Oseberg Viking Ship by Jack P - FINISHED - Billing Boats - 1/25 Scale - 9th Century - (Modified)

[gjdale]

Great work Jack!

 

Re the photography tips, I think if you just creat a new topic under "tips and tricks", the Mods will move it if they think appropriate. Perhaps if you put a note in the first sentence inviting the Mods to do so, it will grab their attention. It would be shame not to share your wealth of knowledge on this subject more widely.

[jastrząb]

Very nice model The rivets look perfect. The colour is also outstanding. Are you going to modify the shields attached to the kit?

Regards,

Paweł

[OzSatyr]

Just discovered your log and will join in for the journey.  The Oseberg is one I saw when I first started looking at kits and thinking, "that might be fun".  It looks like you're well on your way to producing a model to be proud of.  The decking must've taken a lot of patience, and a few mighty oaths, to complete.

[dgbot]

Great looking model and nice photography.  Makes me want to chuck my SX120 for a Rebel.  But calmer heads always come into play.  Your talent in both are a major plus.

David B

[Jack Panzeca]

H

 

Up and down as with everything in life.

My one action so far is one drilled hole for the rudder, and i did it wrong, so it took over a hour to correct it. I suck at this.

 

Nails for the shield? Amati 4134/57, they had a diameter of 0.8 mm and therefore had horribly large heads, totally unusable. I didn´t know that you could blacken brass, so maybe i will try this nail thing again. How exactly did you do the blackening? I have found four billion different ways on the Internet, rather confusing... You did good by the way.

 

The spacing between the nails you name on the original ship to be 20 cm, were did you find this information? I have a vague memory about it being 40 cm, but i am probably wrong.

The head size of your nails, they are usually not printed, do you know it? 1mm or something like that?

 

Lots of questions, i hope i am not pestering you too much.

Hi Von_Kossa,

 

Sorry about the oops!  I have had my share of mistakes and re-dos, I just fix it and forget it as soon as possible.

 

I was not planning to use nails on the shields.  I really like the look of your shields (post #23 and 25 of your log).  What did you use for the center ornament?

 

The nail head diameter for the plank nails is 1.62 mm.  They could be a little smaller but they really look good the way they are.

 

To blacken brass I use a product called Blacken It from Micro Mark.  It is similar to the acid mix used to blacken guns.  Take a look at this link http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1167-using-blacken-it/.

 

I got the spacing of the plank nails from two places.  I have used two books and numerous internet locations to research the Oseberg.  The books are:

 

 

I got 18 cm from the second book here and I got 8 inches (about 20 cm) from a web site.  I was unable to find it again.  I did a test to see if the 20 cm or if 40 cm looked better at this scale and the results are below.

 

 

 

Everyone who looked at the test agreed that the closer spacing looked best.  I did increase the spacing from 8 mm to 10 mm just to compromise a little and save a few holes.  The references in both the book and the website were not Oseberg specific but general to shipbuilding of the time and place.  You may be right about the Oseberg.

 

Please let me know if I can help.

[Jack Panzeca]

Great work Jack!

 

Re the photography tips, I think if you just creat a new topic under "tips and tricks", the Mods will move it if they think appropriate. Perhaps if you put a note in the first sentence inviting the Mods to do so, it will grab their attention. It would be shame not to share your wealth of knowledge on this subject more widely.

Hi Grant,  thanks again.  I will gather my thoughts on depth of field and try them out on you first and then combine them with the first PM  and open a thread in "Tips and Tricks".  

 

Hello Pawel, Thanks for dropping by and for the kind words.  I hate the shields included in the kit.  Please check post 142 on page ten of this log to see what I have done.  I am still looking for an appropriate center ornament and trying to decide what to do with the edges of the shield.

 

Hi Ulli,  Great to have you aboard.  This is a fun project but you are so right about both the patience and the oaths.  I cut and fitted the planks and laid them into place.  Every time I touched the ship the planks would jump into the next space or further, sometimes the floor.  I could not glue them in place because I had just decided to do the nails and I wanted to keep access to the inside of the hull until that was finished.  So I bagged them up for a while until this weekend and now they are permanently in place, at least I hope so.

 

Hey David B, thanks for the encouragement.  The shots on the black background are shot with a Canon 5D Mark lll but the workbench shots are with a Canon PowerShot S110.  It takes beautiful images and gives the photographer a great deal of control.  I started this log with the big camera and it was really difficult to handle with all the clutter of the workbench.  Also, the sanding dust was not good for it.  The PowerShot is small and sits on the edge of the bench ready when needed.  It is closed tight when the power is off and wakes up in a few seconds when it is time for action.

[Von_Kossa]

Hi!
 

