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I don't know, but I'd love to build one too. I was a big fan of the Vikings TV series (new series not so much) and also got to go aboard the Draken Harald Harfarge when she was in DC a couple of years ago.
The most common Viking ship model is the Drakkar. This one is by Amati, scale 1:50, around $150.00.
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In terms of accuracy the Billing's Oseburg is the best, it's based on the excavated wreck. It is thought to be a burial ship, not a war ship. Unfortunately the materials/timber are the poorest quality. You could use the parts as templates and use good timber, I've had good results from Billing's doing this. Amati do a 1:50 but the figurehead is an invention and I can't comment on the accuracy. I got a cheap kit second hand on ebay, still waiting !
The figurehead doesn't look Norse to me. It looks more Chinese than anything. There are several kits made by Dusek in 1:72 scale which show the variety of vessel sizes and types for Norse sailors, and they are modelled after actual excavated viking ships. Link: Dusek at Model Expo. The drakkar is just one of them, one of the larger vessels. The longship was extremely long and narrow. A good representation of the more common style is the Oseberg ship. The Gokstad ship is also popular. Both are named for where they were found. The lesser known ship is the knarr, a common viking cargo vessel used for trading around the world. Here in Minnesota we have the replica ship Hjemkomst on display in the city of Moorhead which sailed across the Atlantic to Norway. Other Minnesotans have undertaken construction of replica Viking ships as well, since Minnesota is known for the Norwegians and Swedish immigrants settling here. Take a look at the replica Viking draken Harald Fairhair in rough weather, and you'll truly appreciate the icy hell of sailing and open deck ship on the North Atlantic. Link: Harald Fairhair
Make sure you use videos like this to help add details to the rigging, since many kits are simplified. Take note how far the Harald Fairhair can rotate her yard to sail close into the wind, using long beams to angle the clews at at extreme angle.
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If you have to have a dragon head, at least make it proper Norse. This one is on a replica.
This is the most common head design. It's less like a dragon, and stylized Norse.
This is the most common head design. It's less like a dragon, and stylized Norse.
Pavel Nikitin makes a very nice looking Viking ship, a model of the Drakar "Oseberg", which has been well documented after being found in Norway and excavated in 1904-1905. This ship, or a partial reconstruction of it (I'm not clear which) is currently in the Viking Ship Museum in Norway:
Compare the museum ship to Pavel's model, it appears extremely accurate:
Pavel seems to have captured the lines and construction of the ship well, and includes some truly excellent CNC carvings with it. The original ship had these as well:
I comparing the above with Pavel's ship's carvings as far as accuracy goes, they appear excellent in appearance:
It promises to be an impressive model, being 865mm in length in 1:25 scale, and this matches the dimensions of the original given in Wikipedia.
If I were building a Viking ship, this is certainly the one I would build. The only downside I see is Pavel's use of light-colored woods which must be stained or painted (he has a special technique and materials) to achieve a good dark finish, rather than simply oiling woods already a correct color.
Hope this helps in your decision.
Compare the museum ship to Pavel's model, it appears extremely accurate:
Pavel seems to have captured the lines and construction of the ship well, and includes some truly excellent CNC carvings with it. The original ship had these as well:
I comparing the above with Pavel's ship's carvings as far as accuracy goes, they appear excellent in appearance:
It promises to be an impressive model, being 865mm in length in 1:25 scale, and this matches the dimensions of the original given in Wikipedia.
If I were building a Viking ship, this is certainly the one I would build. The only downside I see is Pavel's use of light-colored woods which must be stained or painted (he has a special technique and materials) to achieve a good dark finish, rather than simply oiling woods already a correct color.
Hope this helps in your decision.
That in no doubt the best Viking ship kit I've ever seen. The Dusek kits are small and on the fragile side as far as the wood is concerned because of the small scale, and the wood is also light colored. I imagine carefully painting the background of the carved pieces of Pavel's model with dark stain and then using light stain on the raised portion can create the contrast in the photo you posted above, Signet. The Oseberg ship that was excavated is virtually complete and original. It was buried and oxygen could not reach it. It's in much better shape that the Wasa.
Info on Oseberg ship from the Viking Ship Museum:
In the year 834 CE, two wealthy women died. The Oseberg ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial ship for these two ladies. The Oseberg mound and grave are named after the farm on which they were found, Lille Oseberg in Tønsberg in Vestfold.
The mound was 44 metres in diameter and 2.5 metres high, but may originally have been almost six metres high. It was constructed using turf, which formed a compact, airtight seal over the ship and grave goods. The weight of the burial mound had pressed the ship several metres down into the soft clay subsoil. This, in combination with the compact turf mound, made for exceptionally good conservation conditions, rarely encountered in Norwegian burial mounds. There are only two other known examples that compare with the good conservation conditions at Oseberg: These are the ship burials from Gokstad and Tune.
The excavation caught the public’s interest to such an extent that the site had to be secured with railings and signs. A guard was also hired to ensure that no one disturbed the work or got too close to the finds. The process was thoroughly executed and documented and it is fair to say that it laid the groundwork for how archaeological investigations are carried out in Norway today.
The Oseberg ship was built in western Norway around 820 CE. It is made of oak, with deck and mast from pine.
