Vasa - 1:65 DeAgostini [COMPLETED BUILD]

Paul,

She is looking good!!

Not sure about top ropes coming down after mast sections are in place. I just don’t know one way or the other what the policy would have been. I have left mine in place (after more decisions and cogitation about how to belay them).

I quite enjoy rope making but you are correct, the ship uses an enormous amount!! Don’t forget that running rigging is Z laid…

Have you decided if you are adding sails or not? If not, spars should be lowered, ready to take sails, but I prefer the look of them raised, even without sails attached. No sails too, means more decisions on what to do with sail-attached lines such as buntlines, leech lines etc.

She is looking remarkable.

Regards,

PeterG
 
Paul, the whole patina of your ship is so beautiful! Your rope appearance and standing rigging are up there with the best of them. I especially like the ratline to shroud size ratio. I see you have the backstay lines coiled and ready to go should you decide to use them. I'm lovin your build my friend, keep those photos coming and again thanks for sharing.
 
Thank you everyone for the likes and kind comments. The photos could be better but you get the idea of what I am doing. Sorry I forgot to show how I belayed the top ropes. I'll show that in a future post.

@PeterG: Yes, sails is the big question everyone seems to have when it comes to these big square sailed ships. I think you made a good choice by way of compromise when you decided to show her as she appeared on that fateful day.

I don't think I will build my version in full sail - while those models look magnificent the Vasa has a lot of interesting bits and baubles that have been PAINSTAKINGLY painted and I would like to honor that work by allowing it to stand on its own stage. I'll never do that painting on another ship so I'm thinking restraint might be the order of the day when it comes to sails.

I need to try my hand at sail-making and my success or failure in that regard may inform how many sails I end up doing. Perhaps a few full sails but hanging fairly limp - a few more furled - and a few stowed away (that is, bare yards lowered)? When I was at the Rijksmuseum there is a room full of ship models and I had the opportunity to see different sail configurations side by side. The ships without sails just looked incomplete to my eye but the fully rigged ships looked to be all about the sails so I guess I will end up somewhere in the middle of all that...

You would think I would have made some decisions already.
 
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Hoss6262 said:
Wow Paul. She looks great! Your attention to scale is very impressive. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
Hey Ken,

Thank you for noticing. On both the hull and on the rigging I have been trying to either be fastidious about scale or make changes that de-emphasize when I am out of scale. For example, on the hull there should be more trunnels but mine are too large so I made fewer of them. On the rigging I am following several tables that inform rope and block sizes. In general I'm about 10% larger than I should be and that's because my thinnest rope could only be made so thin. I've chosen to adjust all the other ropes accordingly. It actually looks surprisingly realistic (at least to this novice's eyes) when looking at the whole thing in total.
 
dockattner said:
Thank you everyone for the likes and kind comments. The photos could be better but you get the idea of what I am doing. Sorry I forgot to show how I belayed the top ropes. I'll show that in a future post.

@PeterG: Yes, sails is the big question everyone seems to have when it comes to these big square sailed ships. I think you made a good choice by way of compromise when you decided to show her as she appeared on that fateful day.

I don't think I will build my version in full sail - while those models look magnificent the Vasa has a lot of interesting bits and baubles that have been PAINSTAKINGLY painted and I would like to honor that work by allowing it to stand on its own stage. I'll never do that painting on another ship so I'm thinking restraint might be the order of the day when it comes to sails.

I need to try my hand at sail-making and my success or failure in that regard may inform how many sails I end up doing. Perhaps a few full sails but hanging fairly limp - a few more furled - and a few stowed away (that is, bare yards lowered)? When I was at the Rijksmuseum there is a room full of ship models and I had the opportunity to see different sail configurations side by side. The ships without sails just looked incomplete to my eye but the fully rigged ships looked to be all about the sails so I guess I will end up somewhere in the middle of all that...

You would think I would have made some decisions already.
Click to expand...
When making sails, make a test sail to see how the color and texture comes out.
 
dockattner said:
Phoning a friend: should yards be pinned and glued in place or suspended freely via halyards and parrels? Are upper yards even heavy enough to hang right on their own?
Click to expand...
The parrels and lines are perfectly fine to hold the yards in place. By the time you add the braces, there is ample support. The stiffness of scale model line versus full scale real line does affect the way lines hang a lot, and will affect the angle and position of the yards a bit. I had to use diluted PVA to get lines to hang in realistic catenary curves. When it comes to yards, the stiffness of the ties and lanyards that support the yards has a difficult time remaining taut because light weight of the yards is not enough to overcome the line's desired to curl from stiffness.
 
dockattner said:
I want to begin by thanking all of you for your continued interest in my build and for the active participation of many as I struggle to work out the details. While I have to accept that every question I would like answered can't be answered - and that I will make errors in judgement and execution along the way - neither do I want to be dismissive of the simple fact that I am building a model of a real ship with real history.

Over the past several weeks I have come near to completing the standing rigging. I have made some decisions along the way that not everyone will support but that's OK - it wasn't for lack of time spent trying to figure things out.

