Kit review 1:25 Drakkar ‘Oseberg’ - Ships of Pavel Nikitin

[James H]

1:25 Drakkar ‘Oseberg’

Ships of Pavel Nikitin
Catalogue # DROS002
Available direct for approximately £160 (7400 ₴) at time of writing

 

 

History
It is believed that the word “drakkar” originates from the Old Norse words “dreki” and “kar,” which mean “dragon” and “ship,” respectively. The warship acquired this name because the head of a dragon or another mythical creature (like Jormungandr) usually adorned the ship’s bow. The shape of the ship was also long and narrow, resembling a sea serpent. The Vikings constructed drakkars out of pine, oak, or ash wood. They used a special technique for splitting trees along the grain. They then watered the planks and held them above a fire to make them more flexible. The shipbuilders put the parts of the ship together with iron rivets and nails and bound them with cords and ropes. After that, they tarred the whole structure and caulked it by plugging holes and gaps and making the seams watertight. The sail was rectangular or square. It was made of sheep’s wool and covered with grease so that it didn’t get drenched. If there wasn’t a fair wind, the Vikings used oars – 20 to 35 pairs of them.

 

In the Viking age, few ships could compete with a drakkar in terms of sheer speed, but drakkars were also very nimble. Thanks to the drakkar’s shallow draft, the Northmen could easily sail along rivers and fjords. They could land in places that were very difficult to access and attack their enemies unexpectedly. These warships were also barely visible between the waves because of their low sides. This helped the Vikings catch their enemies unawares, even in the open sea. Drakkars were created for more than just war, however. They were solid and capacious, so the Vikings sometimes used them for trade and to transport goods, but more often these ships were used for sailing long distances. How far did the Vikings travel? They reached the shores of Iceland, Greenland, and North America, to name but a few destinations.
(Abridged from Vikings: War of Clans)

 

The kit

We’ve not exactly been awash with good kits of what we would call a typical Viking drakkar, or ‘longship’ as it’s more commonly known, despite the actual ancient translation. The Amati and Dusek are the kits which most come to mind. Pavel Nikitin’s new kit is also the largest in scale of this iconic vessel, weighing in at a whopping 1:25 scale! That equates to the following sizes:

 

• Length: 865mm
• Width: 430mm
• Height: 480mm

 

Like the San Bartolome kit I recently looked at, the Drakkar is a second reworking, bringing a number of improvements over the original release, such as laser engraved ‘carved’ details on the bow and stern, including the ‘curls’ at each of those points. On other kits, this is where you would normally see such things as a dragon’s head, but this ship does not carry them, as per the actual recovered ship. I think in some respects, this was perhaps not as per a normal drakkar, but I could be wrong. The kit itself is packed into a slender but heavy corrugated box with a flap-opening lid depicting the finished model in all her glory, fitted with striped sail and 28 shields of varying décor. Inside the box, the various sheets are grouped into packages that are wrapped in cellophane, or ‘clingfilm’ as we know it in the UK. This keeps the sheets very tightly together. There are around 40 sheets of materials to build the drakkar. But that’s not all. Included with the ship is a very sturdy MDF jig which will most certainly aid those tasks that would otherwise be difficult, such as adding those clinker planks.

 

As with other Pavel kits, this one also includes a homemade MDF and acrylic parts box, with the part numbers clearly engraved on the sliding lid. This box includes different sizes of high-quality rope in differing sizes (no fuzz!), 3d-printed boss heads for the many shields, cleats etc.

 

The first task for the builder is to assemble the jig before then embarking on building the bulkheads. The bulkheads consist of a lower half into which a dovetailed upper half is fitted. The most outboard parts of each bulkhead are also separate parts. On the sheet, these are shown adjacent to their position on the uppers, with arrows depicting the location. This will add a little strength to the outer bulkheads, plus that change in grain direction at that point, will also help. There are also engravings on the completed bulkheads which denote where you need to pre-bevel the bulkheads prior to installation on the keel. The keel itself is a multipart assembly, with dovetail connection points.

 

The bulkheads will be installed to the keel, inverted upon the building jig, and here is where the hull will sit until fully planked. 

