Vivian Galad

Popeye, in my first build I had no slip, did it using the mdf stand that came with the kit. So, I bought one from a local manufacturer for the junk, but turned out to be too fragile. Then, I built my own. For my next project I´m developing a mdf bulkhead aligner with the holder/slip. The one which is holding the junk will be cleared for another build, soon. Want to have two projects ongoing.

Joe, since you brought the theme, I´ll put my ship where it belongs on time
 
Admiral Zheng He made his exploratory journeys in behalf of China´s Emperor Yongle. First exploratory journey was in 1405 and the last ended in 1433. Between these journeys Ming Dinasty stablished commercial routes with new countries using diplomacy, routed some pirate groups and expanded knowledge on seas and oceans. To maintain those commercial routes after Zheng He´s first contact, chinese junks sailed forth, many trade ships but also official, diplomatic ships (although westerners view the junk as a type of ship, there are many types of junks, ranging from small river junks to the treasure ships, with junks builded for particular purposes as war, diplomacy, trade, fishing, transport, leisure, etc).
 
The Red Dragon from Artesania Latina is a 17th century pirate junk - most fictional on it´s shape and functions, based on western reviews and misplaced in time. There is no link to where the ship was built, neither it´s purpose (although it should be a trader).
 
To build a ship I wanted to build I researched over a lot of texts, pictures and videos to be able to fit her on time, purpose and building location. So, my ship is a fushuan type of junk, built in Nanjing between 1415 and 1420 for diplomatic travels to southern seas. That´s why the cabin is used only by one person, while the crew sleeps on the compartments - same motive for the rudder to be isolated from the cabin (on traders it would occupy the cabin). As chinese coasts and ships were constantly attacked by wako pirates (from Japan), it´s a gunned ship (first guns on chinese junks date from this period). Cannons from this earlier days were simple, mounted on small carriages and with short range.
 
Compartments also hold gifts for good relations maintenance, mostly porcelain and silk, but other treasures as seen fit by chinese bureaucrats (statues, jewerly...). Color schemes are a foggy theme. Later Ming ships are described as red and black painted (there are few depictions, though) and I found no evidence about Zheng He´s ships being painted. For that, I don´t feel obliged to paint my ship, leaving the wood to have it´s natural colors, contrasting as the ships were built with more than one type of wood. The compartment is painted, though, as the color is part of the caulking mixture applied to the bulkheads and hull´s planks.
 
Two features are still on hold, but will be installed - the stern transom painting and the eyes on the bow. There will be no dragons depicted, but a mithical landscape and chengyus (good luck phrases) on the stern transom and dragon eyes (eyes could be dragon, phoenix or tadpole) on the bow.
 
well, that´s it ^_^

Hola, Raymond!
 
   Thank u for your words. I love the stairs, too. Took some pictures from the ship and the hold.
 
Next four pics show the hold with and without the ship.

 

 

 

 
Next 3 pictures shows the ships ladder attached to the port davit amidships closely and a bird´s view from top mast.

 

 

Hear ye! Hear ye! News from the realm!!
 
Vivian´s Chinese Junk got new fittings and it´s main mast - read all here!
 
So, as I said, main mast is installed. Some tackles for the rigging are there too - with some small modifications since AL instructions told me to do it differently. Let us go for the pictures.

 

 
Cannons are there too. I was a little skeptical about cannons at first (since I want a ship from about 1420 - 30). Research helped me to decide keeping them - The first guns found in junks wrecks are dated between 1400 - 1420. Laws from 1530+ dictated trade ships could carry 4 mounted guns and an assortment of small guns, for example. As chinese ships were victims of Wako pirates long before, my ship should carry guns for protection from pirate attacks.
 

 
Fixed my anchor, too. I would prefer a different anchor, to be sincere - AL gave me a 2 armed anchor but most of the chinese junk depictions shows 4 armed anchors. As I didn´t find any works regarding the 15th century chinese anchors, I´ll stay with what I´ve got.
 