A burial chamber was built right behind the ship's mast. The dead women were laid out in a bed made with large down quilts. A magnificent tapestry was placed in the chamber. The women were also accompanied by a large quantity of other grave goods. There were personal items such as clothes, shoes and combs, as well as exotic vessels from Ireland or England. There was also ship's equipment, kitchen equipment, farm equipment, three ornate sledges and a work sledge, a wagon, five carved animal heads, extra beds and tents. 15 horses, six dogs and two cows were also found in the grave.
Info on Oseberg ship from the Viking Ship Museum:
In the year 834 CE, two wealthy women died. The Oseberg ship was pulled ashore and used as a burial ship for these two ladies. The Oseberg mound and grave are named after the farm on which they were found, Lille Oseberg in Tønsberg in Vestfold.
The mound was 44 metres in diameter and 2.5 metres high, but may originally have been almost six metres high. It was constructed using turf, which formed a compact, airtight seal over the ship and grave goods. The weight of the burial mound had pressed the ship several metres down into the soft clay subsoil. This, in combination with the compact turf mound, made for exceptionally good conservation conditions, rarely encountered in Norwegian burial mounds. There are only two other known examples that compare with the good conservation conditions at Oseberg: These are the ship burials from Gokstad and Tune.
The excavation caught the public’s interest to such an extent that the site had to be secured with railings and signs. A guard was also hired to ensure that no one disturbed the work or got too close to the finds. The process was thoroughly executed and documented and it is fair to say that it laid the groundwork for how archaeological investigations are carried out in Norway today.
The Oseberg ship was built in western Norway around 820 CE. It is made of oak, with deck and mast from pine.
A burial chamber was built right behind the ship's mast. The dead women were laid out in a bed made with large down quilts. A magnificent tapestry was placed in the chamber. The women were also accompanied by a large quantity of other grave goods. There were personal items such as clothes, shoes and combs, as well as exotic vessels from Ireland or England. There was also ship's equipment, kitchen equipment, farm equipment, three ornate sledges and a work sledge, a wagon, five carved animal heads, extra beds and tents. 15 horses, six dogs and two cows were also found in the grave.
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What surprised me is the very reasonable price of $150 Euros for Pavel's Viking ship kit, while Amati's model of the same ship is roughly the same price, but half the size, includes none of the carvings, and has that fake Dragon figurehead, despite knowing the original did not. Billings makes a quality model of the same ship and size, but many times more expensive. And Dusek apparently has two different models of a much larger ship, the larger one in 1/35 scale approximating Pavel's in size, but the smaller 1/72 scale as you say is quite small and fragile. I'm not in the market for such a ship, but know which I would choose!
I've got Billings Oseberg kit, and I too took an immediate dislike of the wood etc; so now it's listed as a BIN on ebay - no takers yet,so maybe I'll send it to auction.
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I have 2 partial boxed kits, combined they will just about make a build. I only really wanted the shapes of the bulkheads and planks to scratch build. They are not on the Billings plan and after an exhaustive search there are no plans of the Oseburg online other than the kit plan . The planks are drawn roughly onto sheets of something almost as soft as balsa and have to be hand cut. As for the cost of a new kit!!! I can't work out why they are still in business, they certainly don't deserve to be! Pavel's looks like a much better option.
I built the large scale Billings model and do not understand the criticism of the quality of the timber. Most of the kit parts comprise the planking which is pre-cut plywood and, if care is taken when setting each plank so the plank spacing is correct, it produces a perfect replica. I hate to say it but there are excellent build logs of this kit on "the other channel". Perhaps the adverse comments apply to the smaller version which is, quite frankly, a load of rubbish.
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Hi!
Thank you for noticing our kit "Oseberg")
The fact is that in two months a very updated version of this model will go on sale. And she really can claim the title of the best. I will post some photos from the construction of a new drakar. Also this year another 1:32 scale kit of dracars will go on sale, it will be "Gokstad", and it will be designed in a style completely repeating historical dracars. That is, there will be no plywood in its design.
Thank you for noticing our kit "Oseberg")
The fact is that in two months a very updated version of this model will go on sale. And she really can claim the title of the best. I will post some photos from the construction of a new drakar. Also this year another 1:32 scale kit of dracars will go on sale, it will be "Gokstad", and it will be designed in a style completely repeating historical dracars. That is, there will be no plywood in its design.
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Ok, that looks like it has real potential. @Pavel Nikitin I'll be looking forward to this development, I like Viking ships and would like to see better options on the market. I want a larger-scale Dracar for sure.
I have built a small one from Falkonet. It's quite small but still looks good. You can find it at https://craftysailor.com/collections/falkonet-ship-kits/products/ix-century-slavic-longship-1-72. It's very easy to build, I blasted through it in a month.
I have built a small one from Falkonet. It's quite small but still looks good. You can find it at https://craftysailor.com/collections/falkonet-ship-kits/products/ix-century-slavic-longship-1-72. It's very easy to build, I blasted through it in a month.
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They may possibly have upgraded the planks, the two I have are admittedly old but it is practically balsa. Either way I've checked out Pavel's and it's 5 times the quality and a damn sight cheaper.
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Here is the composition of the set that is still on sale, and is in stock, but its production has already been stopped, as two new models of drakars, which I wrote about above, are being prepared for release)
Thank you Pavel! Exactly what I'm looking for. Please let me know when the updated model is on the market.
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) I plan that this will happen at the end of September.THAT IS GREAT PAVEL COULD YOU TELL ME THE LENGTH OF THE NEW OSBERG PLEASE ANOTHER ONE FROM UKRAINE. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE YOU AND YOURS DON