Five masted junk

The ship is called "Sha" "or sand boat" and is a flat-bottomed boat used for relatively shallow water with a shallow draft. This particular version was one of four used for the same purpose.
 
Heinrich many thanks for the info this is the first ever kit i have bought laser cut what a difference. I know some people will decry it but i like it so much i've bought another two. For people like me who are on oxygen 15 hours a day at least i will have time to finish it but limited to what i can do. I think i will try and veneer some parts the price 8.50 pounds just within my budget you can't better that. Now need to look for photos
 

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Kurt what you say regarding sails is correct sail cloth supplied is quite nice never seen such cloth before. Thanks to Heinrich for giving me a name i have found a photo on the net which i think will come in useful. Regarding the build it's not quit so easy mainly due to its small size holding part together while the glue dries will be the problem. I don't use CA fingers stick more than the parts i try to glue prefer PVA allows me time to adjust if required. Having parts pre-cut is a god send never had such a thing when i was a boy makes my old fret saw redundant. I know there are people in this forum who could make this into a masterpiece myself i will be content if i can make a nice model.

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What i was saying about holding things the transom had to be glued to the two supports but there is no way i could hold it together so as per the photos i glued a strip of balsa then sat the transom on top glued and clamped it so you see the end result. Next is the main deck which i have started to veneer but that will take a wee bit of time,individual planks. Now for a break.
 

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I am glad to see that you are making good progress Henry. Well done.
 
Deck planking finished just hope i did the right thing little better than the kit plywood haven't found a pic of the real deck to give me an idea what it should look like if anyone has one i would love to see it. Next stage is to finish the hull but don't know weather to veneer the parts before fitting or wait till after. The real boat is a working boat so i don't really know the colour of the wood i'm not building a watch so i want it to look used or maybe weathered is a better word.
 

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All is not well at first glance you might say that looks nice but really not so. The wood for stem and stern is only 1mm not ply twice i tried and twice it split so i made them from 1mm ply and that worked. Now when i fit the hull made up of 4 plates either side again 1mm thick you have to be careful i started from the top and worked my way down and that was a fatal mistake. I was so naive i just thought being pre-cut i just pressed them out and glue them on but every one is over size the lower i got the worse it got i now think would been better to work from the bottom up and fair them as i went. Once i give it a good sanding i think i can save it then re-plank with veneer which wont be easy but i'll try. So what i first thought is turning out not to be so easy.
 

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Pre-cut planks are not always a blessing. They can sometimes be a real pain in the you-know-what, and as you rightly say, it is always difficult to know when to trust the factory's efforts. On my Falkonet Leudo, they were perfect, but the garboard strake is oversized (so that you can shape it to form). So with the Leudo you HAD to plank from the top and work your way down to the garboard strake, That goes exactly against all planking rules that I have been taught which dictate that after the first four or five planks from the top, you move to the garboard.
 
Must thank you all for shown an interest it's the old adage never too late to learn abeit my case. After further reading i have begun to have a better understanding of this craft in one site it refers to it as a Whaleback Chinese junk although i don't see the connection maybe my eyes, sha-ch'uan or sand boat ( Kiangsu traders) referred to in G.R.G. Worcesters book and says only the main mast carries the fully-battened Chinese lugsail but what i want to point out is where the hull angles sharply inboard from a chine hope fully you will see in the pics below if i were to build this model from scratch i would have made half-round wales like the model below running full length in that area this is where i find it difficult in a small model i think easier on a larger model. So i have a choice to kit bash this model if i'm able to cut 2x1mm planks or just veneer wallnut or mahogany but you won't see the planks will give it deep thought over the week end. Hope you can see what mean by the hull angle.
 

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Looking nice. Always decisions to make about things along the way but if it looks right to you then go for it.
 
Just a quick update i think it looks better could have made planks but at 1:80 scale i don't think you would see them anyway still the bottom to do mahogany and walnut. Not now but soon i will be getting to the rigging but i don't have a clue how the ropes are attached dead eyes or what another small problem there is no material for the gunwales i assume these boats had them. Now need to find pic for rigging not many 5 mast'rs about.
 

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Sorry guys might be going into hospital never been right since my booster.
 
Oh gosh. I am sorry to hear that Henry. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you back soon at the shipyard working on this most interesting project.
 
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