 

 
And, last but not less important, my battery box for the lighting (part of the switch, too, since to light the cabin one just have to turn the box to one side)
 

 

 

 
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Last picture shows where the box will be. Two copper stripes will be attached to the box botton. Two other stripes will be coming out from the hole fix - as I explained before, to turn on/off you only need to turn the box till it enchase with the copper stripes.
 

Hey, hey, hey. Time for new pictures, some words and advices for the young at heart.
 
    I took a pause from my ship since I was waiting for the Blacken It to arrive. As it arrived, I resumed my work. For using it the Blacken It Trials topic, by E&T was used. I did follow all the steps only replacing the muriatic acid by vinegar. I was about taking lots of pictures from the process, but, that is really unecessary since the Trials´ topic shows how it works so fine it would be a waste of time. But I do took a picture from a mistake I made...
 

 
That´s how I put the metal pieces on the solution. I tried to shake the solution from time to time, but my results weren´t that great - lot´s of parts were stained - instead of a flat darkened surface, I got a stripe stained one for most of the metal parts. Even if I liked that way it wasn´t my goal they look so. Next time I´ll dump lesser metal parts on blacken it solution for a consistent result.
 
Well, then I started on my ship´s hole, as it'll need some attention before rigging. I worked on taking out the planking around it so when I fix all the eletronics it´ll be easy to glue new planks over it. Now I´m waiting for some copper foil I bought to finish that part.
 

 
After that I coated a second layer of varnish on the hull and a first one over the rails and castle. That was a called step from the ship´s instructions some pages before, but I decided to postpone it while I was still using sharp tools around.
 

 
It was time for the rudder, then. I´m still thinking if I´ll set some brass stripes to it. Some old pictures shows rudders with no iron on them. Seems an obscure subject to build the rudder. So far, I followed the kit´s instructions.
 

 

 
After the rudder I fixed all the metal fittings missing before. Cannons aren´t there yet cause I´ll paint them black - I tried blacken it on them, but didn´t like the results. The following pictures are from the fittings instalation and the ship´s general look so far.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Next steps will be the lighting fix finish and rigging beginnings.

Jack, I´m like 85% now ! Might I grab your idea? Think that would be the best to do, to leave only the led inside I mean. A second one would bring too much light into my cabin. Regarding tools, I´m buying as I need them, but it seems it´s just the beginning, lol.
 
And then, yes, I built models for my designs. That was something I loved to do and am really sorry almost all pictures for them are gone - in 2010 I lost almost a life on stored data (among other too much important things) and saved only one. It shows two models - on first plan a two stored home 1:50 model at it´s first stages. On second plan u can see another 1:50 model of a medieval tavern for a medieval town I was building at the time. It´s a pitty I don´t have any more pictures from it since the town had about 15 houses beyond the tavern and the beginning of a castle. The tavern and 3 houses were furnitured.
 

 
 

Pops, I researched some time and had the saw at my wishing list for some months before buying it. At first I thought buying a circular saw, but after seeing some videos regarding precision (and considering space, too), got this one. On my wishlist now remains the flex shaft tool and the work station .
Now, for the hobby itself and some small wooden work like building racks and such the saw is amazing. I´m even planning in designing and building some wooden furniture with it (well, not that big furniture, lol), and as you can take it out from the table it becomes a rlly versatile tool. Till now, it seems all I needed from a saw.

Mark, thank u for your visit! The saw is amazing and I´ve been playing with it a bit. Have tested it to which width it gets and precision cut´s on small pieces - so far, so good. Everytime I overcome a difficulty I feel this imense pleasure and good-job-done sense and know the hobby is so much more than putting together some pieces. Sometimes I just sit before my ship to wonder myriad thoughts, since small details that would look great to how good would she sail. That´s too much fun, it´s all! :D

Pops, I had to make the hole to sort out why the led I had instaled wasn´t working. As I needed the light so the cabin could be seen, I took out the bad led and got a new one. The hole will be closed and won´t even appear to have existed (well, so I hope). I gave thought to gratings and coamings, but that would be rlly wrong for the type of ship - would look great, though, I must admit
 
Sjors, I loved this saw. I used it in some ocasions already and it´ll soften my work (my hands are thankfull for that). The hole is just to fix the led, I´ll close it soon - for now I´m working on the rudder and part of it will be over that hole - using brass fittings I´ll have to darken - that´s why the hole is still open, by the way.
 
