Hanseatic Ship c. 1470 by Foremast - 1:50 scale

[augie]

The above coming from B.E., you have just received quite a complement!!!!!

[Foremast]

Thanks, Blue Ensign and thanks, Augie!

 

I'm proud that you're interested in this ship building adventure. The building of a model ... is just as a little adventure, a little voyage isn't it? There is a target, a program, a camera, there are some tools, obstacles, problems to solve, things to see .... but, above all, there are lots of new people, travel mates and friends!

 

Cheers

Alex

[michael mott]

First time looking in Alex, Very nice indeed.when you said the planks were 1.5mm x .5 mm I had to draw that size in front of me to realize just how small that is and then you tapered them!!! I will continue to follow along.

 

Michael

[Foremast]

Thanks Michael,

welcome on board of the Hansa ship! Every strip is 1,5x5 mm, not 1,5x0,5 mm. I have seen someone, in this forum, to do amazing things with very tiny stuff. I'm not able to work with so little measures, not yet!!!.

I choose a width of 1,5 mm because 1 mm was too thin to realize a correct matching between the strips and 2 mm was too large and difficult to bend, in particular in stern area.

 

Regards

Alex

[michael mott]

Oh, Thank you for correcting my thought. Now I can see better the size.

 

Michael

[Foremast]

I'll reach, soon or later, even that little size ...!!!!!  But, at the moment, it's better I stay on ordinary strips.

 

Cheers

Alex

 

 

Oh, Thank you for correcting my thought. Now I can see better the size.

 

Michael

[popeye the sailor]

that's a beautiful ship Alex.......I love the lap straking you did.......really makes that hull pop!   very very nice!

[Foremast]

Thanks, Popeye.

I tried to do a different planking and I'm glad it's appreciated.

 

Regards

Alex

Edited March 15, 2013 by Foremast

[Foremast]

Hi all,

the following series of photos will show my interpretation of a particular structure. I was fascinated by some Hanseatic ships' pictures that show a system of beams supporting the quarterdeck and the foredeck.

In the foredeck, sometimes the beams were high, just under the upper deck; sometimes they were a bit lower than the upper deck, at a middle-height between the two decks, and they supported a middle deck (gun deck, because at the same height were situated the guns). I followed this second option, more interesting, but more difficult to interpretate.

At the poop deck, as well they were at a middle height, to support guns; but because of: 1) the round shaped hull at the stern, 2) the quite large protruding part of the squared upper deck, the beams had to be necessarily placed in both directions. A main direction (from side to side) to support the largest part of the upper deck; a secondary direction, (compared to the main one) to support the protruding part of the quarterdeck.

 

Here are some of the pictures that I used for my evaluations.

 

Alex

[Foremast]

First step: shaping and laying test of fore beams. They were not squared, but rhomboidal-section made, to mantain the verticality of their sides.

[Foremast]

(continue) carving of brackets, cutting of beams, shaping of beams' edges.

[augie]

Very interesting.  Am looking forward to more progress.

 

Oh, and really nice!

[Jean-Pierre]

I really love this build, beautifully and carefully done, but also very informative.

 

I'm also quite interested in ships of that period, and I think I remember that cogs were usually represented this way until, say 1960.  The discoveries of ancient cogs like the Bremerhaven ship learned us quite a lot.  I am pretty sure that the plans for this model are from the early period, and it is interesting to note that Euromodel of Como have in their range of model kits a cog that I suspect is based on the same plans as the ones you use here.  It still makes a superb model and as the suggested date of 1470 certainly was a time of huge changes in ship building and no doubt that various types of ships existed under the same type name.

 

There is one point that was constantly modified when a ship of the Middle Ages or late Middle Ages was represented, and that is the longitudinal deck camber, which was almost always made less curved than ALL pictures show us.  And it is interesting to note that this model makes no exception, and looking at the various pictures above, you can notice that some models or pics have a much less pronounced deck camber than others.  Even that great illustratyor, Mr Landström, in his book The Ship, represents a cog and a few otherr ships of that time with a much reduced deck camber.  Just my little grit of salt.

 

Thanks for sharing this build, and happy modelling

 

JP

[Foremast]

Thanks Augie and thanks, JP

 

JP, you are raising very interesting themes! When I started this building I trusted two sets of drawings: Heinrich Winter's and Franco Gay's ones. Franco Gay is an Italian Admiral who - in the second part of 20th century - reinterpreted a few projects of "Delius Klasing" editions (the same editor of Winter), even this ship; eg. as support for upper decks, instead of beams he preferred brackets as shown in pictures # 2 and 4, above. I have also Euromodel's drawings (... to be correct, I have the whole kit, still packed...) and you're right: they are more or less Winter's ones. Plus "less" than "more": Euromodel has designed a square-stern, that I don't agree. But all this documentation was too old to be reliable. When I understood it, was too late.

