Here is a photo of the completed Billing Boats Oseberg Ship Model!

Postcards from the '80s showing the Oseberg in the museum in Norway.

Here's the box opened with the kit contents.

Billing Boats Oseberg Ship model bulkheads, redrawn on 4mm thick solid basswood.

Squaring up the jig.

Base plate fixture for the Oseberg 1:25 scale

Solid basswood bulheads made using the templates from the Billing Boats Oseberg model.

Oseberg Viking Ship model, these are my solid basswood bulkheads that I made by using the Billing Boat kit bulkheads as templates. In this photo these are just dry-fit in place, not yet glued.

i shimmed the keel in each end of the fixture to center the keel in the fixture.

Here are the cleats and oar-cradles , cut out of basswood , using the plywood from the kit as a template.

Bulkheads glued in place, with gel super glue. I used a small square to ensure they were true. Note the stringers also installed, which add to the proper alignment and rigidity of the framework.

First, Billing Boats provides a nice structure that supports the hull in an inverted orientation for planking. Here I am building this support frame:

Here is the hull framework resting inverted on the support frame.

I measured the height from the bottom of the keel of the end of the plank locations on the drawing and then transferred that to the keel in pencil.

The thickness and width of the plank keel-doublers was thicker and wider than the curved plywood keel doublers, so I used a razor to feather them together in a nice transition before planking.

Here are my basswood bulkheads chamfered (with a razor knife) prior to planking.

To avoid warping of the hull during planking, I will symmetrically plank each plank on one side then the other....rather than planking one whole side and then the next whole side. I am carefully using gel CA glue. I don't want any ooze-out, as I will be staining this hull.

The butt-joint of the planks doesn't land on a bulkhead, so I am adding these little backer-boards behind each plank butt-joint.

Completed, reinforced, butt-joint.

Bottom section planks are now done. Next I will attach the two rows of planks to the sides.

I trimmed and fit a solid wood strip in , per plans, here near the shear line.

Here's a view from the inside of the hull, showing the wooden filler strip installed along the upper edge of the existing planking.

And a view from the outside.

Installing the first plank of the upper two planks.

After installing the second to last row of planks, I noticed a gap in the bulkhead cutout as seen here. I cut wood pieces and glued them into these gaps prior to installing the final upper hull plank.

Here are the bulkheads with the little gaps filled with wood pieces, prior to applying final plank.

Final plank row installed!!!! Very exciting. Now I will trim off the tops of the bulkheads that are protruding up from the upper plank.

I used the plywood bulkheads (that I never used in the model because I made solid wood bulkheads) to sketch out mini bulkheads. I made different shaped mini stub bulkheads for each section and used a razor to carve them to fit the hull.

Gluing mini stub bulkheads in place.

AND here is the hull with all stub bulkheads glued in place in the too-big gaps between the kit bulkheads.

Solid basswood pieces glued into the mast step assembly.

First, I built the kit version from the plywood pieces:

Mast step of the Oseberg. You can also see the thwarts that rise up to the top of the partners at this point.

And above, a replica viking ship showing the staggered small planks, the top of which are flush with the tops of the bulkhead.

I found this image of viking ship hulls on a post on the internet but I cannot cite the original source, as it was not noted in the post. This is a helpful sketch of viking longboat cross sections.

I bought a bunch of 1/16" solid basswood sheets to finish the bulkheads with, and to make the planks from. I am now adding a 1/6" strip to the tops of the bulkheads. As I go I am also carving down the bulkheads so that they taper to a point at their tops. The photo below shows the strips that will be the exposed tops of the bulkheads, and also what the carved tops of the bulkheads look like vs the uncarved ones.

Carvings and making custom basswood curved thwarts for the mast step.

Curved thwarts installed.

Solid basswood planking complete on my Oseberg Viking Ship model

I cut the dowel all to length based on the prints, then cut out the oar-blades.

I tapered the ends of oar shafts and glued the blades on.

Tapering the edges of the blades prior to sanding smooth.

Oars sanded and ready for 1st coat of stain.

First I opened up the round hole in the partners to precisely fit the mast.

Oseberg model rudder carved from basswood.

Oseberg Model Rudder Assembly

Starting to carve the tiller from bassword.

Carved Oseberg tiller

pinned mortise and tenon style joint

Here is the carving at the peak of the bow on the actual ship

And the bow stem carved pieces from the kit. Very nice.

Here is the tail of the dragon, the stern of the ship. This piece will require carving the kit pieces to look like this.

I used a scalpel to carve these stern posts to look similar to the real ship.

And finally, gluing up the stem and stern leading edges to the ship!!!!

Trim pieces must be tapered down to be flush with the stem and stern pieces.

I also trimmed down the plank as shown so that the carved trim piece will be flush with the bow carved piece.

Here you can see the planks on the starboard and port sides both with the raised part designed for the rudder gear. Only the starboard side should hare this raised plank section so I carved it off the port side as seen below.

Spacer blocks for the shield rail made, tapered, using a hand snips.

Carving cleats and oar racks for the Oseberg viking ship model!

Rough sanded parts. These were plywood in the kit, but I made these from solid basswood.

Final shaving and sanding needed!

Drawing the sail onto the sailcoth from the kit. The kit sailcloth was rolled up, which is A-ok, but which created the creases you see in the fabric.

Cut to size with a sharp scissors including cutting out the notches in the corners wear the seams will fold over.

I used an iron to flatten out the fabric and more importantly to iron the seams folded over to make it easier to sew.

Sewing the sail on our sewing machine.

Stitching of the sail on the sail for my Oseberg model.

Here is my sail for the Oseberg. I will be leaving it all white with the stitching in tan thread as shown.

Carved the standing rigging line cleats from basswood.

Ship is stained and I installed the rudder. I went to the hardware store and got a longer steel nail as the one in the kit was not suitable.

Oseberg Viking ship model rudder, installed.

I am using Minwax Golden Oak stain on the ship.

Started rigging the ship and I didn't like the bright white rope.

Rope after staining it a darker color.

I used a mini round file to open up the holes in the fittings to accept the rope diameter.

Used a profile gauge on the hull.

Celtic knot sketched out. I will carve one of these on each end of the base stand.

Carving in progress.

Completed, carved, ship model base , with felt liners on the hull support planes.