Liburnian Monoreme by Modeller_masa - MarisStella - 1:63

[modeller_masa]

Nice to see you again. This is my second project this year. 

 

I had a motive to build the ancient Greek ship from two games I played; Assassin's creed Origins and Odyssey. They are based on the ancient Egypt and Greek eras. You may be familiar with the Amati or Dusek's Greek trireme, but those kinds of late greek ships aren't in the games. After days of research, I found an unfamiliar wooden ship model company, MarisStella, in Croatia. 

 

Unfortunately, I had a communication issue with the company when I tried to make a purchase at the EU store. When I received the kit, it was two months late and the iron was already cold. This is a reason I started it now.

 

If you live in North America, you should buy the company's products at Model Expo or the Art of Age of Sail. Otherwise, you can order directly from the company in Croatia, but you should be patient because the the EU store is based on a mail-order system.

 

The ordering system was a bit embarrassing, but the kit is the best I've ever tried. The laser cut is so accurate that I even don't need to sand anything. The selection of wood species is adequate; walnut strips and thick plywood. Manuals are traditional style and very detailed. Also, the manual introduces the spiling planking technique very shortly. They know how to drill. 😎

 

This is one of the innovative ways of aligning frames. With the super accurate laser cut frames, the 16th walnut strip made me a perfect equal hull fairing I've never made before. It is much simpler than the twin wood rods in the middle of frames the company used before, and still effective. Very clever!

 

Of course, not everything is perfect. Some parts or materials are difficult to handle. For example, it is almost mandatory to fill the entire hull with balsa wood before hull planking or deck planking in my opinion. The balsa wood in the kit isn't enough and is difficult to cut. In addition, I have to make some accessories like cleats, which are usually offered as metal parts. The manual doesn't say anything about it, and the 1:1 plan suggests making cleats from walnut strips. Moreover, I have to sand 1.50mm walnut strips to make 0.70mm strips to fill some parts of the hull. Why shouldn't I sand it? I just used my 1/32 inch walnut sheets. 

 

It's not frustrating, but challenging and fun in my opinion. In general, the missing or self-made parts increase the difficulty level of the kit.

 

 

The above pictures were taken in May. I'll upload the current process soon.  

[modeller_masa]

I attached NOT ENOUGH balsa blocks to frames in May. Don't follow it. As I said, I recommend FILLING the entire hull with balsa blocks.  This is quite a small ship and has many spiky points that can be easily broken. Sand and attach polished balsa blocks. I had difficulties when I sanded narrow areas.

 

In addition, it is good to read plans several times and leave hull fairing marks on frames before attaching the balsa blocks. I need to improve my ability to read a plan before using glue.  

 

 

After days of research on the plan, I confirmed part of the hull fairing lines. Unfortunately, the pictures in the manual book are blurred, and nobody has made this ship before... 

 

The upper part of the frame will be cut.

 

 

The exposed edge will be capped with a brass crown.

 

 

I missed one line of planking. The lines should be smooth curve, and the blue plank is a single wood plank. I glued small piece of wood later.

 

I'm making a stem-planking using the same method. I accidentally sanded too much balsa block, so I cut it and attached a new balsa block.

 

Yesterday, I dropped my ship. 😱 Some parts were broken, but I was able to fix them easily. 🤕

 

[VTHokiEE]

I have this exact kit! I’ll be very excited to follow along; I think it’ll be my next build. Looking good so far!

[modeller_masa]

You made the right choice, VTHokiEE. This advanced kit, like the Vanguard Models or Syren, will give you intellectual pleasure.  

 

By the way, I found my critical mistake. 😱

 

These are small mistakes that can be recovered...

 

I hope the red wall will cover the holes.

 

It was too difficult to attach the lower hull planking. I tried to attach them like the English ships, but the strong curved frame made huge gaps between planks. I couldn't accept them because of a single planking ship. I stuck to a plan paper again, and found my mistake after a few days.

 

The key was the 26th part.

 

It is the widest plank, and it doesn't lean in any direction. Under the 26th plank, I can use a conventional planking method for the English ship's aft side. This ship is symmetrical so that both lower parts of the fore and aft planking have the same structure.

 

 

However, unlike the English ships, this ship's aft-upper planking is concave. In other words, I had to use a planking method on the aft-lower side of the English ships to the aft-upper section.

 

 

Therefore, this ship's lower and upper planking use the same planking technique as the aft-lower planking of the English ship. Also, this ship is symmetrical, so I had to use the same technique on all four sections! 🤪

 

I didn't realize it when I sanded balsa blocks for the upper part of stem and stern. I made them convex, which made my planking hell. 

 

It's not too late to fix my critical error, but I'm a lazy guy. 😴 I'll try to cure them, but the upper planking won't be corrected. I hope the other people won't make the same mistake.  

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by modeller_masa

[jacasa]

Hello Modeller-Masa.

 

I have been a member of this site for about 4 years, I use the information set out by other builders to a great extent. ( I will be 83 this year and it's getting harder ) I'm not good at putting out posts, In the last 12 years I have built about 8 ships and now working on two at the same time one being the Liburnian Monoreme by MarisStella, started about the same time you started yours. I am also working on the Ragusian Carrack by MarisStella, this model is much easier to build in comparison to the former.

 

Anyhow keep up your good work so I can see how you go.

 

Cheers John.

 

 

[rcmdrvr]

I had an interest in this model but your struggles is beginning to scare me a bit!  The plastic headed pins you are using look like the metal pin part is threaded.  Is that correct?  Does it help holding them in place.

[modeller_masa]

Hello, John.

 

It is my pleasure to meet people who are making the same kit or ship. I understand many people have difficulty posting build logs. They tend to upload completed projects on Gallary page. I also have some difficulty on updating build logs, but sharing my progress with enthusiasts is more attractive to me. Everyone has own taste, so I think concentrating on own project is also good.

 

As I noted above, I think my hull fairing, especially on the upper hull of both ends, is not correct; they are reversed. When I put this project on hold, I decided to fix the issue anyway. I intended to dump the current hull and purchase the same kit again. My new plan is to cut the walnut strips and repair the balsa hull. I'll restart the work when I'm ready; I'll make additional walnut strips. I think I'll do it in the middle of this year, after I finish current build, Bounty 1/60, and the next build, the Papegojan cardboard model.

 

I hope you make great progress on your project.

[modeller_masa]

Hello, rcmdrvr.

 

They are not threaded metal pins, but plastic beads to shallow the pin's length. I was scared of pins poking my fingers when I pushed the pins. 🤣 It didn't work well and was useless.

Edited January 11, 2023 by modeller_masa

[Louie da fly]

There was another liburnian build log 

 but it seems to be a very different ship, but then there's very little known about what they were like, so there's a fair bi of freedom available in interpreting it.

 

Steven