1/72 Hansa Kogge (Revell)
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by John Lemire |
1/72 Hansa Kogge (Revell)
This is the Revell 1/72nd scale Hanse Kogge. From the plastic display base included in this kit, I am of the opinion that this must have originally been a Heller kit. ? ? ?
The replica represents a merchant ‘cog’-built ship of the Hanseatic League commonly used during the 12th and 13th centuries. I would have to call this a ‘fun’ build. It’s large and easy for my arthritic hands to work with parts and assembly. The main deck is large and mostly feature-free, making it easy to apply a scale, planked wooden deck. As I usually do, I substituted the plastic display base with a machined wooden one and wooden pedestals. What was especially nice is that the keel fit perfectly into the slots in the pedestals. Again, typically, I drill measured holes through the base and insert a long stove bolt through and into the bottom of the hull, fastening with a couple of fitted washers and a nut. Obviously this has to be done after the hull is assembled and painted but before the main deck is inserted.
Once again I planked the decks with real, scale lumber and then aged with gray antiquing stain. I still haven’t perfected making my own wooden ladders but I’m improving and they look a heck of a lot better than the overly ‘heavy’ plastic ones provided in the kit. The simplified rigging provided a pleasure in not having to hand tie ratlines. The running rigging lines are hand-rubbed with bee’s wax (what few there are). I decided to leave the stays rough as the standing rigging wasn’t yet being tarred as it is with later ships and I felt that ‘weathering’ the non-moving lines would be more realistic.
