Viking ship with oars?

[Bruce Foxworthy]

My son wants me to build a viking ship with sail and oars. He is half Norwegian and very Viking like in his demeanor as well.

Anyway I can't find a build on the forums log here that shows anyone of our members has made one in this kind of configuration.

So any suggestion or plans? Just fishing here.??

Thanks Bruce.

[DSiemens]

I was going to see if anyone would reply to this first.  I've never done it but I've seen it done.  I want to say David Lavoie has done it.  I haven't seen him on this site in a while but he frequents the Facebook group. 

Seems like theres a couple ways to do it.  If you can get them to hinge on the ship you can attach the oars and put the whole ship in at once.  Perhaps glue a piece of thread to the end of each oar and then glue the other end of the thread to the hull.  Then on the other end of the oars glue a continuous thread that connects each oar.  Tightening that thread will get all the oars to their equal spacing.  Adjust as needed and cover that end with clay or paint to blend it into the sea. 

Another method would be insert each oar one by one along the ship. It's tedious but it would work.  Or mix the two and have a thread on both ends of the oar like a rope ladder.  Insert the oars separately and glue one side to the hull and put the other in the sea.  This risks having the thread show on the side of the hull though.   

Or use a flexible material.  Glue paintbrush bristles in as the oars and bend them even with the hull as they go in once in they'll popback out into place.  They may bend a little but if they aren't bent to far and if anchored in the sea material I think you could get them to straiten back out.  It's work testing. 

Let us know what you end up doing.  I don't think a method for this has been recorded on this site yet.     

[Bruce Foxworthy]

Thanks D.

I like the thought of trying out the brush bristle idea. I'm thinking of making the round shields and the oars along with that section of the bulwarks all one unit some how hinging the oars and then pinning the bulwarks into the hull. If that makes sense to you. Some experimenting for sure.

Regards B.

[exwafoo]

Bruce,

I'd be wary of using brush bristles. I've just tried using them as yards on a miniature (build log being written) like the articles suggest. The ones I used were off of a wallpaper paste brush (unused). I think they were made from Teflon as I had the devils own job to get glue to stick to them. None of PVA, CA, or Paraloid B72 stuck them to the sails or rigging easily. I managed in the end, but it was only by using a large dollop. Luckily the build is more of an experiment than anything else. I actually redid a mast using styrene rod and this worked well.

I can let you have some drawings for a longship that I've been working on. My wife wants one. It will be at 1/72 and use 1/72 crew available commercially. On the back burner at present. PM me your email and I'll get them to you.

Regards to all

Alan

[Jeff B]

Idea for oars...elastic. Rubber band .harden with paint, cut out an oar, glue a flat tooth pick on the "backside. Cut or break the toothpick right where it goes in to the side of the ship. Rubber bands are quite versatile. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Jeff B

[Bruce Foxworthy]

Jeff:

Your attachment didn't open on my end there was an error? Was it a picture?

Please try again As I'm having a hard time getting what you are referencing??

I also wonder if rubber bands wont degrade themselves as they age.

I think the first oars I'll try making will be made of thread coated with CA to make them hard then paint them.

Thanks Bruce

[Bruce Foxworthy]

exwafoo:

I get what you mean about the brushes hair. The synthetic hairs are a bugger to glue for sure.

[bluenoser]

1/72 is what

and where are the men available 

[Jeff B]

For Bruce. Opposite of prior description. Wood with rubber band flexi joint. 

[Jeff B]

Side view. Once in the bottle, can set the joint straight with adhesive. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Jeff B

[exwafoo]

Bluenoser,
1/72 scale, ie 1 inch to 6 feet. The SIB will be about 6 inches long, a small Drakar, or 'Dragon Ship'. The figures are as shown. An internet search will show suppliers. I decided to buy them as I'm not confident of carving any. The planned bottle is a 2½ litre cider bottle that gives enough height for the mast.

Regards
Alan

PS: Oars, shields, and sea chests (used for sitting on) are also in the box. The figures comprise rowers, a helmsman, and others in various poses for working ship.

Edited February 20, 2020 by exwafoo

[Bruce Foxworthy]

Exwafoo:

I had no idea that you could buy little men like this! In the past I've always made my sailors out of wire and then dipped them or painted the wire with acrylic paint to flesh them out. Here's a picture of one that's kinda beat up cause I reclaimed him from a snafu build from years ago. They can actually turn out pretty sweet. Normally I painted them like they were wearing fowl weather gear but the Vikings would have to be painted differently. This guy is about 3/8 of an inch tall.

[Bruce Foxworthy]

Exwafoo: Alan:

Yes I'd like to see what your plans look like. If you want you can email them to me at

gbrucefoxworthy@gmail.com

I've found these plans on the internet but it's a little too much for me. I think I will replicate the picture here That I assume is a model by who knows who. The reason I like this representation is because there is not so many oars or shields. I think it was a raiding vessel. Anyway I've been watching a lot of U tube videos and getting a feel for these ships dynamics in general. Fascinating stuff. I love U tube! So far I've found out that they made a number of ships with different widths and lengths all without any plans at all which is a testament to their skills. They even made some specifically for transporting live stock. Go figure.

Thanks for all your input. It's much appreciated.

Regards Bruce

[bluenoser]

Thanks Alan

[James w rogers]

How about copper wire for the oars, cut to length and tap the ends flat with a hammer, filed round on the ends and painted. You'd have to fit them one at a time though, but they should stand up to the abuse of pushing the ends down into the sea. 😁 

[Bruce Foxworthy]

James:

I'm defiantly going to use wire for the oars. I have quite a selection of piano wires in different diameters that I use frequently for replacing the trunnions in the lantern gears on antique clocks when I restore them. And yes I'll peen the ends flat and shape them.

On this ship there will be 14 oars. So a bit of time is going to go into making them. I'm afraid copper wire would be to soft. If just one gets bent it will look like hell. After I make them, I'll soak them in Muriatic acid which should give them a rust color.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Regards Bruce

[exwafoo]

You could always position them so they are just about to enter or leave the sea., and 'foam' the sea to suit. Would save any worry about pushing into the sea medium.

Alan

[Bruce Foxworthy]

Alan:

That's a thought!

I've been dreaming up how I'm going to build these two little assemblies for better than a week now and I've just about have it solidified in my minds eye. I do think Having them just about to enter or leave the sea is a capital idea. Thanks for that suggestion.

Regards Bruce