Norske Love by EdS - Billing Boats - 1:75

[EdS]

I have decided to start this build log because there is not a lot of information on the Norske Love out there. I have spent hours crawling around the web looking for a completed build log and was only able to find one. It is not just information on the model ship kit that is lacking but also acquiring information about the real life ship has been challenging.  The up side to this is I’m working with pretty much a blank slate.

 

I bought this kit online from Great Hobbies PEI, Canada in July 2019 and it has been sitting on my shelf as I completed other projects. This will be my second Billing Boats build so I am very much aware of the lack of instructions common with Billing Boats. However the detailed one-to-one drawings are a definite plus and require careful study to figure out where pieces fit.

 

Right off the start the lumber provided for the keel was twisted. I tried to straighten it by soaking it in warm water overnight then clamping it to my build board. No good. I ended up cutting the keel from one of wood panels that contained the laser cut bulkhead pieces. Made of plywood instead of solid lumber it is dead straight and true.

The notch at the bottom of some of the bulkhead pieces was only 7mm so they had to be carefully braced while fitting. Placed a one Krone coin on the keel for good luck.

The first deck required a little tweaking to get it fit but the two sections lined up pretty good. The instruction called for the deck planking to be drawn on with pencil but I am going to use wood stock so I used nails to secure the deck to the bulkhead frames.

So that is the start, I still work full time so this will not be a fast moving build. I hope to complete this project within three to four years but we shall see. Also my math skills are better than my english ones so grammar police take no offence.

 

Cheers

[EdS]

Started planking the upper gun deck, this will be a slow tedious process I think. I am using 1/32 X 3/16th basswood strips and dividing them into three lengths, 40mm, 80mm and 120mm. As mentioned in my last post, Billing Boats are light on instructions and the only direction for planking is this image:

 

 

There is no indication in that diagram the very tip of the bow is to be planked but on the 1 to 1 diagrams it is shown as planked. When building a billing kit one must read, reread and study all diagrams to find out how things are suppose to go. And when that fails there is always google.

 

 

I built a simple planking jig to speed up the cutting process but still have not made much progress so far. I lay about four planks to each side of the king plank at a time. I know I could speed this up quite a bit by laying more planks at once but the other project in the ship yard eats up the rest of the time I have to work this hobby. 

 

 

 

 

Hope to make the next update once the upper gun deck is fully planked and ready to move on to the next step.

 

Cheers

 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by EdS

[EdS]

Planking the lower gun deck went faster than I expected. I was going for a three butt pattern but screwed up my measurements and end up with a two butt pattern (if there is such a thing). Used an ordinary pencil to mark the sides of the planks and a set of dividers to make holes simulating tree nails.

 

 

Had to get creative in "clamping" the planks, surprisingly there were both mostly full.

 

 

Because I used pencil on the planks to simulate the caulking and the tree nails I was leery about sanding the deck too much and getting a lot of smearing. Luckily I kept my cabinet scrappers from when I had a wood shop, they did a fairly decent job of getting the planks to the smoothness I wanted.

 

 

I didn’t plank the whole deck just the parts that will be or might be visible. Ready for stain but haven’t decided on the right colour yet. The instructions call for mahogany stain but I think it would be too dark.

[EdS]

Nothing new on the build itself but I thought I would share a few photos I found of the original Norske Love drawings. I plan on scratch building some the elements found in these drawings into my build, especially the galley stove. 

 

Cheers

 

[Wacom]

Best of luck with your build, I attempted this kit in the Eighties before the days of the internet.

Lack of experience and knowledge put an end to my build after the hull was planked🥴

She is a beautiful ship, I will be following with interest.

[EdS]

18 hours ago, nzreg said:

Best of luck with your build, I attempted this kit in the Eighties before the days of the internet.

Lack of experience and knowledge put an end to my build after the hull was planked🥴

She is a beautiful ship, I will be following with interest.

Good to have you along . I hope to do the kit justice but this is only my fourth model ship build and the first full plank on frame sailing  ship. Probably not the best choice for my first go but the learning potential is massive. 

