Imai/Aoshima 1/60th Junk build

[Big Jake]

Sides are washed, when the black fills the crevices, the paint seems to pop. Once you paint the water base wash in, you pat off the excess with a paper towel. I earned a bowl on this one.

 

[Big Jake]

Painted the sail battens a basecoat of Bamboo color, once dried I tested out the grimy effect on the painted sail battens, the grime also darkened the sail cloth to my liking. I'm going to try to dry brush a spot of sand to see if I get a more bleached effect. Depending on how the light hits the sail, in some pics it looks darker and some lighter. I lIke it.

 

[Big Jake]

Back from the Cruise and working on another 'cruise ship' A cruise up the Yangzi River. Back on the Junk....rigged the boat winches, the anchors and started painting the bamboo sail reeds, looks a bit sloppy, but will be trimmed in with boxcar red and a wash. Because I'm not using the drop-down rear hatch, I decided to use the deck winches as the lifting winches for the lifeboat. The instructions do not even mention as to how they would have lifted it or even properly rigg it. I added 2 eyebolts to the boat to be used as the tackle points, but I may just use small hook to secure.

 

[Big Jake]

It was too hot to work long in the shop yesterday, but I was able to get the Foresail trimmed and touched up from the over paint. hopefully, I'll finished the main sail this evening and them be able to wash it and start the main rigging.

 

[Big Jake]

All toll, about 10 hours on the 3 sails from the base coat of boxcar red, the bamboo trimming, cleanup, touch-up, and weathering (not counting drying times). I stepped the masts and have the backstays ready. I'll hit the sails with a final coat of flatting agent before mounting.

 

[Na Daeyong's Apprentice]

The paint job is very convincing! But the planking on the sides of the ship hold perplex me a bit. Are they meant to represent thicker timbers?

 

[Big Jake]

The paint job is very convincing! But the planking on the sides of the ship hold perplex me a bit. Are they meant to represent thicker timbers?

Thanks, your guess is as good as mine on the weird planking on the sides, I've tried to find better photos on the net to see, in researching, I found there is just not a whole lot written on the building and workup of these type boats. The crazy part is they were sailing generally before most of Europe. I think there is only one or 2 books on the subject, but they really don't focus on the vessels, just trades.

 

[Na Daeyong's Apprentice]

There's more documents on them in Chinese (so not very helpful if you don't read it), but the vessels of of ancient Asia is a subject woefully neglected in Western academia. The irony is that you are correct; they were sailing earlier in the west, coming up with innovations like watertigher bulkheads, sternpost rudders and the compass centuries before them, yet they are less romanticized.

Anyway, looking good!

 

[Big Jake]

All mast are set with backstays in place. The mizzen sail is rigged in place with blocks, waiting for glue to dry before setting the reef points. I have to use 4.0mm blocks as the holes were too small to get the rigging through the 3.5 mm size. I could not step down the lines size as it would be way too small. The hard part will be to figure out to terminate the ends of the lines as the Chinese never has belaying pins. So each line will be tied to some point on the deck, this is making me crazy

 

[johnlattanzio]

Looking great!

 

[Big Jake]

Looking great!

Thanks John, rigging this is going to be a bit sloppy, just tying the end of the lines down to a bunch of various points. crazy. I had to use my smallest reamer to enlarge the hole for the blocks. I would have drilled but figures I would break a few bits, the reamers are made of hardened steel.

 

[Big Jake]

Looking great!

On the mainmast and foremast, I shorten the block leads on the mast top so the line would look better.

 

[johnlattanzio]

I ordered all the blocks I think I need (for my planned version of the rigging) from Syren and they arrived today. Nice looking blocks Postage to Australia is crazy...I mean, its a normal envelope and it was $25US ($37 Australian!)

Anyway. It's only money. They are very nice blocks.

I have spent two weeks re-organising my hobby room to house all the stuff I accumulated over the years, plus the extra stuff I need for ships! I had run out of space.

So - little progress on my Golden Hind and I still have not started the junk!