Hanse Kogge 1278 by Ferrus Manus - Revell/Zvezda - 1/72 - PLASTIC - Based mostly on the Stralsund Cog

[Ferrus Manus]

This image comes from @Louie da fly's Pinterest page, where he compiles primary sources regarding ships from the Middle Ages. I have repeatedly stated how helpful he and his primary sources are, so I don't see any more need to go on further. 

This sigil depicts a cog of the Hanseatic Leage, from the German city of Stralsund, circa 1278. We will be basing our ship primarily on this source, and multiple modifications will be made. The kit I have purchased is technically the "Crusader Cog" version of the original Revell kit from 2008, re-released by Zvezda. Either way, all of the parts for the original Hanse Kogge came in the box. While this won't be a perfect reconstruction of the ship, I want to check all the major boxes. 

 

We will also be using the book "Cogs, Caravels and Galleons" by Richard Unger as a source. 

[Louie da fly]

Hi Ferrus! I'd also refer you to the Bremen cog (c. 1380), the best preserved of all the cog wrecks. Google it for images - there are so  many wonderful details in the photos, such as the windlass. I seem to recall she also had a capstan, but I can't see it in any of the photos, so perhaps I'm wrong. And here are three deadeyes from the same vessel - they're described as blocks but they're obviously deadeyes. 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

@Louie da fly That was going to be one of my other questions, hearts or deadeyes for the shrouds. While the Bremen Cog is over a hundred years younger than the Stralsund Cog, it should be expected that both should share similar rigging patterns. However, the shapes of the upper works of the two ships are completely different. 

Another thing is that the deck planks on my cog are laid parallel to the keel, rather than the Viking-style "removable planks" design. Is there any real evidence either way? To my sensibilities, it seems as though the through-beams present on many examples of cog iconography are indicative of traditionally laid parallel planks (see the Mataro Nao as an example). 

Edited yesterday at 06:15 PM by Ferrus Manus

[Louie da fly]

Interesting question. I was actually surprised to find true deadeyes as early as 1380 - I hadn't thought they'd been developed by that time, and contemporary illustrations (yes, I know they're not necessarily reliable) don't show them at all. I'm afraid you'll have to decide for yourself whether the Stralsund cog had them.

 

Regarding deck planks, I doubt that the Viking method of planking was also in use further south - certainly the framing is completely different. The only planking apparently found on the Bremen cog was on the afterdeck, and its side to side, not fore and aft. The orlop(?) deck beams can also be seen, and they are oriented such that the planking would also be side to side.

 

I don't think the through-beams can be relied upon as a gauge of the planking direction, as the attached photo shows - they don't seem to have any relation to the planking. Personal opinion, however - in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I would be quite happy with the idea of the main planking running fore and aft.

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

I have a counter-point regarding your assessment about the planks. The entire Northern Tradition is descended directly from viking vessels, and furthermore, without much evidence from the Bremen Cog, I also think the planking question remains unsolved. Bjorn Landstrom seems to argue throughout the cog section of "The Ship" for the traditionally-laid parallel plank approach. His book, however, was written a year prior to the discovery of the Bremen Cog. Another point is that the Stralsund Cog is closer in time period to the Nef than it is the Bremen Cog. You could expect a few things like planking and rigging to be more similar to nefs than they would be to later cogs. That's almost like using the Bremen Cog as an authoritative source for a model of a ship from 1480, which you can't really do. I might go the heart route when it comes to the shrouds and stay. 

 

I'm already going to be doing a bunch of scratchbuilding for this project; I'm not building an entirely new deck. You should definitely follow this, as your input will be more than helpful as it usually is. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

Here's what we have to work with as far as the hull is concerned. I can already think of a few things we need to do to the hull before we can even start in earnest. Firstly, I intend to fill the holes for the futtock riders, as they aren't present on the Stralsund Ship. We will keep the smaller riders at the fore and aft (although not on the Stralsund Ship) as they will be used as sheaves for the sheet and tack lines. One really egregious thing Revell did is have the modeler attach the shrouds to the futtock riders, although that system isn't present on the ship from the Elbing Seal (1350) which the ship is based on. We're going to add a short stringer across two of the deck knees in order to anchor the shrouds. 

The second thing that needs to be done is to remove those crappy excuses for timberheads at the bow and replace them with scratchbuilt card alternatives. 

[Ferrus Manus]

17 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

I seem to recall she also had a capstan,

The Bremen Ship has a mounting for the capstan on the sterncastle deck. No one knows how it was used. My ship has a capstan at the fore to weigh the anchors and a windlass at the aft to raise the yard. 

[Ferrus Manus]

Here's where we are so far. 

I've built the rest of the stempost and sealed many of the holes in the ship. I opted also to putty over the holes in the interior stringer for the cleats on which the sheets and tacks belay. I wanted instead to belay those lines (as well as the braces) on scratchbuilt kevels. 

I also sanded off the molded timberheads. In addition, I did something pretty radical- I built up the stand to set the ship on as a kind of build board, which we will paint when the model is finished. The point of this was to make construction easier and keep the hull off of the table, something that tends to ruin hulls. 

This brings me to the question of how to make the anchor stowing architecture. On a ship with a simple stop cleat (like the Santa Sofia) you can find a way to stow the anchor on deck. This doesn't work on this ship, as the anchor ropes run through hawse holes in the bow. 

This brought me to two potential solutions. The stowing architecture could either be in the form of timberheads that stick up from the frames, or knightheads that are fastened inside the gunwale and would, on a real ship, go straight down to the keel. Both solutions produce essentially the same effect.