Ekis Posted January 22, 2023 Share #1 Posted January 22, 2023 A new shipyard opens ! A little history... Two types of sailing ships, once used to transport taru (casks) of sake from Kamigata (上方, the present Keihanshin area of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) to Edo (now Tokyo). Until the Meiji period (1868-1911), movement from the center of the capital Kyoto to other areas was described with the verb kudaru (下る, to descend). For this reason, sake sent from Kamigata to Edo was known as kudari-zake (下り酒). Sake began to be shipped "down" in the 1600s, when it was sent overland by beast of burden, but it soon became necessary to switch to sea transport using sail in order to meet the increasing sales volumes. In the early 1600s, more and more shipping agents were established in Osaka, and they transported Nada sake and other goods to Edo on their distinctive higaki kaisen crafts. These boats had woven bamboo railings (higaki) along the gunwales, to prevent loaded sake barrels from slipping on the unstable decks and to increase the loading capacity. Because these higaki kaisen were designed for maximum loads without much thought for safety, sinking was an ever-present danger. Moreover, faking a shipwreck to allow the illegal sale of the supposedly lost cargo was commonplace. The trade became more and more lawless and in the early 1700s a new type of ship, entirely devoted to the transport of sake, appeared. These were called taru kaisen (樽回船, kaisen meaning a cargo ship). They were fast, stable, and elegant Japanese-style sailing craft, some of which by the end of the shogunate in the mid-19th century had grown to sizes capable of carrying 3,000 barrels. In the late 1800s, they were supplanted by the arrival of Western-style sailboats and steamers, but their contribution to Nada sake sales was enormous until then. The kit comes from Japan directly from the main distributor of WoodyJoe kits: Zootoys.jp. The scale is 1/72 and the wood is totally from Japanese species. It is perfectly designed and cut, with small numbered bags for each group of parts and a very illustrated assembly guide... but in Japanese for the texts! Google Trad is therefore mandatory to avoid making too much bullshit ! But maybe different for the final simply... Cool The first pictures of the construction site : Well, of course, those who know me a bit may wonder what I'm going to be able to transform in such a well designed and framed Japanese kit... I think that visually, I will try to get closer to the representations of the period paintings. But for the moment, it's a matter of building a boat that is culturally quite far from our western habits. So, the decoration will come later to make my Higaki Kaisen! (even if I have to anticipate a little the result...). catopower, ccoyle, Prowler901 and 2 others 5 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share #2 Posted January 22, 2023 (edited) Most of the time, this model from Woodyjoe is left in its natural state and it looks great like that (see photos above)! But, as I don't like conformity, nor the lack of additional creative touch, I went as usual to customize a bit... The transformation consists in modifying this 18/19th century cargo ship into a Japanese daimyo's (lord of a province) prestige boat. This kind of boat existed to put forward some noble families and to establish the prestige with the others. So black paint (Indian ink) and red (acrylic mixture of 2 reds) which will be declined throughout the construction: it is really necessary to anticipate each step... Not to mention the final copper decoration and a little weathering to age. So, to give even more symbolism to this boat, I wanted to get closer to the shape of the Japanese torii. The base is composed of a ceramic tea box pierced by two Japanese chopsticks (real!) which will support the boat. It weighs a certain amount. But it will be filled with very fine white sand similar to Zen gardens (we might as well push the Japanese symbols to the end!), the whole thing sprinkled with a mixture of wood glue and water (a technique used for the medieval village) in order to definitively block the supporting rods. And here, I think that the stability and the weight will be enough for the boat, itself quite light because of its assembly with hinoki (Japanese cypress). We had to do this and drill the hull before attacking the very long deck lathing that will hide the bilge. The final decoration of the tea box is still under construction... Edited January 22, 2023 by Ekis Roger Carter, chris watton, mtaylor and 3 others 6 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share #3 Posted January 22, 2023 More about this bezaisen (coastal transport that I transform into a lordly yacht)! The aft cabin is almost finished, the decorations are progressing. Prowler901, Landlubber Mike, mort stoll and 3 others 6 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share #4 Posted January 22, 2023 The rear deck is covered (but mostly unglued, I can't bring myself to hide it all, and I haven't thought about how to make it stay in place). The front cabin is done too, with a noren to close (Japanese curtain decorated with several vertical panels). The side rails are in place, some personal decorations are missing. mort stoll, Ghost029, Prowler901 and 4 others 7 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted January 22, 2023 Author Share #5 Posted January 22, 2023 Last pictures of this week-end. I was able to finish the main part of this higaki by putting in place the decorated bow walls. I also took care of the base with this ceramic tea box and its 2 chopsticks from Japan. The tea