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VASA 1628 (De Agostini)

Lucius

Lucius

Joined
May 21, 2018
Messages
341
Points
373

Location
Leverkusen, Germany
Hello everybody,

The model is built to a scale of 1:65 using a subscription kit from de Agostini. In contrast to the original De Agostini kit, the panelling, keel, rudder and all visible timbers (as far as possible) are made of pear wood. I also tried to incorporate details from Wolfram zu Mondfeld's construction plans. I could have saved a lot of money if Artesania Latina had come out with the complete kit 6 months earlier. So it just becomes a subscription kit.
Again, I do not claim to build a ‘museum model’ that is exactly modelled on the original. It will contain errors (mostly from the figures) but I personally don't think they are that bad. Descriptions of the construction steps will be sporadic, as pictures usually say more than words.
I wish you a lot of fun and hope I can help some of you to enjoy our hobby. The construction report is again written in the ‘past’. This means that I am already a bit further along than previously shown here.
So let's start with the first 10 pictures.

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To be continued

Greetings
Rüdiger
 
Hallo Rüdiger,
I am so happy to hear from you and to see a new project - a highly interesting project
Great to have you back on our forum
 
Hello Everyone,
Thank you very much for your feedback. I really wanted to build the VASA after seeing the pictures from Dockattner (Ships of Scale Forum) and Foxtrott (Segelschiffmodellbau.com). But unfortunately there were no models I was interested in. I am not a good carver and with about 450 figures I would not have finished the model. The figures were available in China in wood, but they were too expensive and not affordable for me. So I ended up with the De Agostini kit, which still contained a lot of mistakes. The figures were all included, but there were many deviations from the Wolfram zu Mondfeldt plan. I will go into this in more detail later in the build report.

Greetings
Rüdiger
 
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Just a word on sources for Vasa. I would stay far away from the zu Mondfeld plans and book, they contain multiple errors, from hull form to armament to details of construction. I have an annotated copy where I have found an average of three or more errors per page. We, the Vasa Museum, provided the drawings and a lot of other digital detail to de Agostini (really to the kit manufacturer, Artesania Latina) and assisted them with some aspects of kit design, so I would say that the kit is reasonably accurate, with most of the deviations resulting from the practical requirements of producing a buildable kit in their partworks format. There are over 780 sculptural elements on the ship, and making a kit that reproduces each one accurately, since nearly all are unique, is impractical, so AL had to compromise and find ways to reuse moulds for sculptures that are similar enough. Generally speaking, they have the right sculptures in the right places according to the most recent research we were able to supply, so I would not worry if it disagrees with zu Mondfeld.

The rigging of the kit is drastically simplified, since the kit is not aimed at advanced builders. If you want to improve on this, you can get the book we recently published on the rigging with drawings of all of the different types of spars, blocks, deadeyes parrels, etc., as well detailed tratement of rope and sails.

Good luck with the kit! This forum is a good resource as you build, since there are people here who have produced excellent models of Vasa and solved a lot of the challenges of building such a complex ship.

Fred
 
Hallo Rudiger,

I have been a fan of your work since I joined the forum several years ago. I built this kit as my first ship model and had a lot of fun along the way. I didn't know enough about ships at the time to attempt an historically accurate model - and I know I would never be able to teach a master builder like yourself anything - but I do have a nearly bottomless well of images that might be helpful. If you ever have a need, please feel free to send me a message, or post something on your build report, and I will try to supply what I have. I also have a table on rope sizes - along with one possible solution to belay points. My rigging should be pretty close (though it was completed prior to the publication of Vasa II) as I was taking the build more seriously at that point. Otherwise, I'll just be cheering you on. She is a beautiful ship when completed!
 
Hello everyone,

and here are the next pictures. The first planking was finished and the new keel parts made of pear were glued on. And then the first problem arose. The gun ports were marked and it turned out that they were all in the wrong place. I transferred the positions from the VASA plan from Wolfram to Mondfeld and had to correct them again later.

