HIGH HOPES, WILD MEN AND THE DEVIL’S JAW - Willem Barentsz Kolderstok 1:50

Heinrich said:
Dear All. This reminds me of the good old days when I would go to sleep in the evening and come back the next morning only to find that I missed out on a most passionate discussion about our hobby. Reading all the posts and following the discussions, once more made me deeply aware of just how passionate and opinionated (meant in the nicest possible way) we all are about model shipbuilding. And the best thing of all is that this discussion would never have taken place if we weren't concerned about and only wanted the best for its future. With members like you guys, I have a feeling that wooden model ship building is a l-o-n-g way off from becoming an obsolete and irrelevant pastime.

What is more, it has motivated me to continue my research on the history of the WB (whenever time permits) until I have either exhausted all possibilities or found the proof to what I know. Thank you all for this - you guys are the best!
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Heinrich, as you know I just made a light hearted comment based on the fact that I know you don’t use power tools, except for a drill!
You could however switch to a mechanical pencil sharpener for your yards! ROTF Sorry I couldn’t resist! ;)
Unfortunately it escalated, and had I known that people would so passionately justify their use of power tools for modeling, I would never have said anything. :(
My apologies…
 
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Heinrich said:
Dear Friends

As a means to take a break from shaping the yards, I decided to make a start on the mizzen sail.

View attachment 388106
This is what the Kolderstok-supplied sails look like and it's really a pretty straightforward operation to start with. I removed the backing paper and cut out the mizzen from the sheet with my much-used X-Acto obviously following the line on the outside of the indicated fold over edges. Afterwards, the edges were wet with diluted white PVA glue, folded over, pressed into position and left to dry.

View attachment 388107
I am quite happy with the first few steps, but now it is over to Admiral Anna for the stitching. But therein lies also the problem. She is on dad duty in the hospital today (Saturday) so she will only return very late at night. Hopefully, we can squeeze some time in tomorrow.

By the way, her dad's operation was a success, and he is recovering well. Thank you all for all the well-wishes.

As a parting note, compare the color of the "completed" sail to the one that I first showed. The first one is much "whiter" in color and is a finer texture than the one I actually used. I simply compared the two sail sets of WB 1 and 2 to each other and found that I much preferred the WB 1's sails. It seems to have an almost natural stain which blends in very well with the oak wood.
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Looking good! ;)
 
Dean62 said:
Heinrich, as you know I just made a light hearted comment based on the fact that I know you don’t use power tools, except for a drill!
You could however switch to a mechanical pencil sharpener for your yards! ROTF Sorry I couldn’t resist! ;)
Unfortunately it escalated, and had I known that people would so passionately justify their use of power tools for modeling, I would never have said anything. :(
My apologies…
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Absolutely no problem, Dean. The good things is how passionate we all are about model building using whatever method may be preferred. No harm done.
 
Heinrich said:
Absolutely no problem, Dean. The good things is how passionate we all are about model building using whatever method may be preferred. No harm done.
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Good morning Heinrich. I love your log. I’ve been inactive on Sos only a few days and I come back to debate, “drama”,sail progress and the wonderful news that Anna’s Dads operation was a success. Cheers Grant
 
Dear Friends

After spending a considerable time this week looking at prospective future builds, I am still none the wiser. There was simply no project that demanded my attention in the way that the WB did. So what now? Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do on the rigging and sails of WB 2 which will keep me occupied for a good while still.

But then, after looking at Vladislav Zdhan's model of De Mercurius, I realized once more that WB #1 is actually very close to Zdhan's portrayal of De Mercurius.

1. If features the same closed canopy with the two entrance doors.
2. It has the chicken coop (protruding from the center canopy) for the helmsman.
3. The winch is in the same place underneath the front canopy.
4. The front canopy is also partially closed - De Mercurius has a fully closed front wall though.

The only thing that I won't be able to do is to create the same hull width of De Mercurius, but that's ok for now.

So, as a next project, I will see how close I can bring WB#1 to becoming De Mercurius. :D
 
Heinrich said:
Dear Friends

After spending a considerable time this week looking at prospective future builds, I am still none the wiser. There was simply no project that demanded my attention in the way that the WB did. So what now? Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do on the rigging and sails of WB 2 which will keep me occupied for a good while still.

