Clearwater Models: April 2017

Sunday 16 April 2017

DUTCH ROYAL BARGE - 1678

This is a 1:80 scale (?) wooden plank-on-frame model of a circa 1678 Dutch royal barge and canal/coastal vessel. I built it over the winter of 2016-2017. Rigging took two weeks once I actually got the nerve up to start rigging it.
The kit comes from China's Aliexpress.com and costs about $30. It arrives as a small flat box only long enough for the main mast and for the keel length. It is hand painted. The gold scroll work on the sides is painted in with a gold pen, then the white is painted around it with a tiny brush. Small laser engraving lines help a lot. The only non-wood parts are 16 small metal nails used to secure four over-stressed side runner strips.

The boat-builder at Maritime Model Guild, Ottawa, 04 April 2017.

1678 Dutch royal barge