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To be continued

Greetings
Rüdiger
 
Dear Mr Hocker,

Thank you very much for your encouraging words. I realized that I wouldn't be able to build a Vasa based on the model. But I still want to get as close as possible. That's why I've bought other literature in addition to von Mondfeld. I think there's a nice compromise between the documents I have and the original on the model. Through my visit to your museum, I have of course enough picture material which I use very often to get further. Concerning rigging and sails, I still have a lot of time to make myself smart. Let's see how this turns out.

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With kind regards
Rüdiger
 
Hello everyone,

Somehow I don't have it with sensible plans. First it was the Le Requin where there were errors and now the Vasa. I should probably change my hobby. I bought books and paid a lot of money for them. And now? Somehow I'm slightly frustrated and don't feel like continuing at the moment. Where can I find reasonable plans for the Vasa for affordable money? I'm not a person who writes to museums to get plans. Why does every book say something different? The book Vasa 2 by Fred Hocker is also no bargain (92,- to 100,- Euro) and would also be too late. The hull is finished with all the decorations. I'm not going to change it any more. So I have another “wrong” ship. But don't worry, I'll continue the building report and I'll think about the rigging, which is also very simplified. At worst, there will only be one hull model (looks great on Foxtrot) Please don't get me wrong, I love my hobby, but I had to get this off my chest.

Greetings
Rüdiger
 
It's a shame to hear that you're frustrated, Rüdiger. But I'm sure that despite all the difficulties, you'll create a great model. When I look at Le Requin, it's a model for me and it turned out wonderful.
 
Hello everyone,

the frustration is over again. Here are the next pictures. The first planking was finished and sanded. Work has now started on the deck (planking etc.) as the the pear-shaped mouldings for the second planking have not yet been delivered.

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to be continued

Greetings
Rüdiger
 
Lucius said:
Hello everyone,

Somehow I don't have it with sensible plans. First it was the Le Requin where there were errors and now the Vasa. I should probably change my hobby. I bought books and paid a lot of money for them. And now? Somehow I'm slightly frustrated and don't feel like continuing at the moment. Where can I find reasonable plans for the Vasa for affordable money? I'm not a person who writes to museums to get plans. Why does every book say something different? The book Vasa 2 by Fred Hocker is also no bargain (92,- to 100,- Euro) and would also be too late. The hull is finished with all the decorations. I'm not going to change it any more. So I have another “wrong” ship. But don't worry, I'll continue the building report and I'll think about the rigging, which is also very simplified. At worst, there will only be one hull model (looks great on Foxtrot) Please don't get me wrong, I love my hobby, but I had to get this off my chest.

Greetings
Rüdiger
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. Museums do not provide detailed information to the public without cost and they usually do not respond to requests. When they do have publications, they are expensive, but worth it. I have an expensive copy of Hendrik Busmann's book in German on the topic of the decorations on HMS Sovereign of the Seas. When my ship model is complete, I plan on selling it to the next modeler to recover some of my money. Occasionally a member here will sell books on topics we are interested it, but it means a long wait, usually years. There are some members here who have access to ship information which is not published, and their contributions are pure gold to us hobbyists.

It's important to remember that 80% of the work on build accurate ship models is research, collecting information (wherever you can find it), and reading books (ones you can find and afford) and forum messages, and planning the sequence of building steps so nothing is skipped or made inaccessible. The remainder is actually building the model.

I defer you to asking Fred Hocker for advice on details, and looking at Paul Kattner's (@dockattner ) build log, since he paved the way starting with the DeAgostini model as a basis like you did. LINK
 
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Hello Kurt,

Thank you very much for your contribution. I have already added the link to the construction report from Dockattner. It is his fault that I am building my VASA. The link to the picture gallery is worth its weight in gold for me. You can see a lot of things there that I can also incorporate into my model.

Greentings
Rüdiger
 
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