But then, after looking at Vladislav Zdhan's model of De Mercurius, I realized once more that WB #1 is actually very close to Zdhan's portrayal of De Mercurius.

1. If features the same closed canopy with the two entrance doors.
2. It has the chicken coop (protruding from the center canopy) for the helmsman.
3. The winch is in the same place underneath the front canopy.
4. The front canopy is also partially closed - De Mercurius has a fully closed front wall though.

The only thing that I won't be able to do is to create the same hull width of De Mercurius, but that's ok for now.

So, as a next project, I will see how close I can bring WB#1 to becoming De Mercurius. :D
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Heinrich, my dear friend, your definitely and irrevocably hooked to the story/myth/saga of Willem Barentsz and all that's associated with his epic journeys.

Good to read Anna's father withstood his operation and is doing well. Thumbsup
 
RDN1954 said:
Heinrich, my dear friend, your definitely and irrevocably hooked to the story/myth/saga of Willem Barentsz and all that's associated with his epic journeys.

Good to read Anna's father withstood his operation and is doing well. Thumbsup
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Indeed, it seems like that, Johan.

I have read every single journal ever associated with Dutch Explorations: I won't be able to remember all of them off the cuff, but they include: the full spectrum of Van Linschoten's works, Obdam, Neck, Booth, Dirck Pomp, Nay, May, Bontekoe, Hamel, Hudson etc. etc.

In every single one of them every single ship that was even remotely associated with a particular journey was mentioned. Never was there information missing, never did a ship go nameless, never was a captain's journal lost.

But - mythically - all this information pertaining to the 1596 expedition disappears and as an explanation I get told that "maybe the Dutch misplaced the information" or filed it File #13.

This is better than any mystery.
 
Heinrich said:
Dear Friends

After spending a considerable time this week looking at prospective future builds, I am still none the wiser. There was simply no project that demanded my attention in the way that the WB did. So what now? Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do on the rigging and sails of WB 2 which will keep me occupied for a good while still.

But then, after looking at Vladislav Zdhan's model of De Mercurius, I realized once more that WB #1 is actually very close to Zdhan's portrayal of De Mercurius.

1. If features the same closed canopy with the two entrance doors.
2. It has the chicken coop (protruding from the center canopy) for the helmsman.
3. The winch is in the same place underneath the front canopy.
4. The front canopy is also partially closed - De Mercurius has a fully closed front wall though.

The only thing that I won't be able to do is to create the same hull width of De Mercurius, but that's ok for now.

So, as a next project, I will see how close I can bring WB#1 to becoming De Mercurius. :D
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Good morning Heinrich. I’m with Johan here. You certainly have an affinity to Barentz and his ship. Looking forward to you transforming your WB#1 into De Mercurius. Cheers Grant
 
RDN1954 said:
And what about the Duyfken? A relatively contemporary ship with an impressive history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duyfken
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Hi Johan. Kolderstok has a beautiful model of the Duyfken - in fact it was their second model (after the Batavia), but essentially it is the same type of build as the WB as would be the Halve Maen that Hans currently has under development.

Therefore, (to me) it is essentially the same kind of ship as the WB - even though the Duyfken is classified as a jaght and the WB as a vlieboot.
 
There is, of course, one ship that I have always been infatuated with and as a bonus also with its captain. If this was available as a kit, I would not hesitate - in fact, this is my all-time holy grail:

BREDEROODE 1644

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The_Brederode_(1646)_a_study_by_Willem_van_de_Velde_the_Elder.jpg
BrederodeNMM.jpg
Brederode.png
Schepen_na_de_slag_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-3117.jpeg
Witte_Cornelisz_de_With_(1599–1658),_by_Abraham_van_Westerveldt.jpg
Vice-Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With (Dubbel-Wit)
 
Heinrich said:
There is, of course, one ship that I have always been infatuated with and as a bonus also with its captain. If this was available as a kit, I would not hesitate - in fact, this is my all-time holy grail:

BREDEROODE 1644

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Vice-Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With (Dubbel-Wit)
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You're right, this would be another intriguing build.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_ship_Brederode_(1644)
And, since lacking any kits for this monster, you'd have to follow the examples set by the scratch builders of this world.
Shell first?
 
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