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Ahoy pirate fans and well met castle fans,
The Vikings sets are vool, but after visiting the Vikings Exhibition at the
Australian National Maritime Museum in January, I decided to experiment with
building some more accurate (after a fashion), viking vessels.
Initially, I planned to extend the standard viking ship by an extra hull
section, but after some experimentation I decided to stick with the standard
three. The proportions at three hull sections are pretty good, although I admit
my main constraint was a lack of oars and 4x4 dish shields to go any bigger.
The overlapping shields are probably the most distinctive viking longship
feature, and they were certainly a challenge to achieve in lego... using 3x3
shields may have been easier (and more realistic), but I have far less of them
than I do the 4x4 shields, and I would have needed more for the same length.
The shields are mounted on 1x1 round plates on headlight bricks which are
slightly angled and have a 2.5 stud spacing. The result looks nice, but is quite
fragile.
The rigging is new, the sail is parchment paper (much better than stiffened
cloth!), and the sail controls are a tad more realistic than Lego’s version
(though I never complain about getting more chains!). Viking sails were woven
wool though, so they would have been heavy - probably not quite heavy enough to
need chains, though.
The vessel is fitted out with supplies and an (authentically) large crew.
Here are some more pics of the completed vessel (click for the full sized
image):
No post or article about vikings would be complete without a mention of the
inaccuracy of the horned helmets, so this is it.
(I’ve set the FUT to .pirates and .castle, but please consider appropriate FUT
if responding)
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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snip
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No post or article about vikings would be complete without a mention of the
inaccuracy of the horned helmets, so this is it.
(I’ve set the FUT to .pirates and .castle, but please consider appropriate
FUT if responding)
Cheers
Richie Dulin
|
Nice! And the parchment paper is a great idea... I’m already stealing one of
your tricks for a boat I’m working on, and this makes two.
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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Nice! And the parchment paper is a great idea... I’m already stealing one of
your tricks for a boat I’m working on, and this makes two.
|
Thanks, Mark!
I’ve done a few vessels with real cloth sails, and I have to say that the paper
is better looking, easier to work with, and holds its shape better.
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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| |
In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
|
|
| |
Nice! And the parchment paper is a great idea... I’m already stealing one of
your tricks for a boat I’m working on, and this makes two.
|
Thanks, Mark!
I’ve done a few vessels with real cloth sails, and I have to say that the
paper is better looking, easier to work with, and holds its shape better.
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
|
Stupid question - why not?
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
|
|
| |
Nice! And the parchment paper is a great idea... I’m already stealing one
of your tricks for a boat I’m working on, and this makes two.
|
Thanks, Mark!
I’ve done a few vessels with real cloth sails, and I have to say that the
paper is better looking, easier to work with, and holds its shape better.
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
|
Stupid question - why not?
|
All the references that I’ve seen have awnings like that used whilst at
anchor... there are probably exceptions, though. The awning would be in the way
for any sailhandling, and I wonder if the arm wasn’t used to support the ridge
of the awning, at least sometimes...
But, if you’re happy with horned helmets (as I am!), a canopy shouldn’t be a
problem.
(xposted to .boats)
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
|
Stupid question - why not?
|
All the references that I’ve seen have awnings like that used whilst at
anchor... there are probably exceptions, though. The awning would be in the
way for any sailhandling, and I wonder if the arm wasn’t used to support the
ridge of the awning, at least sometimes...
|
Interesting. (thanks for the “stupid” question, Mark. I was wondering too.)
I’ve felt funny planning a prominant “front end” to my boat because I read that
they made them to travel in either direction (hence the mast being positioned
dead center). But I bet if I read more, and follow the suggested links
thoroughly, I’ll discover that the larger ones didn’t need so much delicate
navigability because they weren’t used in such swampy areas. Incidentally, did
you know that Europe became one degree warmer at that time, thereby melting ice
and flooding many parts of Scaninavia? That’s why the people moved so much!
-Suz
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In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
|
Stupid question - why not?
|
All the references that I’ve seen have awnings like that used whilst at
anchor... there are probably exceptions, though. The awning would be in the
way for any sailhandling, and I wonder if the arm wasn’t used to support the
ridge of the awning, at least sometimes...
|
Interesting. (thanks for the “stupid” question, Mark. I was wondering too.)
I’ve felt funny planning a prominant “front end” to my boat because I read
that they made them to travel in either direction (hence the mast being
positioned dead center). But I bet if I read more, and follow the suggested
links thoroughly, I’ll discover that the larger ones didn’t need so much
delicate navigability because they weren’t used in such swampy areas.
Incidentally, did you know that Europe became one degree warmer at that time,
thereby melting ice and flooding many parts of Scaninavia? That’s why the
people moved so much!
-Suz
|
This link, given by Joel Jacobsen, says:
At night, the sail was lowered and removed from the ship. In bad weather, it
often served as a tent. The Vikings, inventors of the sleeping bag, would sleep
under the sail for protection.
