Atakebune by catopower - Woody Joe - 1/100 Scale - Japanese Sengoku Period Warship

[catopower]

Bug, I wonder if you two ever met? She was a Captain in the 441st MI Battalion, working in S3. She retired in '92 and then stayed on as a civilian up until she got transferred to Hawaii around 2012 or so.

 

Anyway, the build continues!

 

While contemplating the stern construction, I went ahead with the deck of the box structure. I took my time fitting the sub-deck into place since I made those modifications to the height of the internal framework, thus lowering the deck by about 1mm.

 

For this kit, Woody Joe has opted to provide 2mm thick planks for the deck. I suppose they are so thick, because the sub-deck they are glued to is pretty thin.

While deck planking mostly runs across the width of the ship, the first pieces to glue into place actually run the length of the ship. To make sure that these run correctly and fit well, I  temporarily taped down some of the pieces provided that will have to fit in between them first.

 

 

After that, it was a rather quick matter to lay down the long fore-and-aft planks, and then the rest of the planking pieces.

 

 

Something interesting about this kit is that in order to simplify construction, Woody Joe milled the planks to three different lengths. Those long pieces in the middle were already cut, and I jus laid them into place. Below, you can see all three sizes of planks. I've had to do no cutting for any of this.

 

 

It wasn't long before I had the bow section done. Note that in order to keep the middle and outer planks aligned, the instructions show to start the planking from the edge of deck opening, working outward from there. Later, those plank ends that are sticking out over the edge of the deck will need to be trimmed.

 

 

By my next post, the deck will be planked and trimmed. I'm considering adding the outer shell next, before I return to the final decision on the stern section of the hull.

 

[catopower]

I'm making some slow progress now with the planking of the upper deck, as well as adding all the smaller beams to the lower hull. 

 

Planking the upper deck is pretty straight forward, or at least it would be if I could leave well enough alone.

 

 

I've had to sand down the deck in order to smooth out the planking. The process too off the finish I'd applied, so I'll have to go over that again. You can see the difference when you look at the planked steering well area. 

 

One thing I discovered while doing all the sanding was that some of the deck areas aren't well supported from underneath. It doesn't really affect the structure that much, as the planked deck is about 3mm thick. But, saning these areas results in these areas not getting the same degree of sanding as the rest of the deck, as the deck here was flexing a bit. So, I just put some reinforcing wood under these areas.

 

 

Meanwhile, I cut new pieces of the aft section of the lower hull, cutting out the old piecees to use as patterns. You can now finally see what I'm after.

 

 

 

I traced the openings of the original piece onto this one, so I could "map out" where the new beams need to go. The new "Ōtoko" or great beam is about twice the size of the one provided in the kit. This gives me more room to cut the rudder hole into it. 

 

 

You can see also that this rear platform area is now above the beam and not below it. All of these changes will likely create some unforseen problems that I will have to deal with later, so I haven't glued any of this into place yet.

 

Lastly, I started adding all the smaller beams into place. The model nicely provides laser-cut notches in the hull for spacing these properly.

 

 

Inboard, the beams just rest on the internal framework, but they don't always rest nicely on the framework, so I had to use gap-filling CA on those. The important thing is that the outer ends of the beams need to be in a nice neat alignment with the ends of the larger beams. Also, the tops have be nice and level. To do this, I just used plastic clips and a piece of thin scrap wood as a guide

 

 

 

The beams closest to the bow have to be cut to the proper length before installing, but most don't need cutting right away as the inboard ends have no restrictions here. It turns out that the inner ends of some of the beams obstruct the placement of the box structure, so they do need to be clipped at some point.

 

Oh, I should mention that all the beams come as a set of pre-cut pieces. The large ones come from a laser-cut sheet. The small beams are simply pre-milled lumber. I don't recall if I mentioned it before, but the deck planks also come as pre-milled pieces in 3 lengths. Made planking the deck a relative breeze.

 

Once I finish with the beams, I'm going to leave the stern assembly unfinished until the box structure is further along, so I can test how everything will fit together. In the next few days, I should have the outer shell to the box structure started. 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Some good planning happening here, Clare!

[catopower]

Thanks Druxey. I don't know if it's GOOD planning, but it is certainly some kind of planning. I guess I'll find out how good it is when I try to fit the box structure into place. 