 

A drakkar has a single mast and spar. These are provided as laser-cut/tapered parts that you will need to round off. Looking at the shape of these parts, then this is a welcome touch. Strips of dowel are also provided for the numerous oars. The paddles for these are pre-cut. 

 

For display purposes, a stand is also included, as is an engraved plate with a serial number. The kit is 00009. I am informed that the timber for this kit is a combination of walnut, cherry, alder, and beech.

 

The instruction book is 28-page spiralbound A4 production with a protective plastic cover. The first part of the manual is text which relates to the numerous stages. Those stages are presented in drawing form in the second half of the manual. The drawings do appear to be nice and clear, and construction takes place over 68 stages. Inside the sleeve of the manual is a piece of laser-cut paper which contains three profiles which are designed to lay against the laminates that form the ‘fish’ or mast base. These are laid on at various stages and shaped to them. 

 

One plastic sleeve contains three nicely printed plan sheets which show the drakkar in various profiles, and in rig etc. The second wallet contains a single printed piece of material for the sail. You will obviously need to cut and stitch this yourself. The photos show this brightly painted, but I’d read that these were usually quite dark as protected with tar due to the expense of the sails back in days of yore. I do admit that the painted sail looks beautiful, and I’d probably go with that. The size of the sail is really quite an indicator at the size of this model in a large 1:25.

 

 

Conclusion
From both appearance and materials, this kit stands head and shoulders above other contemporary kits of Viking drakkar, by a very wide margin. Being based on the Oseberg remains, she also appears to be the most accurate of all of them too. The timbers used in the kit are stated as imitating those of the real vessel, which may have been the case, but the ships themselves were coated in tar and would’ve been quite dark. I suppose the final choice would be for the modeller. I would probably go for the tarred look. In all, I’m seriously impressed with this kit and Pavel’s determination to improve what already looked like the best kit available for this subject. All the small touches like the 3D shield bosses and the highly detailed laser carvings instead of the usual white metal fayre, really sets this apart. If you’ve ever had a thing about Viking ships or just want to build something a little different, then I really recommend this new release. 

 

*It was found that the kit had planks which were slightly too narrow to overlap properly. Pavel is now sending over replacement plank sets so I can eventually have a shot at building this lovely model kit.

 

My sincere thanks to Pavel Nikitin for sending this kit out for review on MSW. To buy directly, click the link at the top of this article.

 

 

 

[JeffT]

I can't help but wonder if the plank problem is universal or if this particular kit was a one off.

[James H]

26 minutes ago, JeffT said:

I can't help but wonder if the plank problem is universal or if this particular kit was a one off.

It was apparently for the first few, but not sure how many that means. All new purchases will be fine. If in doubt, mail them with your serial number and see if yours is affected. 

[JeffT]

Good to know. Thanks. I just bought one within the last month so it's probably good to go.

[James H]

9 minutes ago, JeffT said:

Good to know. Thanks. I just bought one within the last month so it's probably good to go.

I imagine that's very likely.

 

If in doubt, just drop Pavel an email and verify. It really looks a very sweet kit.

[JeffT]

2 hours ago, James H said:

I imagine that's very likely.

 

If in doubt, just drop Pavel an email and verify. It really looks a very sweet kit.

For sure. The parts all look to be very good quality.

[Swinging the lead]

These are excellent kits. I sent for this and the John Smith open boat. Took a while to be delivered, but considering what’s going on in there country it’s very understandable. With regards to this kit a couple of weeks after delivery I got a email informing me of the problem and replacements would be sent. These arrived about 2 weeks later. Like I said excellent kits and service. 

[Lieste]

Do you know if her lines are as reconstructed in the museum, or as more recently reconstructed by Vibeke Bischoff et al, with an adjusted stem and broadened first few thwarts... and as seen in the more recent reconstructed vessel Saga Oseberg?

[JerryC]

I have one on order

[yvesvidal]

That looks like a great kit. It is very tempting....

 

Yves

[Freebird]

In case anyone is interested, Olha Batchvarov has started building one of these, look her up on YouTube. There’s a lot of prep work in the frames and such, but looks like a good build. Her kit has the short planks and she made her own replacement parts. I’ve ordered a kit and should be here next Thursday.

 

R