[EdS]

It's been a couple months, been making slow but steady progress. However my work on HMS Victory Cross Section has been neglected so I have decided to stop work on Norske Love until that project is finished. The pictures at the end of this entry will be how she stays until I can return after Vic completion.

 

According to the instructions the deck was suppose to be stained Mahogany but I thought it was too dark so I went with one coat of provincial followed by a coat of weathered oak. Still a bit dark but overall pretty happy with the look. I added the checked canvas floor to the Wardroom area because I am unsure how much may be visible through the stern windows.

 

I did end up with a patch that would not take stain and I am positive it is not caused by over glue. I thought for many hours on how to fix this spot and get a more uniformed look but after awhile it grew on me so I decided to keep it as the ships unique birthmark.

 

I added a few scratch build items to make things seem more complete than what was included in the kit. First was a cook stove built out of erasers and bits of left over copper I had.

 

Next I added false bulkheads to the Wardroom, bow section and aft of the main mast.

 

 

Finished off by adding the kit provided bulkheads and the next level of bow and stern decking. 

 

 

I figure the HMS Victory Cross section will be completed by end November so hope to get back to this project before end year. 

[BobG]

I just found your build log of this interesting ship, Ed. You're doing a great job with this complicated model and she looks really good so far.

 

I've steered clear of Billing Boats models, even though I like a lot of their offerings, because they have such sparse instructions. I'm not experienced enough to be confident that I'd be able to figure everything out without making a big mess of the build. So I'll be interested in watching fill in the gaps as you continue with your build. 

 

My wife and I spent 2 weeks traveling around Nova Scotia a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. We spent five days in Halifax before driving down to Lunenburg, then over to the Wolfville area and, finally, up and around Cape Breton Island. We loved the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax and the Canadian Museum of Immigration is one of the best museums we have ever visited. We took an afternoon sail on the Bluenose when we were in Lunenburg and explored the amazing tides in the Bay of Fundy before we drove up to Cape Breton for lots of hiking and listening to great Scottish music in small pubs. We plan to make another trip in the near future. You certainly live in a beautiful Canadian Province!

 

Good luck on your build. I'll be following along with interest.

[petervisser]

Hi Ed,

I just ran across your log and will be following along. I have this kit on my shelf as well, and it's one I've always wanted to build. Handy that you've started yours so I have an idea what's involved. And I have the self same "deck plank clamps" that you have so I'm set in that department!

Good luck with your build. You have made an excellent start!

Cheers,

Peter

[EdS]

On 8/22/2021 at 2:14 PM, BobG said:

I just found your build log of this interesting ship, Ed. You're doing a great job with this complicated model and she looks really good so far.

 

I've steered clear of Billing Boats models, even though I like a lot of their offerings, because they have such sparse instructions. I'm not experienced enough to be confident that I'd be able to figure everything out without making a big mess of the build. So I'll be interested in watching fill in the gaps as you continue with your build. 

 

My wife and I spent 2 weeks traveling around Nova Scotia a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. We spent five days in Halifax before driving down to Lunenburg, then over to the Wolfville area and, finally, up and around Cape Breton Island. We loved the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax and the Canadian Museum of Immigration is one of the best museums we have ever visited. We took an afternoon sail on the Bluenose when we were in Lunenburg and explored the amazing tides in the Bay of Fundy before we drove up to Cape Breton for lots of hiking and listening to great Scottish music in small pubs. We plan to make another trip in the near future. You certainly live in a beautiful Canadian Province!

 

Good luck on your build. I'll be following along with interest.

Thanks for the kind words, good to have you along  

[EdS]

On 8/22/2021 at 2:40 PM, petervisser said:

Hi Ed,

I just ran across your log and will be following along. I have this kit on my shelf as well, and it's one I've always wanted to build. Handy that you've started yours so I have an idea what's involved. And I have the self same "deck plank clamps" that you have so I'm set in that department!

Good luck with your build. You have made an excellent start!

Cheers,

Peter

The only problem with that type of deck plank clamps is keeping them full 😂, good to have you along.

