Here are some images of Revell's 1/50 scale Viking Ship.
I know I said I wouldn't build plastic ships but like the Roman Trireme I couldn't resist. A classic kit.
From Wikipedia"
Viking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian
tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by
slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker
built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. They might
have had a dragon's head or other circular object protruding from the
bow and stern, for design, although this is only inferred from
historical sources.
They ranged in the Baltic Sea and far from the Scandinavian home areas, to Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, the Mediterranean, and Africa.
The ships are normally divided into classes based on size and function.
In recent generations, the war ship has become the cultural icon of the
Vikings. This trend is not particularly shocking, as the ship functioned
as the centerpiece of Scandinavian culture for centuries. In fact, the
importance of the Viking ship is deeply rooted in Scandinavian culture,
as the vessel served both pragmatic and religious purposes. Scandinavia
is a region with relatively high inland mountain ranges and easy access
to coastal ports. Consequently, trade routes primarily operated via
shipping, as inland trading was both hazardous and cumbersome. Viking
kingdoms thus developed into coastal cities, all of which were deeply
dependent on the North Sea for survival and development. Control of the
waterways was then of critical importance, and consequently the most
advanced war ships were in high demand. In fact, because of their
overwhelming importance, ships became a mainstay of the Viking pagan
religion, as they evolved into symbols of power and prowess. Throughout
the first millennia, respectable Viking chieftains and noblemen were
commonly buried with an intact, luxurious ship to transport them to the
afterlife. Furthermore, the Hedeby coins, among the earliest known
Danish currency, have ships as emblems, showing the importance of naval
vessels in the area. Through such cultural and practical significance,
the Viking ship progressed into the most powerful, advanced naval vessel
in Viking Age Europe.
With such vast technological improvements, the Vikings began making
increasingly more ocean voyages, as their ships were infinitely more sea
worthy. In order to sail in ocean waters, the Vikings needed to develop
methods of relatively precise navigation. Most commonly, a ship was
piloted using ancestral knowledge. Essentially, the Vikings simply used
prior familiarity with tides, sailing times, and landmarks in order to
route courses. In fact, scholars contend that the mere position of a
whale allowed the Vikings to determine their direction. Whales feed in
highly nutritious waters, commonly found in regions where landmasses
have pushed deep-water currents towards shallower areas. The sighting of
a whale consequently functioned as a signal land was near. However,
some academics also argue that the Vikings developed more tangible means
of navigation. Many claim the Vikings used a sun compass to show their
direction. A wooden half-disc found on the shores of Narsarsuaq,
Greenland seems to initially lend credibility to this belief. However,
upon investigation of the object, scholars found that the slits
circumnavigating the disc are disproportionately spaced, casting severe
doubts about its role as an accurate compass. Many now hold that the
instrument is a “confession disc,” used by priests to count the number
of confessions in their parish.
In a similar sense, researchers and historians continually debate the
use of sunstone in Viking navigation. Recent studies identify the
sunstone, with its ability to polarize light, as a plausible method for
determining direction. The sunstone effectively has the potential to
show the positioning of the sun, even if obscured by clouds, by showing
which direction light waves are oscillating. The stone will become a
certain color based on the direction of the waves, but the process is
only possible if the object is held in an area with direct sunlight.
Thus, most scholars debate the reliability and the plausibility of using
a navigational tool that can only determine direction in such limited
conditions.
Viking sagas routinely tells of voyages where vikings suffer from
being "hafvilla" (bewildered): voyages beset by fog or bad weather where
they completely lost their sense of direction. This description
suggests they did not use a sunstone to aid them when the sun was
obscured. Also, they would experience hafvilla when the wind died,
implying they relied on prevailing winds to navigate, further supporting
the use of ancestral knowledge for piloting.
One Viking custom was to bury dead lords in their ships. The dead man’s
body would be carefully prepared and dressed in his best clothes. After
this preparation, the body would be transported to the burial-place in a
wagon drawn by horses. The lord’s favorite horses and often, a faithful
hunting-dog, were killed to be buried with the deceased man. The man
would be placed on his ship, along with many of his most prized
possessions. The Vikings firmly believed that the dead man would sail to
the after-life in his ship, a belief similar to that of the ancient
Egyptians.
8 comments:
Now I understand why you could not resist, it's a lovely model, and well made. Of course, it is also an old kit
Thanks Pablo - It's a fun kit.
Very colorful, I love coats.
You know, it may be a good model to accompany you in the afterlife=)
Zarpe hacia Valhalla!
Did you hand paint the shields, or did they come with decals?
They were a series of 64 decals
Nicely Done!
Thanks!
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