#1
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Dutch Fluit Schwarzer Rabe, 1627 - Shipyard 1/96 by catopower
Last Fall, family health matters had me stuck in the house where I grew up, with no trace of ship modeling tools or materials except text and images on the Internet.
In order to give me back a small part of my absent ship modeling self, I ordered a Shipyard paper model kit from Ages of Sail. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to build the Dutch fluit Schwarzer Rabe (Black Raven) or the Dutch pinnace Papegojan. Both paper model kits are available and in 1/96-scale. I ended up buying the Schwazer Rabe for about $38. The first steps go really quickly, fitting the laser cut framework pieces together, test fitting without glue. As I had access to paint and brush, I went ahead and blacked out some of the interior bulkhead walls that might end up visible on the completed model. When I was happy with the fit of everything, I glued everything together. Keep in mind, this began as a filler project. I have many other main projects, so I'm just planning on working on this now and again. But, it's an interesting ship and I'll post another updates shortly. |
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#2
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Next steps took place a little while later, as I was taking a break from other work and kind "into" this model.
One thing to note is that I ended up purchasing a laser-cut detail set specifically made for this kit by GPM (gpm.pl). This detail set, if I recall correctly, came with seven sheets of laser-cut card stock of varying sizes and thicknesses. These sheets included the parts like the anchors, figurehead, window frames, gratings, headrails, windlass parts, cannon carriages, railings, laser-etched decorative parts, deck pumps, gun port linings, sub-decks, ladders, catheads, and more. For about $16 plus shipping, it is a very good deal and a bit time saver. Here's a direct link to the set: GPM laser cut detail set for Schwazer Rabe So, here I added the decks and most of the first layer of the hull "skin". You'll also notice that I've added the finish planking on the exposed bulkheads. This was interesting as these feature individual horizontal planks that overlp (lapstraked). It was a bit of mental work for me to keep track of which way the planks were to go on, even though the overlap areas are marked on the printed pieces. If you look closely, you can see where I messed up one of the planks. I won't tell you where! Next time, I'll add the below-deck gun carriages. |
#3
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That's a very good start of such an interesting ship! I'm a bit puzzled by the name though...
Considering the ship is a 17th century Dutch fluit, it certainly wouldn't be called "Schwarze Rabe" because that's German. In 17th century Dutch it probably would have been "Swarte Raef", which in today's spelling would be "Zwarte Raaf". In any case, please keep up the great work! Erik |
#4
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Wonderful clean modeling! Looking forward to updates.
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#5
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Quote:
The name Schwarzer Rabe is mentioned in a Wikipedia entry on the Battle of Oliwa. So, I too am curious as to how the name came about. |
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#6
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Erik Zwaan and Eatcrow2, thanks for the kind comments. I'll have some more to post, if not tonight, then in the next couple days. After that, it'll be a slow process, as I have other projects going (yeah, too many!).
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#7
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Dutch Fluit Schwarzer Rabe, 1627 - Shipyard 1/96 by catopower
Schwarzer Rabe was a member of the Polish-Lithuanian fleet during the Battle of Oliwa, hence its name. It appears that most ships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fleet were purchased or hired Dutch vessels and its commanders were a mixture of Poles, Germans, Dutchmen, and Scots.
Maurice |
#8
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The tiny little deck at the bow looks very good. You realize of course, that this deck was used by the enlisted men as their lavatory. Since these square rigged ships sailed before the wind, all the fumes would be blown forward, therefore the loo was always situated on an little deck at the bow....
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#9
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Thanks for chiming in Maurice. It's always interesting to learn history through these models.
scon10, thank you for your comments. Yes, it's why in the navy, the toilet is called "the head"! |
#10
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Okay, so here's my last update for a little bit, I think. I tend to work on these projects in spurts, and below is the result of the latest on.
The model has it's outer layer of planking going on now, which reaches down from the bulwarks and just now reached the waterline, as you can see in the last photo. This is the first paper model where I've cut along the lines of the planking to make it more like a planked hull. So far, so good. I've had a slight issue with the alignment of the planks with the gun ports and the stem and sternposts. But, I'm using the gun ports for any alignment issues. The plank strips seem like they're coming up maybe 1mm short at one end and 1mm long at the other. The overage is easy to deal with. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that where the planks are coming up a little short, the gap may be hidden when I add the actual stem and sternposts. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the planking. The seams between planking strips was initially bothering me. But, then I realized that there are thick planks that go on in certain places, over this plank layer. These seem to mostly be along these visible seams. So, I think they will somewhat hide the seams later in the build. |
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