Looking for sail for Revell 1/50th scale Viking Long boat

[Big Jake]

I'm getting ready to slap together the Revell 1/50th. Viking Long Boat kit from 1977. I picked up this kit way back in1999 or so. it went under in Hurricane Katrina. salvaged it out of the mud and muck, re-boxed and stored. Some of the mods I'll make are add are the storage chests/seats, also adding cargo. But try as I might, I'm having trouble finding a pre-sewn sail. HisModel makes one but I hate to order from Europe if I don't have to. Anybody have any leads where I may find one, can anyone sew one?

When Revell produced this kit, the model accurately represents the key features of historical longships, such as their clinker-built hulls (overlapping planks), shallow draft, and ability to navigate both the open sea and rivers for raids, trade, and exploration. This model represents vessels from the 8th to 11th centuries, with the kit particularly inspired by the Gokstad ship, a real 9th-century vessel discovered in Norway. Revell did several things correct, the 'rigging blocks', the Fish (raised hump for the mast), and both the fore and after figure heads.

 

[WilliamM]

Jake,

I could replace the sail. Please let me know.

Bill

 

[Big Jake]

Thank You Bill, this is a cloth sail in the cris-cross pattern? Can you PM me a price and where I can provide payment. Jake

 

[Edmund]

Hi Jake,

you mentioned earlier about His Model from the Czech Republic and your reluctance to shop abroad. Well, I want to assure you that HisModel is a serious and reliable company that I can recommend to you. I have made many purchases from this store myself and have always been satisfied. Therefore, I can recommend this store to you with full confidence. You won't be disappointed.

Edmund

 

[Big Jake]

Edmund, I have nothing against the company, their product line is outstanding, but the added VAT tax is plus shipping is what makes me hesitant.

 

[Edmund]

Oh, you see,
the shipping costs can actually end up being higher than the price of the item itself. That can be a problem. I don't have much of an issue with that, because I live in Poland and the Czech Republic is just around the corner. That means lower shipping costs. Nevertheless, when I need any ship accessories, I always go to HisModel first.
Best regards, Edmund

 

[Jhoanor]

I am at the moment also making this model! Be aware it is actually scale 1:60 if you want to add figures. (~1:60 if based on the beam, and 1:65 if based on the length of the Gokstad ship.)
Concerning the sail, you can make it yourself from paper if I may be so free to point to my Vasa where I did that:
Vasa with sails of paper
Or why not make one yourself from a cotton handkerchief? Just glue the edge of the sail. No stitching is needed.

However I admit that I am not completely content with that sail, so on this Viking ship I wil try it with a sail of silk! But I am not there yet.
Oh, and don't use the decals for the shields. Those most probably were black and yellow (with a leather edge) on the Gokstad. But you can colour them like you like of course. Nothing is certain so anything is good.

 

[Jhoanor]

And if you need fresh instructions, you can find them here:
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-05403-viking-ship--102370

 

[Big Jake]

And if you need fresh instructions, you can find them here:
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-05403-viking-ship--102370

Jhoanor,

Thank you for the link on the instructions, I'll print a new set. I found another modeler who used the later boxed decals and did a wonderful job of it by using a 1/8" punch to cut out the center hole so they lay flat, BUT I too feel they are still to be colorful to be accurate. Unlike later periods, I'm not sure the shields were 'based' on any family crest/linages. I suppose they did try to paint them different to represent eith their god or family? There is just not a whole lot to base this on. Dr John Tilley (since passed away) did an excellent model and also painted the shields in a yellow/black alternating pattern.

Another SOS forum member Moarein has one of the best versions I've even seen.

Viking Boat - Revel - Scale 1/50

hello everyone. I started a Viking ship about a month ago. The Revell model is well known and not bad in quality. It allows for a lot of modifications, which I was happy to do. First the hull - easy to assemble. The wooden effect is achieved with beige acrylic as a base plus several layers of...

shipsofscale.com

 

[Jhoanor]

Aaah, that build conversion is a lot of work, I am far too lazy for that!
But it gives me a few good ideas! Thanks.

But according to these sites the shields were likely black and yellow, and there were indeed 64 of them:
historyblog
sciencenorway

And what he says about the anchor is not true. Stone anchors were used of course, but the one in the kit is fine.
Begin 10th century anchor:
Ladby anchor

His chests are too big though. The Oseberg Chest 178 was 62cm (top) 66.5cm (base) * 24cm (base) 21cm (top) * 31cm:
Chest
Translated to this 1:60(!) model that would mean: 10.3mm (top) 11.1mm (base) * 4mm (base) 3.5mm (top) * 5.2mm.

I made shapes in FreeCAD and printed them:

Wouldn't be a bad idea to embellish them though, but I was planning to put viking figures on them.

 

[Jhoanor]

By the way, you will never be able to do it right. There is too much not known, only suspected.
Besides, they didn't sail and row at the same time, so a sail means no oars. Or vice versa.
It is also unlikely that those shields were hung outside when sailing because it appears they have a detrimental effect:
Shields when sailing
"Test sailings with a similar shield rack have, however, demonstrated that a ship’s sailing capacity is reduced considerably when shields are mounted along its side. It is therefore probable that the shields were not mounted until immediately before military action."

 

[Big Jake]

Jhoanor, Thanks for the links, I knew of the anchor, I had found that link before, but the discovery of the chest information was new to me, I was going to cut and shape pieces of wood or plastic. Would you by chance be open to producing a set for purchase? Thanks

 

[Jhoanor]

No problem, PM me with number and prefered size if you want to see the kit as a different scale.
On a sidenote the kit shields are 15.4mm -> The Gokstads 94cm. So the shields are also scale 1:61 !
Gokstad shield

 

[Big Jake]

Jhoanor, how do you think the shields were held in place, with a bar as shown on the other build?

 

[Jhoanor]

There was no bar.
From:
The Viking Age shields from the ship burial at Gokstad
"Based on their placement, Nicolaysen suggests that 32 shields had originally hung outside on each side of the vessel between the foremost oar-port up to a little abaft the furthest sternward.
The shields overlapped so that the rim of each shield touched the boss of the next. Nicolaysen reports that they were painted either in yellow or black and posi-
tioned in alternating colours, giving the rows of shields an appearance of yellow and black half-moons. The shields had been fixed to the side of the vessel by thin bast cords that passed through the handle on the back of each shield and tied to the small quadrangular apertures in the skirting of the gunwale."

 

[Big Jake]

I read the report, thank you BTW. On page 18 it does mention a 'shield rack', but this is NOT the Gokstad boat. But the placement is at the top of the strake, not as the lower one in the model mentioned.

"The Skuldelev 5 shipwreck at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark. The ship was equipped with an external shield rack, a portion of which survives (visible to the left on the top strake).

 

[Jhoanor]

Ah yes, well, the Revell model is based on the Gokstad, it is not the Gokstad per se, so every modification is legal!