Sam, bad soldering. I used a led from a sun powered beacon and had to take out some parts before soldering it. As I took out the led, I found it was loose on it´s place. I could just solder it again, but decided on using a new one with less interference from my hands. After doing this mess, it seemed right to reconsider the lantern (seemed too rough for my liking) and I´ll make a new one, too. It´s funny, cause on the beggining I found the lantern to be ok, but now I´ve raised up my standards - just in the course of this building.
 
Popeye, think I already gave the answers .

Joe, my many thanks. Right now I´m almost myself again - just a little bit to get 100%
 
Rick! Obrigada!!!! (thank you!)
 
Wolf, really glad I can reach that. As I´m still a noob ship modeler, to have your words and everyone´s is great. Always looking to improve, though
 
Hey, Nils, I´m getting there! Thank you.
 
I have been absent cause after trying different methods to darken the metal fittings, I failed. So, as all roads seems to lead to Blacken It, I bought some on e-bay and got to wait it before continuing on my junk. On the meantime I´ve been busy reading ship modeling and ship history books.
 
After some thought on which new tool to buy, I decided for this one:
 

 
Till now I´ve found it to be a great power tool!!
 
And then, I had a problem with the lighting. Don´t know what happened to the led, but it stopped working. As my cabin needs the light, I was made into oppening a hole on my ship. I know it looks ugly but, it´s for a greater good.
 

 
As we learn with our mistakes, now I know I have to be very sure when installing eletronic components. The good part on it it´s that I´ve devised how to turn it on/off and where to put the batteries - must confess I failed in planning that before.
 
So, the actual general view of my ship:
 

 
Hope my Blacken It be here soon!
 
 

Schnu, thank you. I´m feeling really better this week - Seems I´ve got some magical medicine or something, lol. I´m going for my "ending ship spree", now!
 
Sam, stairs are something kit manufacturers should look closely - My second kit, the second one with that problem (though in the first I still could use the kit´s material). Ty for the compliment - and 7x1, historical score - Our team lost all composure in there. Shows how psichological work is important too.
 
Raymond, I´m really enjoying all the steps till now. My Red Dragon is all changed and at the end, I´ll rename it. As I´m feeling almost me again, today will be a great day on my ship!! Obrigada pelo carinho. =*
 
Sjors, so coffee it is. Don´t be sorry, u deserved the score!! Thanks

I´ve worked a bit more in the past few days. Truth is I still can´t go fulltime on her, as I feel some pain yet. Overall I´m okay for many things, though
 
After some while trying to figure it out what should be on the compartment, decided for some boxes, crates and sacks. Ming ships from the 1400´s  would carry no barrels, at least not the ones we´re used to see around. After seeing pictures from lots of models, junk ships and museums (as the Imperial Granary Museum), sacks for grains turned into the best choice for acompanying the boxes first planned. I was stuck on that, researching as a crazy for pictures to close this chapter .
 
So, after deciding that I made some boxes and a crate (that is a hard thing to do) and the trapdoor for the compartment. The trapdoor was something I had to think about, as the kit ones are horrible.
 

Closed compartment
 

Open compartment
 

Box and crate
 
Next I was for the stairs. AL gave me some headache here - the precut parts were wrongly assembled. Instead of four left strips and four right ones, I got all right - 8 pieces identically cut. So, I had to scratch mine.
 

AL precut stair strips
 

 

 
And here are the final results, till now:
 

 

 

 

Some more pictures:
 
    All windlasses instaled - I´m testing a cam tripod on those ones
 

 

 

 

Some more pics
 
   Last week I´ve got myself entangled with my ship´s windlasses. On AL instructions there are 6 of them and so, I began to cut, sand and drill the small pieces of wood.
 