[PeteB]

Hi Ed - been following your build with interest and see its coming along nicely. I started mine in 1983 and nearly gave it a Viking burial a few years back but decided to give it another shot and have nearly finished cleaning years of accumulated dust and gunk away.

 

I see you are getting close to fitting the stern gallery and walks which was an area where I really had to wrestle with the beast - so just a call out to take your time and trial fit before committing. I ended up having to put in a curved filler piece to get the spacing right for the lower quarter decoration pieces, the kit at that time was a DIY cut out so its possible I may have cut something wrong.

 

The other area are the Head Rails which in my kit were only supplied as flat ply and really let the rest of the model down. They are really a feature of any model and if they are the same in the current kit you might like to consider using them as templates and construct some more 3D rails out of Box or Pear. Whilst I didn't want to start a rebuild  and just want to finish off the rigging  - mine bug me so much I am actively considering rebuilding them.

 

Lastly attached a pic of mine to raise the issue of Real Estate needed, once you put up all the poles your going to need plenty. Looking forward to watching your build. Cheers Pete

 

Edited November 21, 2021 by PeteB
Typo

[EdS]

On 11/20/2021 at 11:14 PM, PeteB said:

Hi Ed - been following your build with interest and see its coming along nicely. I started mine in 1983 and nearly gave it a Viking burial a few years back but decided to give it another shot and have nearly finished cleaning years of accumulated dust and gunk away.

 

I see you are getting close to fitting the stern gallery and walks which was an area where I really had to wrestle with the beast - so just a call out to take your time and trial fit before committing. I ended up having to put in a curved filler piece to get the spacing right for the lower quarter decoration pieces, the kit at that time was a DIY cut out so its possible I may have cut something wrong.

 

The other area are the Head Rails which in my kit were only supplied as flat ply and really let the rest of the model down. They are really a feature of any model and if they are the same in the current kit you might like to consider using them as templates and construct some more 3D rails out of Box or Pear. Whilst I didn't want to start a rebuild  and just want to finish off the rigging  - mine bug me so much I am actively considering rebuilding them.

 

Lastly attached a pic of mine to raise the issue of Real Estate needed, once you put up all the poles your going to need plenty. Looking forward to watching your build. Cheers Pete

 

Wow that looks great, maybe I can lean on you for some advice as the build progresses? Still on the side for now as I finish Victory cross section, hope to get back at it soon.

[EdS]

Well after a bit of a hiatus I have finally started back at it. I have to get rolling on the Norske Love because this just arrived in the mail this week.

 

Started planking the forward and after decks so they will match the lower exposed deck. Added a bit of colour to the captain’s cabin floor as well.  

 

 

 

During my research for this project I had a lot of trouble finding good step by step reference photos on how to tackle the bow/fore-peak and stern sections. In this log I hope to concentrate on these sections and present my understanding of how it should look and problems I encounter along the way.

The next three photos show construction of the fore-peak bulkhead. I first soaked the section in water for a couple hours and clamped it in place to get the necessary curve (no pic so much for detail images). Next the bulkhead was covered with 0.7mm X 5mm mahogany strips.

 

I stained the bulkhead door trim mahogany and painted the doors green to match the panels’ mid-ships. To paint the doors green was not in the instructions just “artistic license”.

 

Added brass door handles, also not in the instructions. These were left over eye-bolts that I bent and passed through drilled holes in the doors. Super glued handles on the back of the door to secure them but then thought maybe I should use a drop on the front also, mistake as you can clearly see super glue remnants on the front of the doors. The bulkhead is currently rubber banded to a tape roll to keep its shape while waiting for install.

 

 

 

 

Until next time Cheers

Edited March 2, 2022 by EdS

[EdS]

Just a few pictures to show the completed upper decks. 

Time to move on to planking the hull. Fingers crossed it goes well.

Edited April 25, 2022 by EdS

[Bill Morrison]

Nice job so far! I love this ship, and I will be following.