 

I have a sense now that there will be a slight issue with that aft deck frame or platform I made, because it is pushed up at a greater angle, now that the great beam is underneath it. On the actual museum model, if you look at the last photo of it that I posted, the very end beams of that platform form the base for the aft "wall". In the kit, it provided aft platform doesn't really seem to do that. The platform is kind of separate from that "wall". 

 

I'll have to play it all by ear later, but I'm hoping that I can somehow modify the bottom of the "wall" and the aft part of the platform, so that they merge together to a more complete joint. At this point, I don't imagine it will be difficult to modify the bottom of that aft "wall".

Edited December 12, 2021 by catopower

[mtaylor]

Seems like you're way beyond thinking a few steps ahead... more like a hundred.  Interesting construction to say the least and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[catopower]

Mark, it only seems like I'm thinking that far ahead. In reality, it's more like how many steps ahead can I fear? 😕

 

Then, the real question is not how far in advance was I in fear, but was I afraid enough? 🤔 Now, we'll just have to wait and see!

 

Here's the latest. I've gone through test fitting the box structure shell and then seeing how well it will mate with the lower hull. 

 

 

The clamps are there to hold the two parts together tightly, so I can see exactly how well the walls will sit on the beams. 

 

I'm kind of thinking now that it might have been a better order of construction to add those beams just before the two sections glued together. But, the fit seems okay.

 

 

The biggest problem I had was handling the box structure. The instruction have you leave the door panels in place – I assume for strength. The problem is that every time I picked up the structure, my thumb would pop a door loose. I now have these walls glued to the box structure's framework, and I don't think any of the doors remained.

 

Below, you can see the fit of the walls on the beams. In this photo, you can see that they're close, but not quite where I want the fit to be. This is about as good as it's going to get in this area, as the fit is much better closer to the ends. We'll just have to see if there's some way I can minimize this apparent gap when I get further along in the build.

 

 

Finally, here's a test fit of the laser-cut external framework piece. Laser-cut design certainly makes this type of construction very easy.

 

 

By the way, on the real Atakebune, through those open doors, you should probably end up seeing the sliding wall panels of the samurai living spaces, probably quite decorative. They would form a kind of central structure, probably with a floor plan similar to the castle structure that will go on later.

 

The castle museum model is a little bit light on detail, so this is similarly light, and probably there would be wooden covers for those firing ports on the top deck. There were also likely similar ports across that middle band as well. But, I think any available information on such firing ports may all be just guesswork.

 

 

 

The fit here looks very good – much better than I'd anticipated. 

 

The one thing yet is that the main wall pieces are very thin, and there's a little minor warpage around the doors. So, I think I'm going to reinforce those areas with some vertical wooden strips on the inside. They may actually not be necessary with the laser-cut frameworks glued to the outsides, but I'll do it just to be safe.

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by catopower

[druxey]

Sounds like a plan! Things start to look really interesting at this point, Clare.

[catopower]

I got a little farther with the box structure and re-finished the deck planks. 

 

The laser-cut "framework," is in place on the box structure. The instructions call for the addition of strips for the horizontal portions of the framework, but I like the way this is looking now, and I'm a little concerned that the added horizontal strips kind of bulk-up the appearance. So, I'm going to think about this for a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, I managed to damage some of the components of the new stern modifications. It's not surprising, giving how thin the wood is that I'm working with, and how much I've been changing back there. I don't see any issues though – I just have to remake some parts that I made in the first place.

 

Also there are still a few additions I was thinking of making to the inner wall of the box structure. Plus, the castle structure is a completely independent assembly, so I can actually start on that too.

 

Oh, I should mention that the coaming around the steering well is my own addition that I think better mimics the appearance of the museum model.

 

Also, you may recall from my previous post that all the door panels fell out. They're shown in place here, but I just have them taped into place from the back sides.

 

 

[druxey]

Looking very neat indeed now!

[catopower]

6 hours ago, druxey said:

Looking very neat indeed now!

It's kind of easy to make a box look neat! 😁

[Landlubber Mike]

Wow, this is looking really good.  Very nice job!

[catopower]

Thanks Mike, Druxey, I'm glad you like it.

 

Here's a little bit more. There was one simple kit modification I've wanted to make.

 

The inside of the bulwarks, for lack of better term, is smooth on the model. That's simply a copy of the way the museum model is constructed, which always kind of bothered me. There's a great illustration of samurai fighting on the deck of an Atakebune that I found on a Japanese blog site dedicate to the late Mr. Kenjo Tanii, who worked with and did illustrations for the late Professor Kenji Ishii, who is well known for his work on the history of Japanese boats.