H
 
Hi Von_Kossa,
 
Sorry about the oops!  I have had my share of mistakes and re-dos, I just fix it and forget it as soon as possible.

 
In my case it is not soon enough, i have a tendency to get stuck.
 
 

I was not planning to use nails on the shields.  I really like the look of your shields (post #23 and 25 of your log).  What did you use for the center ornament?

 
Viking shields had a very distinct look. As you are probably aware by now. A typical shield buckle looked like this:

 
So i ordered this and this, i took the photos this morning with my mobile before going to work, looks like sh*t but it works.


 
As you can see i first bought a furniture nail with a diameter of 6,5 mm, bought here in Sweden in Bauhaus.
But the ring around it was still missing. So after some serious digging i finally found my ring in a german hobby webstore.
It was very difficult to find a shim that would fit and have the correct scale.
But finally i found Manufacturer: Serpent, Article number: 411224, Rear Axle Shim, 6,5x,8,0,25.
 
And the result looked like this:

 
 

The nail head diameter for the plank nails is 1.62 mm.  They could be a little smaller but they really look good the way they are.

 
Thanks.
 
 

To blacken brass I use a product called Blacken It from Micro Mark.  It is similar to the acid mix used to blacken guns.  Take a look at this link http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/1167-using-blacken-it/.

 
Thanks again.

 

I got the spacing of the plank nails from two places.  I have used two books and numerous internet locations to research the Oseberg.  The books are:
 
Oseberg -04-19-2014 124.jpgOseberg -08-18-2014 320.jpgOseberg -08-18-2014 321.jpg
 
I got 18 cm from the second book here and I got 8 inches (about 20 cm) from a web site.  I was unable to find it again.  I did a test to see if the 20 cm or if 40 cm looked better at this scale and the results are below.
 
Oseberg -07-16-2014 312.jpgOseberg -07-16-2014 313.jpg
 
Oseberg -07-16-2014 310.jpgOseberg -07-16-2014 311.jpg
 
Everyone who looked at the test agreed that the closer spacing looked best.  I did increase the spacing from 8 mm to 10 mm just to compromise a little and save a few holes.  The references in both the book and the website were not Oseberg specific but general to shipbuilding of the time and place.  You may be right about the Oseberg.
 
Please let me know if I can help.

 

I will have to look into this...

 

[Dee_Dee]

Jack! 

 

Oh no!  Please tell me I didn't jinx you!  But all looks well!  I love the stained oak color!  I need to experiment with stains to get a similar color for the floor planks on my build. 

 

In regards to nails for the shield ornamentation, after seeing Von Kossa's photo, I would like to suggest "Nifty Notions appliqué pins".  They're made from nickel plated steel, the head measures 1.20mm with a slightly domed shape and the shaft is 0.50mm.  The 1/2" long pins are hard to find, but the 3/4" long pins are available.  You can find these at specialty quilting stores and I've seen on ebay, a box of 200 pins cost ~$8.  

 

Your drilling 30 holes and then adding 720 nails, gave me the courage to cut off a section of my planked keel and replace it with a stern stem! 

 

Dee Dee

[Vivian Galad]

Major update. Loved, really loved the stain - got that aged look, but not too much, as a seasoned ship :im Not Worthy: . You´ve made a great job so far. I fell in love with this ship, by the way

[Jack Panzeca]

Hello Von_Kossa,

Thanks for the help with the shields.  I saw on your log that you will space the nails at 10 mm.  You will be happy with it.  It really looks great.

 

Hi Dee Dee, 

Absolutely not your fault.  I am the old guy with the out of date rubber bands.  Thanks for the tip on the pins.  Also, thanks for the kind words and encouragement.

 

Good Evening Vivian,

Thanks for the help picking the stain earlier and all the encouragement.  I agree the lines of this ship are really special.  

 

Thank you to all the "likes" out there it is comforting to know that you are watching.

[flying_dutchman2]

The boat looks great and agree, I love the color of the stain. The nails look neat as well.

Marc

[Von_Kossa]

Hi!

 

Did you use water based or oil based stain?

After the staining process, should you protect it with enamel paint?

 

And finally, what stain did you decide for in the end?

 

I am running out of things to hide behind, soon i must stain the ship. Scary.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Von_Kossa

[Jack Panzeca]

Hi!

 

Did you use water based or oil based stain?

After the staining process, should you protect it with enamel paint?

 

And finally, what stain did you decide for in the end?

 

I am running out of things to hide behind, soon i must stain the ship. Scary.

It is oil based stain and I finished with a coat of Minwax Wipe On Poly. The stain I used is General Finishes "Spiced Walnut".

 

I did have a difficult time getting it to stain evenly. I ended up thinning the stain 50/50 with mineral spirits.

