Red Dragon by Vivian Galad - Artesania Latina - 1:60 - modified

[Vivian Galad]

Hola, Raymond!

 

   Thank u for your words. I love the stairs, too. Took some pictures from the ship and the hold.

 

Next four pics show the hold with and without the ship.

 

 

 

 

Next 3 pictures shows the ships ladder attached to the port davit amidships closely and a bird´s view from top mast.

 

 

[Vivian Galad]

Hey, Edwin, thank you very much.

 

Popeye, rigging is right there, bending that corner. Mother of Invention came here couple of days ago, we had some green tea

[GuntherMT]

Very nice work.  Are the ladders hinged so you can actually pull them up?

[Vivian Galad]

Gunther, I´m still thinking if that will bring me joy. It should be, thouhg. Ty!

[Sjors]

Very nice Vivian.....

 

But that standard...you are using that only for the time being ?????

And when you are finished with her, you give her a nice standard of her own...... 

And clean the mess after eating the popcorn !

Before you know they are all over the place !!!!!!

 

Sjors

[foxy]

Well that's a very nice build of the Chinese Junk.

May even have a go me self some day.

 

Very nice work

 

foxy

[Salty Sea Dog]

Lol about the green tea!

 

Love what you have done with this one! The last few photos are really nice.

 

Best wishes,

Buck

[trippwj]

Looks great, Vivian! Since Sjors brought popcorn, maybe he will let you borrow his gnomes to do the rope work.

 

Beautiful ship - details are very nice!

[gjdale]

Great set of photos there Vivian.  You're doing a terrific job on her.

[Vivian Galad]

Sjors, I´m using it for building, alone. After finished, I´ll build a beautiful one, so this can hold another project. Got to keep that in mind, they were really all over the place and did give me some work before the photo shooting.

[Vivian Galad]

Foxy, junks are fun to build. Well, all ships are fun to build, but junks have this unique look. You really should try one.

 

Buck, many thanks. As for the tea, I had to keep on the mood to treat with her.

 

Wayne, gnomes would be great now. Rope work is tiresome, I have to admit - but that´s the work that give the sailing ships their looks. If Sjors can´t lend me some of them, I´ll be brave and do it myself anyways. Ty!

 

Grant, thank you. She´s a pretty model to shoot!

[popeye the sailor]

gonna look great with the rigging   very nice photos you've done there.   pretty simple and effective slip.........I used to make my own as well.  now I have one of those Billing's slips.   it's OK in the beginning.......but once you get to a certain point,  it's outlived it's usefulness .   by that time though,  I usually have built the stand,  and then I just tranfer it to the stand     it'a a great looking vessel Vivian.........really interesting!

[Vivian Galad]

Joe, since you brought the theme, I´ll put my ship where it belongs on time

 

Admiral Zheng He made his exploratory journeys in behalf of China´s Emperor Yongle. First exploratory journey was in 1405 and the last ended in 1433. Between these journeys Ming Dinasty stablished commercial routes with new countries using diplomacy, routed some pirate groups and expanded knowledge on seas and oceans. To maintain those commercial routes after Zheng He´s first contact, chinese junks sailed forth, many trade ships but also official, diplomatic ships (although westerners view the junk as a type of ship, there are many types of junks, ranging from small river junks to the treasure ships, with junks builded for particular purposes as war, diplomacy, trade, fishing, transport, leisure, etc).

 

The Red Dragon from Artesania Latina is a 17th century pirate junk - most fictional on it´s shape and functions, based on western reviews and misplaced in time. There is no link to where the ship was built, neither it´s purpose (although it should be a trader).

 

To build a ship I wanted to build I researched over a lot of texts, pictures and videos to be able to fit her on time, purpose and building location. So, my ship is a fushuan type of junk, built in Nanjing between 1415 and 1420 for diplomatic travels to southern seas. That´s why the cabin is used only by one person, while the crew sleeps on the compartments - same motive for the rudder to be isolated from the cabin (on traders it would occupy the cabin). As chinese coasts and ships were constantly attacked by wako pirates (from Japan), it´s a gunned ship (first guns on chinese junks date from this period). Cannons from this earlier days were simple, mounted on small carriages and with short range.

 

Compartments also hold gifts for good relations maintenance, mostly porcelain and silk, but other treasures as seen fit by chinese bureaucrats (statues, jewerly...). Color schemes are a foggy theme. Later Ming ships are described as red and black painted (there are few depictions, though) and I found no evidence about Zheng He´s ships being painted. For that, I don´t feel obliged to paint my ship, leaving the wood to have it´s natural colors, contrasting as the ships were built with more than one type of wood. The compartment is painted, though, as the color is part of the caulking mixture applied to the bulkheads and hull´s planks.

 

Two features are still on hold, but will be installed - the stern transom painting and the eyes on the bow. There will be no dragons depicted, but a mithical landscape and chengyus (good luck phrases) on the stern transom and dragon eyes (eyes could be dragon, phoenix or tadpole) on the bow.

 

well, that´s it ^_^

[*Hans*]

Vivian,

 

Very nice build and not a common ship! And the info you are giving is quite nice. It is also rather difficult to find the right information on how a ship looked or for what purposes it was build, but you did a great job on this!

