Oseberg Viking Ship (v3) by Kevin - Pavel Nikitin - 1/25 - started June 2025

[Kevin]

1:25 Drakkar ‘Oseberg’ V3

 

 

 

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.

 

copied from the kit review by @James H

 

the full review can be found here

 1:25 Drakkar ‘Oseberg’ V3 - Ships of Pavel Nikitin - REVIEWS: Model kits - Model Ship World™

 

[Kevin]

Good evening everyone

Having recently completed two large builds, Belle Poule and Indefatigable, and jumping straight in with the Santissima Trinidad, i wanted a quick build, just to reset myself, i wasnt even going to create a log, it was to be a build going on in the background, something i could play about with and if it went all wrong, no one would ever know, well what changed your mind, I hear everyone ask?  well space, to do this the ST had to be put away, therefore for as long as this takes me, the other log has to wait.

 

i bought the kit from @chris watton at Vanguard Models a few weeks ago and started her 3 days ago, so far i am real impressed, very heavy box, most of the weight though is from the MDF which makes up the two slipways, i actually built both of these up on day one, so  lets go on another of Kevin's messy and cluttered journey, as i tackle this project

[Kevin]

Day 1 building jigs

made from mdf, the instructions are easy to follow, but, not all steps are covered, and some of the parts are different shapes to that shown, ideally, the best bet is to work alongside the excellent online video

 

Jig 2 is used after the keel and frames have been removed from jig 1 the hull is turned upside-down placed on top to allow hull planking

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:07 PM by Kevin

[Ronald-V]

Good luck with this one Kevin...will be interesting to see this develop!  

[TJM]

I have v2 sitting for a future build, I will follow with interest!

[Kevin]

1 hour ago, Ronald-V said:

Good luck with this one Kevin...will be interesting to see this develop!  

 

49 minutes ago, TJM said:

I have v2 sitting for a future build, I will follow with interest!

Thanks guys, 

i believe from what @James H has said, the there is quite a difference for the better on the V3

[TJM]

Yes, I believe so. I am not sure when I will have tome to start mine, but it is not right around the corner. Perhaps I should take a loss and sell the v2 and get the new v3 instead. I will have to think about that

[Kevin]

keel

no issues with making the 2 keel/centre pieces, these are offset sections to avoid weak sports, are glued together, allowed to set and then joined together, being held in the right place by 3mm inserts 

 

Frames

21 frames numbered from the middle - zero, up to number ten fwd and aft, most of these frames 0 to 7 are made up off 4 pieces, a 5 part is added later in the build when the frames are placed in the jig, frame zero has 2 extra parts to be added later, as this forms part of the mast support.

lasered markings denote the tapering areas, which does not take long to do, apart from frame 8 which was a pain to sort out, i dont have a photo at present, but as the planking is clinkered and a lot of tapering i found getting the filing quite awkward

 

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Kevin

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  This is amazing puzzle, with pre-fairing noted on frame pieces by a second lasered line within the perimeter.  The building jigs are also engineered cleverly.  I saw another build somewhere (but can't find it again just now) that goes meticulously through each step - with some useful tips/caveats.  Other related builds of Billings Oseberg or Vikingskibbe have troubled themselves with installing riviets, yet Siggi's Gokstad recent build used a scribed line near the plank edge and pencil dots to simulate rivets effectively.

[Kevin]

4 hours ago, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

  This is amazing puzzle, with pre-fairing noted on frame pieces by a second lasered line within the perimeter.  The building jigs are also engineered cleverly.  I saw another build somewhere (but can't find it again just now) that goes meticulously through each step - with some useful tips/caveats.  Other related builds of Billings Oseberg or Vikingskibbe have troubled themselves with installing riviets, yet Siggi's Gokstad recent build used a scribed line near the plank edge and pencil dots to simulate rivets effectively.

is this the log you are referring to by @James H 'Oseberg' Viking Ship (v3) by James H - Ships of Pavel Nikitin - 1/25 - Page 2 - - Kit subjects built Up to and including 1500 AD - Model Ship World™

 

 

[Kevin]

Good evening, everyone, thank you for comments and likes

 

frames dry fitted

 

 

the keel was placed into the jig, although at this time there are is right or wrong way of doing this, i marked the jig with frame numbers and decided to write fwd on one end, 

frames are cleaned up again, and glued onto the keel, the cross member 2-5 is not fixed at this time until the stringers are in place

some time later 

day 4

having been left overnight to set the keel and fitted frames are removed from the jig, only to be put back in with the cross member clamps

shaped stringers

in place

simple yet clever way of holding down the cross members whilst the glue sets

 

as i mentioned yesterday the way frame zero goes in dictated fwd at aft of the build, now is the time

 

Mast step

out for the day

another rent a field session with the bois

and the whole assy removed from the jig

Edited 3 hours ago by Kevin

[Jim Lad]

Looking really good, Kevin.

 

John

 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

3 hours ago, Kevin said:

is this the log you are referring to by @James H 'Oseberg' Viking Ship (v3) by James H - Ships of Pavel Nikitin - 1/25 - Page 2 - - Kit subjects built Up to and including 1500 AD - Model Ship World™

 

 

  Yes, Kevin !  Thank you for the link.   By applying the planks on the next phase to notched framing, everything should fit with only minor adjustments.  The engineering in this Pavel kit is indeed remarkable. 

  The Billings Roar Ege that I've done some preliminary fiddling with has a simple building jig with smooth, un-notched forms with only laser 'tick' marks where (presumably) the top edge of each plank should go.  BUT, these marks are off (as well as the middle building bulkhead being not wide enough) - and builders typically have lapped planking trouble along the way.  The frames to put in later just don't fit right as there are gaps, etc.

  The plank shapes appear to conform to published shapes of the originals, and I was able to determine where the 'tick' marks should go on the build frame bulkheads of the Roar Ege (the middle one remade to the correct width conforming to 1:25 cross sections - enlarged from the less than model scale provided with the kit).  Still, having notched building frames would be better ... but would the actual notched ribs provide still fit after the planking is done?  So I stopped work, at that point.

  I contrast this problem with the excellent approach the kit designers of the Woody Joe Khufu barge I did a build log on some time ago.  There, they lasered the hull frames into the build bulkheads leaving small points of attachment.  So after planking, those attachment points are cut with an X-Acto to release the hull frames from the building bulkhead - which took some care and fiddling, but the result was fine. 

  So I'm thinking now that revised jig bulkheads might be fashioned for the Ege with recesses to receive the rib segments held by tape (for ease of later removal).  Then the planking will be right on the ribs, so when the jig is removed everything will have a great fit.