 

Bill

[GrahamMac]

Hi Ed, 

I have been reading through your log with great interest as I have recently found an old Norske Love kit at a garage sale. The idea of building this ship interested me so I picked it up. Of course the set is partially built with many parts missing or damaged as it is my understanding this kit was originally purchase in the early 70,s. So you are aware, I am a complete novice at building boats.

 

I am going to have to plank the decks and hull for sure and not sure what wood to use as there are few instructions. I can tell that the hull would be mahogany as I have some of those in the kit. The deck confuses me as in some builds I notice the decks are lighter in Color and others in mahogany. What would be the best to use if I can’t obtain mahogany strips for the hobby dealer.

 

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give and thank you for your blog which has helped me so much already.

 

Graham

Regina, Sk.

[LCdr Dave]

Ed, Lovely job so far. I will be following along to see how you tackle the lack of instructions. My 
BB Mayflower is similar. Don’t beat yourself up about the drop of superglue on the door handle. The viewer’s eye will have so much else to see that “boo boo” will get lost.

Cheers,

Dave

[EdS]

OK so took a long break from boat building and got side tracked by another project:

However back on track now, over the past week I got the hull faired and today started to plank the hull.

 

Plan is to just use the planking supplied with the kit so single layer planking only. Unless I royally screw it up.  😀😬

[petervisser]

hi Ed,

Nice job on the tank! Glad to see you back working on the Norske Love! Looking forward to more pic's of your build and any handy tips you can pass along.

Cheers,

Peter

[brickline]

How did you cut out all the small parts out? I have the same kit and want to start but cutting out the small parts seems quite a challenge. Any help would be great.

[EdS]

Hi brickline,  which parts are you referring to? The parts that I have had to cut out so far was done using and sharp X-Acto knife. 

[EdS]

Finished stage one of planking the hull so before moving onto the next step thought I would provide a few progress pictures.

 

The material provided with the kit is 1.8mm X 7mm Obechi, not the easiest stuff to work with but does bend fairly easy with pre-soaking.

I am using this glue I got from Lee-Valley, it has gap filler in it. So far I am very happy with the results and will not have to apply a lot of extra filler on the finished hull "so far" 😬

The next image is a little lesson learned, I cut off this one plank without considering the overhang needed to meet up with the aft section. I will now have to insert a little section of planking to cover this error. 

So on to stage two which will be planking the aft section, ship taped up and foam in place to protect the unfinished planking edges from the ham-fisted builder.

[brickline]

Thank you for the replay, the thin sheets that are in the kit  I can see using a small knife but I worry about splitting the sheet they are on. The thicker sheets are a challenge. Did you use a scroll saw? The real small pieces seem to small to try and cut without breaking. I think I will try and see I can handle them. It seems like other members and you did it. I also have Billings wasa and all the parts are printed on wood as the Norse love. So, thank you for the answer, Brickline

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

28 minutes ago, brickline said:

Thank you for the replay, the thin sheets that are in the kit  I can see using a small knife but I worry about splitting the sheet they are on. The thicker sheets are a challenge. Did you use a scroll saw? The real small pieces seem to small to try and cut without breaking. I think I will try and see I can handle them. It seems like other members and you did it. I also have Billings wasa and all the parts are printed on wood as the Norse love. So, thank you for the answer, Brickline

  I've got the first (ca. 1970) Billings Wasa ('seems the Swedes now prefer Vasa) thad was designed with a forecastle deck and stern resembling their Norske Love, but in 1:100 scale.  Last winter I had to do a lot of 'modifications' to alter what I did years ago to better resemble what we now know the Vasa's configuration.  Ah, the joys of single planking - which didn't turn out so bad ... but fairing is a must.

 

  I do have a scroll saw (a Dremel cheapie - but it suffices), and it has come in handy.  They may have an affordable one at Harbor Freight.  I decided to use the old Billings Vikings Skibbe (it was 1:20 scale versus the 1:25 of their Oseberg) for materials, since all those 'fiddly bits' were just printed on sheet stock (and not all that well) - which seemed a little fragile with the passing of years.  Instead I've stocked their improved version (at 1:25 now) named Roar Ege.  Laser cut kits do have advantages ... if the stock is not too 'singed'.