 

[Jack Panzeca]

The boat looks great and agree, I love the color of the stain. The nails look neat as well.Marc

Thanks Marc, I stained the deck twice. It was blotchy the first time so I sanded it back to raw wood and did it again. It came out much better the second time. More pictures soon.

[dragzz]

u have doing vary well geat work u have done so far keep it going

[Von_Kossa]

It is oil based stain and I finished with a coat of Minwax Wipe On Poly. The stain I used is General Finishes "Spiced Walnut".

 

I did have a difficult time getting it to stain evenly. I ended up thinning the stain 50/50 with mineral spirits.

 

image.jpg

 

Thank you. I have not even decided if i want the ship light or dark yet.

 

This, Wipe on Poly, what is it? Some sort of plastic cover?

Edited August 26, 2014 by Von_Kossa

[Jack Panzeca]

Hello dragzz,

 

Thanks for dropping by and the kind words of encouragement.

[Jack Panzeca]

Thank you. I have not even decided if i want the ship light or dark yet.

 

This, Wipe on Poly, what is it? Some sort of plastic cover?

 

 

It is polyurethane clear finish.  You can wipe it on like stain.  I used the satin finish because I do not think shine is appropriate for this model.  When it is finished I will decide if a coat of Testors Dullcote is needed.

[Jack Panzeca]

I have been working on the shields.  Finding the right center ornament has been very time consuming.  I settled on cone head Hungarian hob nails.  The shield on the left is supplied in the kit.  The hob nails are next in the image below.  I cut the head off and ground it close to flat.  The construction of the new shields is documented earlier in the log.  To finish them off all that was done is to ease the edges, glue the nail head onto the center and odd a coat of wipe on poly without stain.  I did tests and the poly alone worked best on the mahogany.  The hob nails were right size and crudeness for a ninth century shield.

 

 

I finished 8 of them and here is how they will look on the ship.

 

[Vivian Galad]

The preocupation with something as the central ornament of a shield pays off when your build is finished and details speak of accuracy for you. Great work!

[Jack Panzeca]

Hi Vivian,

 

The shields really made a difference.  And the time spent looking for the center ornament really paid off.  The oars are next but after that will come the dreaded sail.  My daughter has promised to teach me to sew but I am not holding my breath until she does.  As always thanks for the encouragement and kind words.

[Jack Panzeca]

The ship has come to a nice milestone so I decided to take some studio shots for this update.

 

 

This is what the set looks like.  I pulled out the big Spiderlite soft boxes for the shoot.

 

[gjdale]

Lovely work and outstanding photography Jack.

[GuntherMT]

Wow.. that is gorgeous.   Also, I'm way jealous of that camera setup!

[Bindy]

Just incredible Jack!!!

 

Your work on your Oseberg Viking Ship and your attention to the smallest detail has made it truly worthy of your photography skills.

 

I need to find even better adjectives than "incredible" to do it justice ...

[Keith_W]

She looks beautiful, Jack, thanks for sharing.

 

BTW, I love your RRS ballhead and L-plate for your Canon as well I couldn't recognize the tripod though!

 

Oh yes, that's a lot of cat food ...

Edited September 5, 2014 by KeithW

[Jack Panzeca]

Thanks Grant,  Brian, Bindi and KeithW for the kind words and noticing the photography.  I felt it was time for a portrait session.  

 

Hi Bindy,  Welcome Back!  We have missed you. 

 

KeithW you have great eyes.  The ball head and L plate are Really Right Stuff and the tripod is also.  The tripod is a little overkill for indoor short lens work, it's main use is for birds with a 10 pound long lens. It is a very stable platform.  

 

My 32 year old daughter moved back in and brought her 2 cats with her so the food lives under the photo set.  I guess thats what they mean by the "boomerang generation".  They leave for a while and come back again.  The admiral and I like having her around.

 

Thanks to all the "Likes" they are truly appreciated.

[cristikc]

Very mice. I like the stand for photos. Good job. Wait for new thinks from you. Cristi

[Bill Hime]

Jack,

I've spent better part of an evening reading and studying your build log. Beautiful work. I get a since of it's antiquity from the finish and photo presentation. It looks like a museum piece, very inpressed

 

Sincere Regards,

 

Bill

[Jack Panzeca]

Hello Cristi and Bill,

 

Thank you for dropping by and for the kind words, they are much appreciated.  I enjoyed visiting both your logs.

 

Cristi I admire your ability to work more than one project at a time.  I could never manage it.

 

Bill, happy that you are back in the shipyard.

 

I have been working on oars lately and real life has slowed my progress a little.  Thanks again for looking in.

 

Also, thanks to all the "Likes" they really mean a lot.