My customary blue background didn't cut it for pictures of rigging, so I cobbled together a few pieces art board that my kids had lying around... and now that I see the photos I regret not taking the time to set up proper lighting...

The overall view:

View attachment 308543

Mizzen:

View attachment 308544

Main:

View attachment 308545

Fore:

View attachment 308546

Sprit:

View attachment 308547

And I chose to rig the top ropes just for fun. Obviously these lines would have been taken down once the masts were raised but I think they make a nice addition to a model and could create a worthwhile talking point. I only did these for the top masts not the topgallants...

View attachment 308549

I'm confident, given the attention they have received on this log, that you didn't miss the fact that backstays are not rigged. Research continues with the hope that more can be learned.

Fun fact: I have now used nearly 60 meters of the smallest rope (roughly 0.24 mm) I can make from my chosen source threads. Most of this went to ratlines but also lanyards in a few spots. While there is great satisfaction in rope fabrication - I'm no longer sold on the (time) cost to value ratio.

Thanks for stopping by! It's a joy to share this journey with you!
Click to expand...
That is gonna be a IMPRESSIVE Wasa, Paul. I specially loved the picture of 'the Sprit'. The lines nice on tension!.
Regards, Peter
 
Hi Paul,
I don't really know what to add to all the comments that have preceded, the finish you have achieved is a feast for the eye.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with bare yards especially as you said, when there is so much going on with figurines and the like you don't really want to detract from that.
One question that I cannot recall being asked and now suspect it has been mentioned, is are you going to build a case?

Cheers,
Stephen.
 
dockattner said:
Hey Ken,

Thank you for noticing. On both the hull and on the rigging I have been trying to either be fastidious about scale or make changes that de-emphasize when I am out of scale. For example, on the hull there should be more trunnels but mine are too large so I made fewer of them. On the rigging I am following several tables that inform rope and block sizes. In general I'm about 10% larger than I should be and that's because my thinnest rope could only be made so thin. I've chosen to adjust all the other ropes accordingly. It actually looks surprisingly realistic (at least to this novice's eyes) when looking at the whole thing in total.
Click to expand...
Thanks Paul, for sharing your approach and tolerances. I do believe when we cannot determine exact measurements, if we can stay within reasonable tolerances, as you have, we can present very realistic appearances. Thanks again, Paul, for sharing your wonderful work.
 
Stevedownunder said:
Hi Paul,
I don't really know what to add to all the comments that have preceded, the finish you have achieved is a feast for the eye.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with bare yards especially as you said, when there is so much going on with figurines and the like you don't really want to detract from that.
One question that I cannot recall being asked and now suspect it has been mentioned, is are you going to build a case?

Cheers,
Stephen.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kind comments, Steve. Yes, I intend to build a case. Though when my wife asks, "where's it going" I confess I haven't come up with an answer yet. The ship is bigger than I had in my mind when I ordered it.
 
dockattner said:
Thank you for your kind comments, Steve. Yes, I intend to build a case. Though when my wife asks, "where's it going" I confess I haven't come up with an answer yet. The ship is bigger than I had in my mind when I ordered it.
Click to expand...
Funny how they are bigger than perceived, when I built a case for my Victory I ended up making a cabinet for it to sit on.

Cheers,
Stephen.
 
Back in the land of the living, I have some serious catching-up to do and none more so than here. Your work is exquisite Paul - your aesthetic eye is beyond compare so there is nothing to worry about being 10% "over-scale". That is nothing more than a number far surpassed by the beauty that arrests the eye. Your rigging is simply magnificent. I do not know nearly enough to comment in detail like things on the ever-elusive ""accuracy", but I do recognize a special build - and yours is very special.
 
dockattner said:
I want to begin by thanking all of you for your continued interest in my build and for the active participation of many as I struggle to work out the details. While I have to accept that every question I would like answered can't be answered - and that I will make errors in judgement and execution along the way - neither do I want to be dismissive of the simple fact that I am building a model of a real ship with real history.

Over the past several weeks I have come near to completing the standing rigging. I have made some decisions along the way that not everyone will support but that's OK - it wasn't for lack of time spent trying to figure things out.

My customary blue background didn't cut it for pictures of rigging, so I cobbled together a few pieces art board that my kids had lying around... and now that I see the photos I regret not taking the time to set up proper lighting...

The overall view:

View attachment 308543

Mizzen:

View attachment 308544

Main:

View attachment 308545

Fore:

View attachment 308546

Sprit:

View attachment 308547

And I chose to rig the top ropes just for fun. Obviously these lines would have been taken down once the masts were raised but I think they make a nice addition to a model and could create a worthwhile talking point. I only did these for the top masts not the topgallants...

View attachment 308549

I'm confident, given the attention they have received on this log, that you didn't miss the fact that backstays are not rigged. Research continues with the hope that more can be learned.

Fun fact: I have now used nearly 60 meters of the smallest rope (roughly 0.24 mm) I can make from my chosen source threads. Most of this went to ratlines but also lanyards in a few spots. While there is great satisfaction in rope fabrication - I'm no longer sold on the (time) cost to value ratio.

Thanks for stopping by! It's a joy to share this journey with you!
Click to expand...
Magnificent!
 
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