So the canopy IS the sail, which is why you wouldn’t see it when the sail is
raised. Which means I’ll probably forgo Richie’s neato parchment paper sails and
go with a brick-built solution.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
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In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
In lugnet.pirates, Marc Nelson Jr. wrote:
| |
One of those striped
canopies would look good - are those historically accurate?
|
Absolutely! Probably not while under sail though. ;-)
|
Stupid question - why not?
|
All the references that I’ve seen have awnings like that used whilst at
anchor... there are probably exceptions, though. The awning would be in the
way for any sailhandling, and I wonder if the arm wasn’t used to support
the ridge of the awning, at least sometimes...
|
Interesting. (thanks for the “stupid” question, Mark. I was wondering too.)
I’ve felt funny planning a prominant “front end” to my boat because I read
that they made them to travel in either direction (hence the mast being
positioned dead center). But I bet if I read more, and follow the suggested
links thoroughly, I’ll discover that the larger ones didn’t need so much
delicate navigability because they weren’t used in such swampy areas.
Incidentally, did you know that Europe became one degree warmer at that
time, thereby melting ice and flooding many parts of Scaninavia? That’s why
the people moved so much!
-Suz
|
This link, given by Joel Jacobsen,
says:
At night, the sail was lowered and removed from the ship. In bad weather, it
often served as a tent. The Vikings, inventors of the sleeping bag, would
sleep under the sail for protection.
So the canopy IS the sail, which is why you wouldn’t see it when the sail is
raised. Which means I’ll probably forgo Richie’s neato parchment paper sails
and go with a brick-built solution.
|
According to Tim Severin, in Odinn’s Son (a work of fiction, but TS is a noted
maritime historian), wealthier vikings had a specially tailored canopy. But for
the most part, yes, it would have been the sail.
Cheers
Richie Dulin
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
> Ahoy pirate fans and well met castle fans,
>
> The Vikings sets are vool, but after visiting the Vikings Exhibition at the
> Australian National Maritime Museum in January, I decided to experiment with
> building some more accurate (after a fashion), viking vessels.
>
> <<http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/rdulin/Miscellaneous/longship1.jpg>>
Fabulous!
This is funny timing because I'm in the middle of researching Viking ships now
for a BrikWars game. (In fact, If you could recommend good links to Viking info
online, I'd really appreciate it.)
> Initially, I planned to extend the standard viking ship by an extra hull
> section, but after some experimentation I decided to stick with the standard
> three. The proportions at three hull sections are pretty good
[snip]
Really? cool. I was wondering about those dimensions. At first I thought the
ship (as LEGO designed it) might be abnormally wide, but then I read that the
Vikings sometimes brought horses with them on board, so I figure it must be
reasonable. Heh, I'm glad as this means I don't need to buy another ship for its
mid-section!
> No post or article about vikings would be complete without a mention of the
> inaccuracy of the horned helmets, so this is it.
Ha! Yes! I've been wondering how to break this news to my teammates. :-) They'll
be so sad.
I read in a book that the oarsmen sat on chests containing their possessions. I
figure I'll try to incorporate that somehow in my model when I build it. From
your pictures, I can't tell if you did that too.
The overlapping shields look great. And I also like the paper sail. very nice.
Cheers,
Suz
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In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
> In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
> > Ahoy pirate fans and well met castle fans,
> >
> > The Vikings sets are vool, but after visiting the Vikings Exhibition at the
> > Australian National Maritime Museum in January, I decided to experiment with
> > building some more accurate (after a fashion), viking vessels.
> >
> > <<http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/rdulin/Miscellaneous/longship1.jpg>>
>
> Fabulous!
>
> This is funny timing because I'm in the middle of researching Viking ships now
> for a BrikWars game. (In fact, If you could recommend good links to Viking info
> online, I'd really appreciate it.)
>
> > Initially, I planned to extend the standard viking ship by an extra hull
> > section, but after some experimentation I decided to stick with the standard
> > three. The proportions at three hull sections are pretty good
> [snip]
>
> Really? cool. I was wondering about those dimensions. At first I thought the
> ship (as LEGO designed it) might be abnormally wide, but then I read that the
> Vikings sometimes brought horses with them on board, so I figure it must be
> reasonable. Heh, I'm glad as this means I don't need to buy another ship for its
> mid-section!
>
> > No post or article about vikings would be complete without a mention of the
> > inaccuracy of the horned helmets, so this is it.
>
> Ha! Yes! I've been wondering how to break this news to my teammates. :-) They'll
> be so sad.
>
> I read in a book that the oarsmen sat on chests containing their possessions. I
> figure I'll try to incorporate that somehow in my model when I build it. From
> your pictures, I can't tell if you did that too.
>
> The overlapping shields look great. And I also like the paper sail. very nice.
>
> Cheers,
> Suz
Here are some links for more info:
Intact viking ship with data and links to other ships (Swedish site):
http://susning.nu/Gokstadsskeppet
Images (new and ancient) and pictures of newly made ships (also in Swedish, with
part ot the text in english):
http://axelnelson.com/skepp/ovriga.html
http://axelnelson.com/skepp/ovvik.htm
Link collection with many pictures and old and new ships:
http://www.vikingship.net/
Have fun!