 
   After lots of it, I realised AL didn´t send all the wood I needed - frustration! Got some time sorting it out till finally decided to use another type of wood from my scrapbox (this one, some brazilian wood - still have to know what type it is):
 

 
   As the first attempt was a fumble, thought some testing would be great and read carefully about what the windlass should look. AL gave me some metal for bars, first I painted them black, to a poor result - after scanning lots of immages I found that metal wasn´t common for that purpose and so, made some bars from toothpicks:
 

 

 
   Following, the barless windlass, and then, the ready one - already varnished (still shining):
 

 

 
   Next entry I´ll bring the boxes and containers I´ll keep on junk´s compartment.
 
(After reading my own post and seeing my pictures, a thought comes to mind - I really do need more light for my workbench)

Ulises, obrigada pelo carinho até aqui. ^^ (thanks for the care till now) And don´t worry, I´ll be here for some time, yet.
 
Schnu, I´m glad to read it. Cabin is the most important mod I did. Still others to come, though.
 
Hey, Casey, some time since I last saw u ^^. Hope u´re better from your illness - I´m doing fine in my recovering, I think . Just some more steps before the rigging and I´m interested in that too. tyty

As promised, new photos from my ship - once it was the Red Dragon, don´t know if I can still call it that.
 
 
First of all, some explanation on what I did. I made the cabin so it would look plausible enough; windows should be part of it. Inside the cabin I made a molding for it and outside it was rough. Using some wood from my scrapbox I did the same windows molding  on the outside.
 

 

 
Gave some curves to them so it could look a bit original - and the most different from kit´s windows.
 
Last time I had put the first side rail. Now I´ve finished the second and on overall, ship looks like this:
 

 
Following my fellow modelists opinions, molded the door frames. Also fixed doors to their proper places - they won´t be functional as I wanted at the beginning of her making.
 

 

 
Had to sand some more after I tainted some deck details. As she´s coming up some thoughts come to mind - little lessons I hope to have learned. 1. Never ever do things hastily. The time u lose after making things that way will not compensate why u did it in first place. 2. Take some time to think on what u´r going to do. If I had tainted all dark wood before fixing it, lots of work on sanding would not be necessary. 3. If u´r going to modify a kit, make a list of all modifications u want to do and try to figure it out before reaching the point of bringing them to life - try not to get too many creative while building, too. 4. Everything u learn from MSW has to be put to though - it means nothing when u learn something and just let it linger on your mind - make it worth.
 
That´s all for now. Many thanks for the tips, following, liking and everything.
 
Here goes some extra pics:
 

 

Well, as I promised, here are some pics. Hope to get to her as soon as possible - since this is what I did about a month ago.
 

Here I was on a start to make side rails and all.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the original plans from AL, there is no planks on the inside, as no stanchions to hold everything up. As my feelings said it wasn´t possible, I searched some pictures to confirm and see that´s all necessary - AL has being putting some wrong in our world I would say.
 
That´s all, for now. My main occupation now will be the doors to the cabin, since I want them to be functional. Already lost some time in that, since scale won´t help. Any ideas are always welcome ^^

Frank, u´r welcome. If not for the light, ppl would barely see something in there. After some thought I found myself lazy on letting my bed be the way it was. ^^
 
Popeye, I have already added the stanchions and cap rail. Kit´s instructions really passed over that and the ship as it´s shown, has this major failure to it. The beams are there, though - but I´ll have to modify them. No fore decks on plans and thanks for the tips. As I evolve in building these ships, more I come to the realization scratch is the way.
 
Sam, never thought u doubted ^^. Only brought the info for I had it on hand. The candle use on ships is more an economic problem than fear for fire. Before 1500s candles were too expensive - wax candles, which were 20% brighter and lasted 2 times more than animal fat candles (the more common type used) were 4 times more expensive. Oil was abundant and so, had it´s price better placed for using on ships. Starting at the 16th century, wax candle fabrication technology improved and then, became popular. Many thanks for the compliment. ^^

Frank, thanks ^^ No problem in saying my technique. I used two coats of bitumen wax over sanded yelowish wood - The AL mukali wood seemed too clear to me, and something that needed some staining. Since I´m a wax fan, that´s what I used. Sanded, waxed, cleaned it with a rag, then waited for it to dry. Repeated the process to fill better gaps and holes. That´s it!
 
