Vasa by Karleop - FINISHED – Billing Boats – reviving a poorly built model

[dgbot]

Now your set for a full broadside.

David B

[schnu]

Looks impressive, the ship looks antique, how di you olden the hull planking, did it come like this because of the stain you used?

[NAZGÛL]

Looking good Karl, if doing her when she sailed you want the cannons out. What's your plan for the sails?

 

 

/Matti

[md1400cs]

Karl,

 

Nice update. You certainly are making this one. as we say here "shine". Nice work

 

Michael

Edited June 18, 2014 by md1400cs

[JanV]

Looks very good Karl, almost ready for the mast's and rigging

[Karleop]

Hola:

 

Thanks guys for your good comments, and answering your questions:

 

Schnu: the color of the hull planking was obtained with a mixture of alcohol stains (oak, walnut and magnolia - clearer and with yellowish color) in different proportions.  Sanding with a fine sandpaper and finally varnishing with a SATIN poliurethane varnish.

 

Matti: I didn´t decide yet but I will probably put the sails (depending on my sewing skills      )

 

Saludos, Karl

[Karleop]

Hola!!

 

Last update:

After some days of work I finished the rest of the masts, letting only the tops unbonded.  I did so thinking that it could subsequently facilitate the placement of the shrouds.  You can see the method I use to make them straight and how they look.

 

 

 

You can see in the pictures the masts in their positions but I have not fixed them yet.

 

 

 

Saludos, Karl

[NAZGÛL]

Way to go Karl! The profile pic really show how nice your paint job is!
 

I haven't seen ropes around the foremast before, only the mainmast being made in many pieces. Your way looks nice.
 

You are at a higher gear than me.

/Matti

Edited June 22, 2014 by NAZGÛL

[Karleop]

Hola Matti,

 

you are absolutely right, seeing the original ship, the 1:10 model and the Clayton model the foremast do not have the ropes around, however I didn´t notice that detail and I was just following the BB plans (also the same rope appear in the Corel and in the Vasa model at the Berlin museum).  Now I already glue the masts and will leave it as it is.

 

Saludos, Karl

[schnu]

I am sure that if the son and his father from whom you got this kit see the ship now they will be amazed by their failure and your succes, 

[NAZGÛL]

Yeah it looks great!

 

 

/Matti

[dgbot]

You really came all the way. It looks great

David B

[HIPEXEC]

Wow! Looks great!

[Karleop]

Hi folks:

 

The day has come!!

 

After gluing the masts in position I begin with the rigging process.  The first step was to put the holding ropes of the masts, the ones that are behind the shrouds.  You can also see one of the the estays but are laid only to see how they look.

 

 

Next I will begin with the shrouds.

 

Saludos, Karl

[dgbot]

Keep it up. You are getting there.

David B

[NAZGÛL]

Wow, it looks great! We are at the same stage. Good , I can now cheat and look at you.

[Karleop]

Hola Matti

I would prefer to be the other way around, so I can follow your valuable details.  Anyway, the main thing is to have fun doing the model.

 

Saludos,Karl

[Karleop]

Hi guys:

 

Now I am in the process of doing the shrouds. As you all know, implies much more work that it seems at first sight and they consume great time.  But this is nothing comparing with the more or less 900 knots for the ratlines that I will do later!!!

 

In the first picture you can see the two methods I used to do the shrouds, preferring the double one in order to reduce the thickness over the mast.

 

 

So far there has not been much problem with the instructions but I approach a twilight zone with the rest of the rigging, since the BB instructions are somewhat confusing and there are differences with the 1:10 model of the Vasa Museum, also with the Clayton´s model and with the Corel pictures I already saw.

 

Saludos, Karl

 

 

[NAZGÛL]

Great, very nice Karl!

 

Thing is that I'm pretty sure there will be new information about the rigging in the upcoming Vasa II book so the best source for information isn't available just yet. At the same time, I guess there has to be some degree of choice or guessing when building a kit as the original rigging didn't survive.

 

I've read the deadeyes where not red, it's an old guess from the 60:ies, and they repainted the ones on the 1:10, but seems to have left some of them red. They where untreated or may have been lightly tarred.

 

 

/Matti

Edited July 6, 2014 by NAZGÛL

[Karleop]

Hola Matti:

 

Good to hear from you, I thought you were on vacation or too busy to be in the forum.

 

About the color of the deadeyes I think like you, who were yet neutral color or tarred but,  besides I already painted them, I think they combine nice with the rest of the ship.

 

About rigging, I think I'll do a mixture between BB instructions and other models according to my common sense.

 

Saludos, Karl

[marktiedens]

Nice work Karl. I am doing the same thing with my rigging as the Sergal rigging plans are pretty much a waste of paper.The Corel plans are much better but there are some differences I am finding by looking at other builds like Clayton`s. Sounds like the Vasa rigging book may not be out for a long time yet & I don`t really want to wait that long.There are enough inaccuracies in my build that a few wrong lines won`t be noticeable anyway.

 

/Mark

[amateur]

I don't know how the Corel is for the Wasa, but for a contemporaneous ship (Prins Willem) they are sometimes completely off....

Quite a few modern (English) rigging solutions, in stead of 17th century rigging.

 

Jan

[Ulises Victoria]

Me quito el sombrero (Hats off) at what you are doing with this trashed kit. At first it seemed a hopeless attempt, but now you are building a masterpiece out of a piece of junk.

 

Felicidades!!!

[Karleop]

Hola Mark,

 

It appears that you are having the same problem as me, saying that, I think the better solution is what we consider the most accurate and forgetting doing the exact replica of the rigging, because, as Matti said, the original rigging didn´t survive.  Seeing your advances I am happy that you are ahead of me, so I can see your solutions     

 

Saludos, Karl

[Karleop]

Que tal Ulises:

 

Thank you very much for your kind words. As you know, at first I began this project as an experiment but then I liked the ship and their challenges and now I am trying to do my best to finish it.

 

Muchos saludos, Karl

[amateur]

Actually, the Billings kit (although not a very good kit by itself) is making a fairly good model of the Wasa.

Hull dimiensions seem to be better than eg. the Corel and Sergal-versions.

 

Jan

[Karleop]

Hola Jan

 

Thanks for your comments and I agree with you that comparing with other models the BB appears to be the more accurate in hull dimensions, details of deck as well as on ornamental figures (plastic).  The bad things are the poorly made instructions and plans and some of the materials.

 

Saludos, Karl

[Karleop]

By the way, and talking about BB materials, the mooring bollards are extremely fragile and in some moment I broke two of them.  So thinking of doing new ones I had the alternative of doing them of 1/16" plywood or trying with "Plastiacero" (steel plastic-paste) using the same plywood frame were the pieces come in first place as a template.  I decided for the latter method achieving more resistant pieces.

 

 

Saludos, Karl

[md1400cs]

Karl,

 

Super nice update. Your rigging work is very nice.

 

Michael

[JanV]

For the Corel the instructions are also very poor. The rigging plan however seems to be better. But to be sure we have to wait for the updated drawings from the museum( expexted end of this year)