Gokstad Viking Ship by Seventynet - Dusek Ship Kits - FINISHED - 1:35 Scale

[Seventynet]

Greetings fellow Shipmates,

 

This is my third kit; I have only finished one so far so it is fair to say I am a novice. I struggled as to whether I would start a build log for this nice little ship because the log that jack.aubrey has set up for this kit is exquisite - I also thought that all of my questions would be answered. However, I have learned some things that others might find useful after my stumblings.

 

I won't do the kit contents review because jack has already covered that. I will bring you up to date with where I am at this point and leave a few learnings for others that may follow.

 

The first thing I will say is that I feel Jack was right to take the approach he did with creating a build board and frame squaring device and carefully fitting and gluing all of the frames ahead of fitting the deck. The instructions suggest fitting the keel, frames and deck and then gluing. I do not understand how you could get the precise fitting that is required for this kit by taking this approach. I copied jack's approach with some modifications. After I squared and glued all frames I fitted and glued in the deck. If I were to do it again I don't think I would have installed the deck at this stage but I was after a rigid framework. Probably not a big deal.

 

I spent quite a bit of time measuring up the ship dimensions from the plans. From that you will notice that the bow is 5 mm higher than the stern and that is why it is critically important to mark all of the planks before they are removed with the correct orientation (marked with an arrow on the boards). also be careful to note which is the bow and which is the stern - it is not so obvious as you may think.

 

It is also very important to add tick marks to the stem and stern post to guide the planks.

 

You need to decide how to end the planks at the bow and stern. I cut a rabet and ended the planks so that they were flush and not clinker for the last centimeter or so. I paid for that approach by not realizing that this would cause the bow and stern planks to creep up higher than planned and screw-up the fit of the otherwise perfectly pre-spiled planks. I figured this out after I half completed the planking and compensated by tapering the ends beyond what one would otherwise have to do. If I had taken my own advice I would have figured this out right away by watching the tick marks. In any case more guidance for this aspect would be very welcome. 

 

I did not do a proper job of each of the things I mentioned above and I paid for it. I have no reason to think that this kit is not produced with a very high level of precision and that if you pay close attention to squaring and getting the dimensions right, everything will fit like a glove.

 

I have not shown these screw-ups as prominently as I could so if anyone wants the dirty detailed pictures just let me know.

 

Now that much of the hull is planked I am really seeing the beauty of this ship.

 

Thank you for looking in - I would appreciate any and all comments.

 

Thanks, Ian

 

Modified frame squarer (after jack):

 

Frames assembled and glued:

 

Rabets and limited plank ticks (should have used these everywhere):

 

The rest:

 

Edited September 1, 2016 by Seventynet

[cobra1951]

Nice neat planking    and i like the way the planks lay in the bulkheads nice design

[Seventynet]

Hi Bob, thanks a lot! I think I've done a good job of hiding the imperfections. I only really figured it out after I was more than half way done and then it was compromise the rest of the way. I would really like to do this one over but in the end I hope I can satisfy myself after lots of sanding and filler. We'll see. By the way I'm really enjoying your gun deck section.

 

Regards, Ian

[donrobinson]

Looks real good Ian, seems like she is a fairly big ship. Hope you enjoy 

[Seventynet]

Thanks Don. It's 61 cm (24 inches) long and 14 cm (5.5 inches) at the beam. You haven't posted in a while, you must be working up a storm.

 

Regards, Ian

[Seventynet]

Thanks Zoltan and thanks for the likes everyone. I am moving at the pace of a snail but am honestly enjoying this build. I just finished painting the inside and am getting ready to lay the deck down. I am going to paint everything except the deck black.

 

Ian

 

[Louie da fly]

I realise it's too late for your build, Ian, but I figure this might be worthwhile for everybody interested in Viking ships. I thought I'd seen a photo years ago of a stempost from a Viking ship, and lo and behold! I was right.

 

Here it is.

 

Steven

[Seventynet]

Thanks very much Steven. That is a very interesting find and to me at least demonstrates the superb craftsmanship those shiprights possessed. Although I wish I had done more research before I started this build I don't think I would have attempted to duplicate that stem/stern approach, at least at this scale.