[Sjors]

Hi Vivia,

 

After the lessons of history ( thanks for that ) I have ask my rigging Gnomes if they want to go to Brasil to help you with the rigging.

And you know what they are saying ??????

A little late master, the world championship of football is already over !!!!!!!!

But then I tell them that you are living close to the beach and they are going to a wonderful, talented, builder.....they are agree !

( so please ,say that you are living close to the beach )

 

I will put them on a plane for you.

And when you are finished, can you send them back to me ?

 

Sjors

[Vivian Galad]

Popeye, in my first build I had no slip, did it using the mdf stand that came with the kit. So, I bought one from a local manufacturer for the junk, but turned out to be too fragile. Then, I built my own. For my next project I´m developing a mdf bulkhead aligner with the holder/slip. The one which is holding the junk will be cleared for another build, soon. Want to have two projects ongoing.

[Vivian Galad]

Hans, I know it´s a bit preposterous to say "my ship is accurate" when there are no plans, more than 500 years separating me from my subject and lots of misinterpretation along the centuries. I´m building a ship over a base (the kit) and texts from monographs and books - actually, I´ve never seen a junk. I see all my efforts as a mean to better understand what I´m doing and to exercise both researching skills and ship modeling skills.

[jud]

What you are doing based on your research is probably getting as close to the true representation of that period in China as any model could. Looks good to me, but board up the front before you put a large engine in it. That lack of a bulwark for the open deck at the bow kind of indicates that they traveled pretty much with the wind and sea. Must have spent a lot of time anchored, waiting for the proper conditions, which were probably favorable only seasonally. The working Sampans and Junks I have seen, usually had a bunch of squid drying on the cabin roof to supplement their mostly rice meals. You going to model some dried squid?

jud

[Vivian Galad]

Sjors, I´m like 120km from a beach, right now, but I´m always the good host and would bring them for some caipirinhas on the beach (I know it must be a bad idea, but coming here is drinking some). I promise to treat them well and I´m already freeing some room space. Word of honor I´ll send all gnomes back with good stories to tell. :D

[Ulises Victoria]

Hola linda.

Excellent work. Every new photo is a discovery of your ingenuity.

My congratulations, linda.

[mtaylor]

Careful Vivian, with an offer like that, you'll get all sorts of strange people flying in and all them claiming to be gnomes only taller.    :D    At least you didn't mention the churrascarias (yummy!).

[trippwj]

Careful Vivian, with an offer like that, you'll get all sorts of strange people flying in and all them claiming to be gnomes only taller. :D At least you didn't mention the churrascarias (yummy!).

Exactly how tall is a gnome? I know where we can get pointy hats...

 

Vivian - thank you for sharing the background on your ship. You have done her justice!

[*Hans*]

Exactly how tall is a gnome? I know where we can get pointy hats...

 

 

Well - about 6 feet??  1 meter 80 at a max?

[Vivian Galad]

Jud, as my junk is an "elitist" one, no squids to dry on her. The dignitary traveling in the ship wouldn´t be pleased by such an insolence, it seems. I would love to build a diorama, though, with some traders and fishers, drying squids and fishes, nets all around. Have found some pictures of something like that:

 

(don´t have the credits for it, but it´s so great a model)

[Vivian Galad]

Joe, my many thanks. I´m enjoying both research and building - but it seems everyone does enjoy the same. Part of the craft, I would say.

 

Ulises, obrigada, amigo.

 

Mark, I would take gnomes, elves and trolls with the same hospitality - and if they want some churrasco (brazilian barbecue), have some churrascarias really close to home (there are at least 10 in my city, lol). :P :P

 

Wayne, thank you. Only thing I want from the gnomes is help with the ropes, all types of gnomes accepted.

[Sjors]

Vivian,

 

I think that Wayne means that the Gnomes are look a like's from me       

And I wanna taste that churrasco ( picture of that please ? )

 

Sjors

[*Hans*]

I can imagine this churrasco is pretty spicy (at least it sounds so).

 

Or isn't Brazilian food that spicy?

[Vivian Galad]

Hans, as I said, I´ll take any gnomes, regardless of color, height, weight, nationality, religion, political view and hobby preferences, since they help with rigging!

;)

 

Sjors, that´s valid to everyone.

 

As for the churrasco, well, that´s a barbecue - brazilian style. Many different types of meat grilled over charcoal - it begun as a gaucho tradition (from the south of our country/continent) and developed into a national passion. Churrascaria is the typical restaurant which serves churrasco. In a churrascaria you eat as much as you can have - meats come at your table every 30 seconds or so. Pictures follow, as solicited (hope everybody be well fed at this moment):

 

The way it´s prepared:

 

 

The way it´s served:

 

 

And the caipirinha, a drink made from pinga (a strong sugar cane spirit), sugar, lemon and ice.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Vivian Galad

[Vivian Galad]

Hans, Brazil has many regions and many regional food. Southern Brazilian food isn´t spiced, while northern is. For my taste, I do love peppers, the stronger the best - I have some Bhut Jolokia for daily use... lol

[GuntherMT]

Well..  now I'm hungry.