'll be time to make the sail. Haven't decided how I want to do it, but I have some ideas. We'll see which one wins out.
 
 

Hi Tim,
Actually, I managed to get some scans of the last few pages. That was all I needed. Turns out at this point it's pretty much identical to the Higaki Kaisen instructions. But, thanks for the offer! How is your build coming along? It's nice to know that others are building this and the Higaki Kaisen kit. 
 
Hi Druxey,
Unfortunately, at 1/72 scale, I can't do a whole lot of detailing to the sails. I can only simulate the overall appearance. I'm going to have to model a smaller craft that has significant sails so I can really show the details of the Japanese sails. Probably be a subject in 1/20 or 1/10 scale, but it's not at the top of the "Next Projects" list. 
 
Ekis, cog,
Thanks for the nice comments. I'm nearing completion. I already have the main yard ready to go. Just have to make the small one for the bow sail. Then, I just have to decide on how I want to make the sails. 
 
Right now, I'm thinking I might just sew most of the seams, but the sail panels are grouped into four sections, and these sections appear to have more noticeable lacing between them, particularly the seam at the center of the sail. Found a photo I took of a model – I think it was at the Sea Folk Museum in Toba.
 

 

This model was built at 1/30 scale I believe. Maybe it was even 1/20. I don't recall, and unfortunately I can't find a photo of the whole information card at its base. But, you can see in the last photo that each sail panel is folded over, so the modeler could successfully tie the panels together. Then, you can see the lacing between the groups of panels. 
 
Also, most models of Kitamaebune show black sections on the sail, usually in the form of rectangles. These markings identify the ship owner. I found some examples recorded somewhere. I'll try to incorporate this on my model. Higaki Kaisen belong to the Higaki trade guild, so you don't see the sail markings on them. They're identified by the diamond shaped lattice work on their bulwarks.
 
Off to meditate on the sails...

Clare,
 
    I am looking at the painting and have some questions. 
 
   After the first wash of #03 I have a wash of 15/29/30 (yellow/brown/black) which is supposed to be the basic wood, followed by a second wash of 15/29/30 in different proportions that are meant to simulate wood grain.  First ratios are 6:25:5 while the second are 6:1:1.  This doesn't make sense to me.  The first set of ratios would seem to make a darker color. 
 
    Am I wrong or did I get the ratios wrong?

I have some PIGMA Micron markers.  I will experiment with a medium brown and a pencil.
 
 

Finished up the painting of the sail. Was a nice break from planking – I understood what I was doing, for the most part!
 

I have a slight issue showing up with the hull planking – the plank ends at the stern shouldn't be overlapping the sternpost like this. Looking ahead in the instructions, it doesn't like like this should cause any problems, but seeing this as your building the model is a little troubling.

Meanwhile, planking the hull continues. As you have seen, I'm high up enough on the hull that the inboard side of the planks are becoming exposed, so they have to painted prior to installation.
 
Note that the stem (and hence the bow) is on the right.

So, the planking continues and I'm now preparing the deck for installation.
 

Hi Tim,
Actually, I managed to get some scans of the last few pages. That was all I needed. Turns out at this point it's pretty much identical to the Higaki Kaisen instructions. But, thanks for the offer! How is your build coming along? It's nice to know that others are building this and the Higaki Kaisen kit. 
 
Hi Druxey,
Unfortunately, at 1/72 scale, I can't do a whole lot of detailing to the sails. I can only simulate the overall appearance. I'm going to have to model a smaller craft that has significant sails so I can really show the details of the Japanese sails. Probably be a subject in 1/20 or 1/10 scale, but it's not at the top of the "Next Projects" list. 
 
Ekis, cog,
Thanks for the nice comments. I'm nearing completion. I already have the main yard ready to go. Just have to make the small one for the bow sail. Then, I just have to decide on how I want to make the sails. 
 
Right now, I'm thinking I might just sew most of the seams, but the sail panels are grouped into four sections, and these sections appear to have more noticeable lacing between them, particularly the seam at the center of the sail. Found a photo I took of a model – I think it was at the Sea Folk Museum in Toba.
 

 

This model was built at 1/30 scale I believe. Maybe it was even 1/20. I don't recall, and unfortunately I can't find a photo of the whole information card at its base. But, you can see in the last photo that each sail panel is folded over, so the modeler could successfully tie the panels together. Then, you can see the lacing between the groups of panels. 
 
Also, most models of Kitamaebune show black sections on the sail, usually in the form of rectangles. These markings identify the ship owner. I found some examples recorded somewhere. I'll try to incorporate this on my model. Higaki Kaisen belong to the Higaki trade guild, so you don't see the sail markings on them. They're identified by the diamond shaped lattice work on their bulwarks.
 
Off to meditate on the sails...

Thought it looked familliar! How could I have missed this log(!) Lovely crisp details, Clare

Really superb ! 😃

Those sails are fascinating! They would be less likely to blow out in  a strong gale than conventional Western sails.

What a beautiful vessel. I like that very much. 

That is an interesting build. You have put a lot of effort in the sails and they look great.