 

 

There's some great illustrations of Atakebune on the page I got this from. There's also a lot of great historical information, but it's all in Japanese. However, you can get a lot out of it by running it through Google Translate. In fact, here's a link through Google Translate. Scroll down past the aircraft carrier information to find the entry on Atakebune: https://navy-ap-teacup-com.translate.goog/applet/kanzo/archive?b=30&_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

 

 

In any case, I went ahead and added this feature to my model...

 

 

 

Now that I'm well along on two of the three main components of this kit, I figured I might as well start off on the third component, which is the castle structure. So, I glued up the parts that form the basis of the structure.

 

 

Construction was pretty easy and straightforward, but it took a bit of trimming of the deck opening to get it to fit nicely. 

 

Here's what the whole thing looks like when it's all together at this stage.

 

 

 

In the bottom image, you can see where it's missing my customized parts, which I have yet to replace due to breakage.

 

 

I've been thinking about making those pieces from thicker wood, say 1.5 or 2mm vs. the original 1mm sheet wood. I guess I should try it, since I've made one set of hull pieces already and need to make another. Why not, slightly thicker wood?

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Why not, indeed? "Never make a thing simple if you can make it complicated." (Thanks, Dad! It was one of his favorite sayings. He was an engineer. Need I say more?)

[catopower]

Druxey, you're Dad's words are very appropriate... and perhaps explain a lot! 😁

 

[hollowneck]

Nice log, Clare. Lots of interesting things going on here- as well as solutions. 

Ron

[druxey]

Yeah, it's a burden I have to bear!

[catopower]

For the holiday weekend that's coming, here's a bit of an update on my Atakebune build.

 

First off, I have to say that Mr. Kazunori Morikawa has been really going to town, making all sorts of major modifications to his build. Now, I don't agree with what he's been doing with the mast and yard details, but everything else I've seen are major improvements to the model. 

 

Here's a link to one of the more recent photos on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JapanOnlineHobbyStoreZootoyz/photos/pcb.1724615267728676/1724590987731104

 

As for my own model, I've finished cutting the "stanchions" on the inner side of the box structure walls. I then added an upper rail to mostly match the rail on the outside of the structure. 

 

 

 

 

In addition, I cut some thin cross sections of some 3mm square stock wood, dyed them, and glued them to the hull to represent the beam ends coming through the hull planking.

 

 

 

At some point, I'll need to add the simulated mortise covers, which were made of copper. On my most recent models, I simply used brown adhesive-backed vinyl that I cut using a Silhouette Cameo 3 machine. I could do the same thing here, but I'm considering alternatives, to give copper parts are more natural patina finish, rather than the tarnished copper look. 

 

I've got some ideas I want to experiment with. More on that later.

 

The last addition, is an extension of the front of the castle structure. This idea is based on a similar modification that Morikawa-san made on his model. He ran into a few issues regarding the construction of the roof, which for this part of the structure, is very different from the rest. But, the idea is to make the build closer to the museum model's appearance.

 

 

 

 

One thing to note is that there is generally some controversy among those who follow the design and history of Japanese traditional boat construction regarding the accuracy of this design. This kit is based on a museum model, which is an interpretation of a ship depicted in a very old folding-screen painting. If you think the ship looks very top heavy, there are those that agree. But, the main issue that I've seen brought up recently is the presence of a tile roof. 

 

Now, the painting shows a traditional castle-type roof. It is dark gray in color, just like the tile roofs that appear on castles. But, there's the suggestion that this is wrong. I suppose one possibility might be that the roofs were simple wooden roofs. Perhaps they were painted gray to look like actual castles? No one knows. But, it's worth noting. Perhaps on another build, I'll use a bit more conjecture.

 

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

I suspect for weight and stability issues that the roofs were not tile, but painted as you suggest, Claire. Coming along nicely! I really like the beam end detail.

[Jim Lad]

I agree with Druxey's opinion on the roof tiles, Clare.  That much weight that high up would lead to all sorts of problems.

 

John

[Michael Scarborough]

Greetings, Clare, I was directed to you by stating in my new member intro that I had an interest in Samurai Era ships. I had no idea this sort of kit was even available. Oh, dear...I will have to get this kit. Having grown up as a very imaginative boy in the late 50s, in Iwakuni , right on the shore of the Inland Sea, and having forgotten all about Roy Rogers in favor of Samurai, this sort of thing is right up my alley. I see bankruptcy in my near future.