During my work, I had lots of doubts. Not only about timber beams and brackets: decks (curve or horizontal?), railings (curve or horizontal?), windlasses (one, two or none?), pin-rails (yes or not?) ... and so on ... You'll see - if you'll be interested to follow this log - that this model will be (as actually is) full of mistakes. I recognized them only after new evaluations and news, but I couldn't destroy the model, hoping to do not it again. So, I have been trying to do my best, as possibile, at least in planking, painting and carving; hoping that my fantasy wasn't too much to make consider this ship as absolutely foolish.

I'm posting step by step my work to encourage opinions, criticism and comparisons. I have discovered that I like a lot medieval ships, so every contribute is an important "brick" of next "wall": another medieval ship, why not?

 

Regards

Alex

Edited March 19, 2013 by Foremast

[popeye the sailor]

nicely done........so cleanly finished out as well.  keen to see where you go next with the fore castle assembly 

[Foremast]

Hello, Popeye!

Thanks. The forecastle assembly? A trouble ... really a trouble ... These are the situations in which I would have wanted to continue my engineering studies. But, in the town that hosts the most ancient university in the western world (in Bologna, my town, the university was founded in 1089) could I perhaps love something different from the most ancient teaching that was teached there?

 

Cheers

Alex

[Foremast]

(continue) completing of the bow - knee of the head.

[Foremast]

nicely done........so cleanly finished out as well.  keen to see where you go next with the fore castle assembly 

 

I've found a couple of images that show the way for the fore castle assembly (as well, will be the poodeck). The project, first picture, was inspired by the second picture: the arrangement of a hanseatic ship replica, internal view, "Lisa von Lubeck" (middle deck and supports of the upperdeck); whose tonnage and shape are similar to my shipmodel.

 

Regards

Alex

Edited March 21, 2013 by Foremast

[popeye the sailor]

I have always wondered how these ship looked like inside..........early ships were built up at the fore and aft.   so bassically, what your working on at the moment,  equates to nothing more than internal ramparts for the armament.  I'll look forward in seeing your progress.

[Foremast]

Hello all,

these picture show the complete middle deck in the fore area. It protrudes a bit out of hull's shape because it will be connected up to the gunwale. The lateral profile of the middle deck, in fact, is also the edge of the lower external frame as shown in the paintings above.

 

Regards

Alex

[augie]

So that's how it goes.  Certainly looks sturdy and functional.  I would not have imagined that.

 

Nice work.

[popeye the sailor]

nice!!!

[Foremast]

Thanks, friends!

 

I think and hope so. If it goes by another way, I'm ready to lay my axe and leave the job of shipwright.

 

It helped me the picture of "Lisa von Lubeck" above, and also the original Heinrich Winter's project (below, some images extracted), clear enough about this aspect. I only have added middle decks: new deck at the aft, a deck instead brackets at the fore. All decks lay on beams, as shown in ancient paintings, with their (reasonable, I trust) supports ... so I think and hope something similar had existed.

 

Cheers

Alex

[Foremast]

Hello mates,

Now I propose you the second part of middle-decks realisation, in the aft area. These are pictures of the beginning. To ensure an absolute parallelism between beams, I placed them in their whole lenght, then I cut their central portion. I made no hanging knee - but only a simple vertical support - because the main deck will be here covered and only a few details will be visible. Among them, no hanging knee!

 

Also in the aft castle, the external edge of the middle deck will be joined to the bulwark's rail, so it must protrude a bit from the hull.

 

Regards

Alex

[Foremast]

Hi, avsjerome!

In my opinion, maple is an excellent wood. Not only for its strength, but also because it's easy to bend. If it's a bit wet, even the most difficult curve becomes possibile.

 

Cheers

Alex

[Foremast]

... continue ...

After pricipal beam's placing, here are the longitudinal beams. They lay on other beams, crossing them. In this way, the upper structure can be quite strenght to support the whole aft deck without risks for the Hansa ship's crew.

 

Cheers

Alex

[druxey]

A very interesting form of construction, Foremast!

[Foremast]

Thanks, druxey!

I tried to do something that had sense... And I have discovered that it's a quite resistant structure. At least, it is enough similar to what appears in the paintings, so I think this could be possible. I hope ancient Hansa shipwrights aren't angry with me ....

 

Cheers

Alex

[michael mott]

Alex it is Interesting, watching your research come together, and as you suggest it makes sense that the documents are more than just fantasy and are based on the actual observations of the artist. Nice work on the construction.

 

Michael

[Foremast]

Thanks, Michael!

 

the word "research" gives to my work more than it deserves: I'm only searching to replicate what I have been seeing in ancient paintings. If their authors painted certain details, those details had necessary been part of the ship. So, I'm trying to guess the relevance, the goal of some of them ... and I'm happy to notice, sometimes, that something makes sense !!!

With lots of mistakes: you see, I have made a round-shaped profile of the protruding upper deck. It's a great mistake and when I discovered it ... was too late to rectify. I didn't have the heart to demolish all the poop deck, so it is still there, to remember me: "pay attention".

 

Cheers

Alex