 

Regards, Ian

Edited August 7, 2016 by Seventynet

[donrobinson]

That black interior looks real good Ian

[Seventynet]

Thanks Don and everyone for following and for the likes. Much appreciated.

 

The hull has been painted with a matt black acrylic and the pear wood deck is installed. It's starting to look like an evil Viking ship. .

​

 

Best, Ian

[donrobinson]

Wow Ian she looks great, I really like that matt black and the pear floor is sweet . Nice work!

[cobra1951]

Great planking job, inside and out

[WackoWolf]

Now that is looking excellent

[Seventynet]

Thanks for encouraging me Don, Bob, Joe and Zoltan, for I surely need it! It is amazing what a picture picks up that I would otherwise miss. A little bit more deck work will solve that problem.

 

Ian

[Louie da fly]

Nice work, Ian. Have you thought of a figurehead for her? The Gokstad ship was found without any - in fact, apart from the Oseberg ship which is a special case, no figureheads have been found for Viking ships. Though other things have been found, like carved ends of tent poles, bed ends etc.Might be work a google search.

 

Also, (this time before you do anything about it!), the Gokstad ship's shields were painted alternately black and yellow - one black, one yellow, one black . . .).

[Seventynet]

Greetings all,

 

Just a quick update as I close in on completing my Gokstad. A word to those that may follow, you might want to start your sheilds (64) and oars (32) earlier on in your build or you will likely be like me - trapped in an endless effort to get them finished. Tomorrow I add the poly to the interior and after a few coats I will start on the rigging. The shields still need the bosses and handgrips. The admiral was kind enough to stitch the sail.

Ian

[Seventynet]

Thanks for following and for all of your likes everyone. Much appreciated. 

 

I still need to do a little bit of line "training", affix the rudder once I land on a stand, but here she is. The sail was dyed with tea, rigging was line from Chuck (although the kit line was fine - I just wanted something darker).

 

I think she looks like business. I certainly wouldn't want to be tending my garden with that thing sliding down my coast.

 

Best, Ian

 

[WackoWolf]

Now that is a thing of beauty

[donrobinson]

She looks great Ian, very well done. Your daughter will be very happy. It is is always refreshing to take one of these little "side trips" once in awhile and you spent your time well .

[Seventynet]

Thanks a lot Joe and Don. It was interesting and fun to build. There is no end to how good a job one can do on the planking. I am sure even a hardened shipwright wouldn't take it for granted.

 

Best, Ian

[Seventynet]

Thanks for all of the comments and likes although overly generous I am sure. I am going to call this one finished (and I'll change the title if I can ever figure out how).

 

I offer a few comments (from a novice - 3rd start, 2nd finish - so take them as you will):

 

First off I thank Jack. Aubrey for his amazing build from which I referred to dozens of times and copied ideas more than once.

 

Second, I know I have mentioned it before but the hull planking is challenging and depends on getting the frames square and in absolute perfect alignment. I still cannot see how you would achieve this needed alignment by attaching the deck floor before you glue the frames - as the instructions suggest. You can see what Jack did and what I did - it still wasn't perfect in my case. Errors will propagate as you move from keel down and especially from stem and stern. Carefully line out where each plank will lie on the stem and stern - as the instructions indicate. Figure out how to end the clinker planking at the stem and stern - it remains a mystery to me.

 

The shields were a real chore to paint and attaching the bosses was a lesson in frustration. Choose the right paint and the right glue to do this - I don't think I did.

 

I would do this kit again but I would try to twist Daniel's arm to see if he would cut the hull planks out of some nice, non-plywood species - I'd pay for it.

 

The kit was of very good quality in my opinion.

 

Best, Ian

[cobra1951]

Looks fantastic there  :)

 

To change the title go to your first post and select edit then use the full editor option and you can change it there

[Seventynet]

Got it, thanks Bob!

Ian

[donrobinson]

She looks great

[Robin Lous]

Beautiful drakar!

 

I like what you did with sails tied up and lowered yard. 

The way you kept the oars in line...nice idea! (I might copy that )

 

Robin 

[Seventynet]

Thanks for checking out my build and the kind words Robin. I am enjoying your Greek Bireme project and thinking about putting that one on the list.

 

Best, Ian