 

What you're doing is really marvelous and I will follow along with great interest.  

 

Cheers from NYC,

Michael 

[catopower]

Hi Michael, glad your here. I haven't done much study of samurai ships, so this is kind of making do more study of the subject. Of course, this is basically a ship on the large end most ships of this type didn't have the elaborate castle structure. 

 

So, was your dad at the Marine Corps Air Station there by any chance?

 

Well, I've had to take some time away from model building to deal with family matters, but I'm starting up again this week, so stay tuned.

[catopower]

By the way, over the holidays, I created two Youtube video slide shows.

 

These are two scratch builds, the Hozugawa Ayubune and the Himi Tenmasen. Both small boats in 1/10 scale. These are based on projects by boatbuilder Douglas Brooks, and in many ways, they are tributes to him and his teachers.

 

The Hozugawa Ayubune is a small river fishing boat used on the Hozu river, northwest of Kyoto. The Himi Tenmasen is a general purpose coastal workboat from Toyama prefecture on the Japan Sea coast.

 

Hozugawa Ayubune: https://youtu.be/N16kF7O_VIY

 

 

Himi Tenmasen: https://youtu.be/bCLl2Xb-V0o

 

 

If you enjoy them, please give them a like!

 

In the meantime, I also was asked about putting together all the wasen models, or traditional Japanese boat models, that I've completed. A couple that you may be aware of aren't on here yet, as they aren't technically complete. But, if you want to see everying in one shot, you can find them here: https://wasenmodeler.com/wasen-mokei/

 

 

[druxey]

Lovely, Claire! I can almost smell the wood shavings....

[Ian_Grant]

On 12/17/2021 at 3:43 AM, catopower said:

I got a little farther with the box structure and re-finished the deck planks. 

 

The laser-cut "framework," is in place on the box structure. The instructions call for the addition of strips for the horizontal portions of the framework, but I like the way this is looking now, and I'm a little concerned that the added horizontal strips kind of bulk-up the appearance. So, I'm going to think about this for a bit.  <snip..snip>

 

Very interesting model,Claire!  My two cents: additional horizontal strips on the exterior grid would add shadow lines and depth and look striking. They don't need to be very thick if you're worried about the bulk.

 

Just my opinion....

[catopower]

Thanks for the comments Ian. You're probably right. If I don't want it too bulky looking, I could try thinning down those strips. They're laser cut, so that might be a bit tricky. Then again, I can probably use my own stripwood, as there is another modification I've been planning on where using my own stripwood will probably be easiest.

 

Appreciate the suggestion!

[Michael Scarborough]

18 hours ago, catopower said:

So, was your dad at the Marine Corps Air Station there by any chance?

Indeed, but in those days, 1959-61, it was still Marine Corps Air Facility. He was XO of FAW-6, the Navy contingent. There were still a lot of old vessels in that part of the Inland Sea, similar to some on the website your model is from. I can remember watching men scull their boats and every now and then we'd come across a Chinese Junk. IT was an amazing time and place to be a kid!

[Michael Scarborough]

6 hours ago, catopower said:

But, if you want to see everying in one shot, you can find them here:

Wow!! Totemo ii desu ya!! Kirena fune desu!! Gorgeous models. Bravo. At some point this year I will dig through the slides we brought back from Iwakuni. I fear many may have faded but, hopefully not. Lots of boat pictures, I think!

 

Cheers from NYC,

Michael

[mtaylor]

Those are some wonderful models on that website, Clair.   I looked at yours and now will go back and re-read the text and also have look at the other builder's models.

[Harvey Golden]

Dear Clare, Thank you for posting the youtube videos of your models from Brooks' studies. They are very beautiful, and exceptionally well done.  I had been thinking of making one from his book, but am over-extended with other projects.  Someday!  Best, Harvey

[catopower]

Hi Michael, Mark, Harvey. Domo aritago gozaimasu. Glad you like them.

 

Michael, I'd love to see any photos you have of traditional Japanese watercraft.

 

Harvey, I hope you do build one of the boats that Douglas Brooks studied in Japan. Funny thing I realized recently, is that I haven't really built anything that was described in his book, except the bekabune. That was an early build, and I think I need to try it again to do a better job on the mortise detailing and on the nailing on the inside of the boat.

 

But, one that I really want to do soon is the water taxi, or chokibune, that he built with the late Mr. Fujiwara. Sadly, his first three teachers are gone now. But, that's the very reason he's recording these builder's techniques.