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Post by fredhocker on Jul 10, 2018 7:33:53 GMT
Hi Ken,
We would be happy to see your progress. I was involved in the development of the kit, and so I am curious how it is to build. I am receiving a copy, but will not start building it until I have all of the parts (I have received installment 108 of 136 at this point). If you have any questions about details, colors, etc., this is the place to ask, and I am always happy to check things on the ship if you need information.
Fred Hocker Director of Research Vasa Museum
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Post by fredhocker on Mar 15, 2018 8:14:14 GMT
Nice work! I especially like the tops and the quarter gallery roofs, details which are hard to get right.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Mar 12, 2018 7:57:02 GMT
Hej Old Guys!
I am only 56! Well, at least for another month...
Welcome aboard Bernd. Hope you are enjoying the DeAgostini kit, it was fun working with them to develop it.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 15, 2018 11:49:12 GMT
Hi Oleg,
You will be pleased to know that we have a book on Vasa in Russian! You can order it from the museum shop, or from Medströms Förlag in Stockholm.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 8, 2018 8:04:29 GMT
Hi Nicoby,
The publication plan is as follows:
I: The Archaeology of a Swedish Warship (appeared 2006) II: The wind is fair: rigging and sailing a 17th-century warship (sails, rope, tackle, anchors, navigation) III: The king's beautiful new ship: building a warship (the hull, pumps, interior furnishings, tools, etc.) IV: Who are you? The crew as individuals (human remains, clothing, shoes and other personal possessions) V: A floating community (recruitment, pay, provisioning and feeding, social structure, hygiene, etc.) VI: The machine of war (armament, tactical and strategic environment, etc.)
We are finalizing the design of Vasa II right now and beginning the layout process with a publisher, hoping to get this out this year, with a little luck. We took a big two-year detour to select the publisher, thanks to the complicated bidding rules which regulate government contracts here, but we seem to be getting to the end of that. The book looks like it will be about 1000 pages (in two volumes in a slipcase) with 510 colour illustrations plus four sheets of fold-out plans, at either 1:50 or 1:75 scale (still working out the printing logistics for the sail plan, which is a very big drawing). Once we have a contract in place, layout and printing should take six to eight months.
We are also hiring more research staff in order to ramp up the speed with which we can get these books out. I have been a one-man band until a year ago, but we should have enough people now to work on more than one volume at a time.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 7, 2018 8:49:54 GMT
The analysis of paint remains began in the 1990s, with first results published around 2000. Before that, reconstructions of Vasa usually showed a blue backgraound with gilded sculptures.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Feb 5, 2018 10:01:43 GMT
Interesting! Looks like a scratch-built interpretation of what was known about the ship c 1967, after the stern sculptures had been recovered but before the restoration had gotten under way.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Jan 17, 2018 8:33:54 GMT
Outstanding! The rigging is especially good, and I appreciate the time you took to get the deadeyes the right shape!
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Nov 13, 2017 8:56:28 GMT
Hi Peter, That looks like a lead block fastened next to the hawsehole. Perhaps the starboard one was missing by the time of the photo.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Nov 9, 2017 7:43:13 GMT
It looks like this grating is directly above the hawsehole, so it would allow the jeer capstan on the upper deck to be used in assisting to raise an anchor. This is one of the uses for the jeer capstan attested in 17th-century sources, such as Smith and Mainwaring, but it requires a lead for the tackle, which this hatch provides. It also looks like there may be a double block already mounted in the right place, or perhaps a whole tackle, so one would only have to lead the fall up through the hatch to the capstan when needed. On Vasa, there is a suitable gap in the grating rather than a removable section.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Oct 19, 2017 6:40:56 GMT
Hej Jan, We are in negotiations with a publisher, which I hope will conclude before Christmas, so that we can start on layout in the New Year.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Sept 19, 2017 6:35:14 GMT
Indeed! Because Vasa waited so long for its main armament (the 24-pounders), they were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for the upper deck guns, amassing a motley collection of antiques and obsolete types.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Sept 12, 2017 7:15:22 GMT
Hi Peter,
The problem is that the decks do not survive on wrecks, for the most part, so we do not know. On Vasa, the binding strakes run the length of the deck,although sometimes with some odd joinery towards the ends. One of their functions is to frame the hatches, but they also contribute significantly to the longitudinal strength and stiffness of the hull, thanks to complex joinery and bolting through the beams.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Sept 11, 2017 8:46:54 GMT
I tend to use Humbrol enamels for painting small details. Their formulation has changed over the years (not as good coverage as there used to be), but they are reliable, there is a good selection of colors and they are widely available. If they do not have a psecific color, you can often mix what you need. The poxy little tins are a pain, and it becomes difficult to seal them after a while, but you can take some measures to prolong the life of a tin (stir the paint to mix it rather than shaking, clean the rims and and lids, etc.).
Other brands I have used successfully in the past include Floquil (their railroad colors offered a bunch of good options for ship modellers) and Model Master, although the latter are geared very much to aircraft and armour modellers.
If you do not want to use enamels, I like the acrylics in the Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color range. Very easy to use, good coverage, no smell or fumes. Wide range of colors, but aimed at the modern military modeller.
I do not use oil paints for the most part, as the drying time is quite long and the surface is too glossy for me.
Fred
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Post by fredhocker on Sept 8, 2017 10:52:10 GMT
Outboard ends of ringbolts for the gun breechings and tackles were hemispherical heads about 50-60 mm in diameter, as far as we can tell from impressions in the wood and rust clumps at some bolt locations. No rings, no forelocks, no split pins (we have no evidence of split pins anywhere in the ship, it is a later technology - forelocks were the 17th-century equivalent).
Fred
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