box has a small traditional logo (Mon) that we will find elsewhere... I will be able to start the decorations everywhere (copper plates, staples, etc...), then the rigging. Prowler901, chris watton, Ian_Grant and 6 others 7 2 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share #6 Posted March 2, 2023 Some progress on this boat! The hull is almost finished: - all the fittings are installed (the hull is assembled by metal staples that I wanted to represent), each crossbeam is protected in metal. The bow is entirely covered with metal too. - the side windows are made of bristol board - the awning of this yacht is in place - the hull decorations (in polymer clay) are glued. The base is also done: - the tea box (painted with ink) and the Japanese chopsticks - the box is filled to fix the chopsticks, to weigh and stabilize the boat with self-hardening clay - closing the lid decorated with a mon (logo of a noble family) and a red polymer ribbon with a traditional sea motif. Let's make room for the rigging with a sail already worked with a stencil... The rest to come! Harvey Golden, Montaigne, ccoyle and 10 others 9 4 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted March 2, 2023 Share #7 Posted March 2, 2023 Very striking colors -- love it! mtaylor and Ekis 2 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Hawker Hurricane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montaigne Posted March 2, 2023 Share #8 Posted March 2, 2023 Fascinating, beautiful build! mtaylor and Ekis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted March 2, 2023 Share #9 Posted March 2, 2023 Very cool!! Great job on this. I love builds that are unique! mtaylor and Ekis 2 Quote Mike Current Wooden builds: Amati/Victory Pegasus MS Charles W. Morgan Euromodel La Renommèe Plastic builds: SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48 Five Star Yaeyama 1/700 Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700 Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32 Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72 IJN Notoro 1/700 Akitsu Maru 1/700 Completed builds : Caldercraft Brig Badger Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700 Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350 F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72 Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48 Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48 Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48 Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16 Terminated build: HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn) On the shelf: Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits Future potential scratch builds: HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share #10 Posted March 11, 2023 (edited) A few more details to dress up this boat... Edited March 11, 2023 by Ekis Roger Carter, Prowler901, Montaigne and 2 others 4 1 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share #11 Posted March 12, 2023 Well, this time, we are getting closer to the end of this project... So a small series of pictures ! Montaigne, Harvey Golden, Ian_Grant and 7 others 2 1 7 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montaigne Posted March 12, 2023 Share #12 Posted March 12, 2023 I have to repeat myself: absolutely stunning build! Ekis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost029 Posted March 13, 2023 Share #13 Posted March 13, 2023 Absolutely outstanding! Ekis 1 Quote In the Shipyard: 18th Century Longboat - Model Shipways Swift 1805 - AL On the Drawing Board: La Recouvrance - Soclaine Former USN MM1/SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekis Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share #14 Posted March 19, 2023 This boat is now finished. I transformed and customized this WoodyJoe kit by adding color, an awning on the main deck, the creation of side windows, sculptures, a sail decorated with a "mon" corresponding to a real 18th century shogun, the hull fittings, a cradle from a traditional tea box, etc. This kit is demanding, requires a lot of patience and especially rigor to respect the particular geometry of these old Japanese boats. Here are the last pictures ! Haliburton, ccoyle, Prowler901 and 4 others 4 1 2 Quote Work: www.flickr.com/photos/133075291@N04/albums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montaigne Posted March 19, 2023 Share #15 Posted March 19, 2023 Congratulations on finishing a truly remarkable model, hats off! hollowneck and Ekis 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollowneck Posted March 19, 2023 Share #16 Posted March 19, 2023 Very nice interpretation. I’ve posted other compliments and comments in your gallery. This kit is nicely designed and offers lots of opportunities to make it one’s own as you have shown so well. Congrats! Ekis 1 Quote Ron Director, Nautical Research Guild Secretary/Newsletter Editor, Philadelphia Ship Model Society Former Member/Secretary for the Connecticut Marine Model Society Current Build: Godspeed 2, (Wyoming, 6-masted Schooner) Completed Builds: HMS Grecian, HMS Sphinx (as HMS Camilla) Ongakuka Maru, (Higaki Kaisen, It Takes A Village), Le Tigre Privateer, HMS Swan, HMS Godspeed, HMS Ardent, HMS Diana, Russian brig Mercury, Elizabethan Warship Revenge, Xebec Syf'Allah, USF Confederacy, HMS Granado, USS Brig Syren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted March 20, 2023 Share #17 Posted March 20, 2023 Such an unusual and visually striking model -- congratulations! Ekis 1 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Hawker Hurricane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.