[EdS]

So finished planking the small stern section and made a bit of a hash of it. I really don't like working with Obechi planking provided with the kit. It is very fibrous and easily tears out at the ends. End tear out is evident in the following pictures.

 

Because I already planked a portion of the sides I could not get good angles to attach clamps and had to use a few temporary nails. I am trying to avoid this because I am single planking the hull. It also led to some interesting clamping set-ups.

Removed the nails and filled the holes, once the side planking meets up with this section I will have to use more filler to make it look decent. 

I read in someones build log that they were not a fan of exposed plywood edges, neither am I. I had some iron on edging left over from another build so decided to use it on the keel.

In the end the stern section did not come together the way I wanted but learned lots and can't get to hung up on the results as it is part of the growth process. I will leave with two recommendations for anyone who might be looking to build this kit.

First, if you are looking to produce a museum quality build either plan on double planking the hull or replace the Obechi planking strips with another type of wood.

Second, if I was to start over I think I would plank this stern section first, it will make clamping a whole lot easier and would also avoid the mistake I made in the last post. 

On to planking the rest of the hull.

[PeteB]

Hi Ed - don't bash yourself up you're doing pretty well getting to where you are with things looking pretty shipshape. I think the  low number of completed models of the Norske on the www shows that a lot of guys have put it back into the cupboard and gone on with something simpler but you’re still in the game.

 

Perhaps I could offer a heads up on a couple of parts that tripped me up - right around where you are now?

 

At first glance part 47 (the lower stern gallery filler piece) appears to be flat if you just look at the sectioned sheer plan or at least it did to me, but in fact when looking from astern the gallery floors curve down from amidships to each outer corner which in turn sets the height of the gallery wings. I didn't notice first time round and had to strip it out and make another.

 

Suggest maybe you use the large Gallery board ? - part 52 - and pin that in place first by referencing the height above the upper deck on the sheer plan. Once you’ve got that in place the legs should then give you the level of the upper gallery deck to pin in place amidships having regard to the deck camber and then the sheer plan showing both the upper deck wings and lower gallery windows sloping down to the waist in line with the Wales.

 

Get the above sorted and you’re home and hosed. Enjoy the rest of your build.

Cheers Pete

Edited September 27, 2022 by PeteB
typo

[EdS]

11 hours ago, PeteB said:

At first glance part 47 (the lower stern gallery filler piece) appears to be flat if you just look at the sectioned sheer plan or at least it did to me, but in fact when looking from astern the gallery floors curve down from amidships to each outer corner which in turn sets the height of the gallery wings. I didn't notice first time round and had to strip it out and make another.

 

Suggest maybe you use the large Gallery board ? - part 52 - and pin that in place first by referencing the height above the upper deck on the sheer plan. Once you’ve got that in place the legs should then give you the level of the upper gallery deck to pin in place amidships having regard to the deck camber and then the sheer plan showing both the upper deck wings and lower gallery windows sloping down to the waist in line with the Wales.

 

Get the above sorted and you’re home and hosed. Enjoy the rest of your build.

Hi Pete, very much appreciate the tips. 👍 I will definitely take you advice and use the Gallery Board as reference. If you have any more tips please send them my way.

Norske Love is a tough build due to the lack of instruction but makes a great learning platform. 

Edited September 27, 2022 by EdS

[PeteB]

Ed at the risk of stating the obvious maybe I should have added that the ply parts 46, 48 and 49 will need to be steamed to match the deck camber before you try and pin them in place for a trial set up.

Once this is done and your happy with the fit - you can sand and/or pack Part 47 as required to match the camber and space between your pined parts 46 and 48. 

Cheers Pete

ps - like your Sherman M4A3E8 nicely done. (in another life served in Centurions RAAC 69-71 SVN)

Edited September 29, 2022 by PeteB

[EdS]

On 9/28/2022 at 10:17 PM, PeteB said:

 

ps - like your Sherman M4A3E8 nicely done. (in another life served in Centurions RAAC 69-71 SVN)

 

Thanks again for the tip 😀

 

👍