Sam,
 

Quinn, 1999 - Shipboarding Lighting: AD. 400 - 1900
 

 
Since I depict a ship from early Ming Dinasty, on the 15th century (well, that´s what I´m trying, at least), no candles.

Mark, they´re part of sutras on the grass style, copied from a caligrapher from the song dinasty on the Ming dinasty - That´s what would be found in most official buildings since during the Yuan and Ming dinasty the neo-confucionism was the ruling philosophy - and the explanation why the emperor and noble families were who they were. The two of them are parts of the heart sutra, one of the most important sutras for Buddhists.

Well, some more pictures - have been working on cabin to finally go back to other parts of the ship.
 

 

 

 

 
Hope u like it. ^^

Some new pics from my cabin. Got two days working on my furniture - now I´ll make the floor. ^^
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

As I can´t let a little accident put me down, got to my ship today, again. Well, not the ship properly, but it´s furniture. As the cabin will be shown, needed some reliable furniture to go within. As there is little immages and texts regarding medieval ships´ furniture in China, had to go through the common furniture for homes and monasteries.
After some immages and reading, found that chinese beds on ancient times, and medieval included, were seen not only as a place to sleep, but to lay on, sit, like a chair or a couch.
 
Some examples:
 

 

 

 
So, after these references, I did mine chinese bed. As almost all beds presented were canopied ones, mine is too. The difference is I made it simpler - beds on ships can´t have all those traceries and perilous elements to hit your head on. Still, the canopied bed can be a good place to hold you on a stormy sea, at least I think.
 

 

 

 
The fabric used for the bed is silk. I won´t make it a pirate junk - think it´ll be more like an ambassador´s ship. I´ll make a chest, a chair and a desk, for instance - but I´m very open to suggestions ^^
 
 

Some more pics for you.
 
After that movie about the construction of a traditional junk, gave some thought about how should look my compartment - so, after some testing, got a chinese red for the paint, over a hand of yellow. The result as follows
 

 
After that I fixed the deck. Well, I fixed and took it out after the glue dryied cause on a closer look, it was assymmetric. Seems the weight made it slide over the glue on the fore.
 

 

 
Then I got to my cabin. Since the AL ship is not so big as those described by medieval travelers, got just one cabin. Compartments should be load only if the ship was a merchant one - and part of them were used by the crew for sleeping most of the time. As I intend to have an explorer ship, or a pirate one, no need to have cabins for this or that person besides the one in charge.
 

 

 

 

 

 
As u can see, my doors shall be completely different from the kit. After some measurements I saw that scale wasn´t right, since people would have to be 1.2m hight to avoid knocking their heads on the ceiling. Doors were too small too - so, I augmented all of it to be something more close to reality - now my doors stand about 1.8m and about 2.2 for the ceiling.
 
Got my first accident on cutting wood, today. No big time, but got two nails on my left forefinger, as the scalpel cut it´s way through...

So, have been on my Red Dragon and here are the results:
 
First planking of the hull finished. Used the nails from the kit and decided to keep them.

 
internal view

 
After that, sanded, sanded, sanded and got a smooth sensation on sliding my hands across the hull.

 
Decided to put a movable deck on the bottom of the compartment I´ll show. Everything shall be painted dark red down there.

 

 
Began hull´s second layer planking. Did not like the wood shine, but after a little sanding, it goes away. Hope the varnishing don´t bring it back.

 
As planking the hull is a slow process, began to work on my false deck, opening a hole before planking. After that, lined the bulkheads on the false deck and began to plank. The hole is there for the compartment view.

 

 
And that´s it for now. Practicing patience while the glue dries!! =D