Olof
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In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
<SNIP>
>
> Fabulous!
>
> This is funny timing because I'm in the middle of researching Viking ships
> now for a BrikWars game. (In fact, If you could recommend good links to
> Viking info online, I'd really appreciate it.)
Agreed!
I have to chuckle, too, as I've got a half completed rework of my own long ship
sitting on my work bench. I hope to complete this week to also share.
SNIP
> Really? cool. I was wondering about those dimensions. At first I thought
> the ship (as LEGO designed it) might be abnormally wide, but then I read that
> the Vikings sometimes brought horses with them on board, so I figure it must
> be reasonable. Heh, I'm glad as this means I don't need to buy another ship
> for its mid-section!
The set's scale is close, from what I've been able to tell (as in my first link
below), for a Drakkar style longship. But then, "proper" length seems to be
subjective as I came across references stating that the largest longship
discovered was over 70m long.
> > No post or article about vikings would be complete without a mention of the
> > inaccuracy of the horned helmets, so this is it.
>
> Ha! Yes! I've been wondering how to break this news to my teammates. :-) >They'll be so sad.
But the helms are so much *fun* they have to be authentic. right?? ;-)
> I read in a book that the oarsmen sat on chests containing their
> possessions. I figure I'll try to incorporate that somehow in my model when
> I build it. From your pictures, I can't tell if you did that too. The
> overlapping shields look great. And I also like the paper sail. very nice.
I've found treasure chests are just a bit too big but do seem to achieve the
desired effect well enough for my own satisfaction. They stow well alongside the
oarlocks when not in use, giving room to pass by then either side of the mast.
Here are a few links I found useful for my own work:
http://www.gaia.no/crew/images/filmbild.html - some interesting movie related
images showing gear on board a replica Viking ship about the scale of the LEGO
hull. It also shows replicas of the chests that were used as rowing seats and
some great shots of supplies and stores.
http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/v_drakkar.htm - some good info on ship types, nagivation
etc. with a few decent pictures.
You will share your Brikwars design, right? :)
JJ
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| |
|
In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
> In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
> > Ahoy pirate fans and well met castle fans,
> >
> > The Vikings sets are vool, but after visiting the Vikings Exhibition at the
> > Australian National Maritime Museum in January, I decided to experiment with
> > building some more accurate (after a fashion), viking vessels.
> >
> > <<http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/rdulin/Miscellaneous/longship1.jpg>>
>
> Fabulous!
>
> This is funny timing because I'm in the middle of researching Viking ships now
> for a BrikWars game.
> In lugnet.pirates, Suzanne Rich wrote:
> <SNIP>
> > Fabulous!
> >
> > This is funny timing because I'm in the middle of
> researching Viking ships now for a BrikWars game.
Here is a link to Viking ships I made over a couple of years ago from just
bricks. Each Longboat holds about 40 minifigs. I do own one of the new
Longships and I have modified it by taking out the catapult and reworking the
back tower.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=38247
And for Vikings verses Medieval Cogs:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=80532
enjoy, Don, GtwLUG St.Louis
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In lugnet.pirates, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
Ahoy pirate fans and well met castle fans,
|
SNIP
| |
Initially, I planned to extend the standard viking ship by an extra hull
section, but after some experimentation I decided to stick with the standard
three. The proportions at three hull sections are pretty good, although I
admit my main constraint was a lack of oars and 4x4 dish shields to go any
bigger.
|
Well done, Richie!
It looks great with all those oars. My own longship project is limited to 4 oars
per side because..it’s all I have. :)
| |
The overlapping shields are probably the most distinctive viking longship
feature, and they were certainly a challenge to achieve in lego... using 3x3
shields may have been easier (and more realistic), but I have far less of
them than I do the 4x4 shields, and I would have needed more for the same
length.
The shields are mounted on 1x1 round plates on headlight bricks which are
slightly angled and have a 2.5 stud spacing. The result looks nice, but is
quite fragile.
|
They look great; I’d love to pick up a couple more copies of this set to fill
out my Viking ranks and add more oars and shields for my own vessel.
| |
The rigging is new, the sail is parchment paper (much better than stiffened
cloth!), and the sail controls are a tad more realistic than Lego’s version
(though I never complain about getting more chains!). Viking sails were >woven
wool though, so they would have been heavy - probably not quite heavy >enough
to need chains, though.
|
I like how you’ve done the rigging. It’s similiar, though still uniquely
different from how I worked out rigging for mine. It’s always cool to see
someone else’s interpretation.
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The vessel is fitted out with supplies and an (authentically) large crew.
|
Do you have any more that are close ups when the folder is moderated? I’d love
to see how you outfitted and supplied the crew. :)
Thanks for sharing!
JJ
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Excellent work Mr. Richie, now all you need is a port to sack and women to haul
away.
-Keith
(It’s all about the plunder)
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