sberry wrote: I have presented it in the "my latest purchase" thread
Many thanks for that
Dear Kostis and sberry, thanks for discussing the rowers issue.
sberry wrote:unusable for antiquity: Those rowers have shackles at their legs, which fits the modern cliche that they were slaves chained to their ships - and that's one of Hollywood's fairy tales.
Yes I agree but I thought that Panzer vs. Tankls set is designed for Mediterranean Renaissance Galley's using slaves (I don't know about chains in that era)
Kostis Ornerakis wrote:To take the advantages from every one. And as usual the simplest is the best.
Kostis
thank you so much for this very good and credible solution!
I did not think about this.
I tried those same rowers in my prototype boat:
Where 2 Orion rowers occupy the width of the boat, 4 Frankzetrowers can be placed. A very little difference in scale and size makes a huge difference for my boat: with the Orion crew its a large shipsboat. With Frankzetts crew its suddenly a small galley:
Frankzetts rowers fit this boat pretty well but leave enough space for a wooden walkway over the benches like this:
Even my smallest boat, supposed to be rowed by just one or two men, can easily be crewed by a double row of these metal figures:
I think these metal figures are perfect for the small, crammed space inside a galley with several levels for the rowers. Also their seats/benches make them perfect for that. I wish I could turn back time and add these inside of my 160 crew trireme.
But I had another idea when investigating the question of the rowing crews: Look once more at these re-enactors rowing a replica of the Argo :
All of them have their feet on the bench in front of them, just like these Indian fishermen do:
I am fascinated by this Indian fishingboat since it is so primitive and gives a very good impression of traditional rowing style. This whole boat is build to pass the high oceanic waves crashing at the beach, which is not necessary at all for the Mediterranean. But still: the cargo is in the middle and all rowers in the front which reminds me of a Roman relief depicting a 2nd cent. AD river boat with the cargo in the centre too but the crew in the back of it:
I based this Gallo-Roman ship on that:
So I wonderd if the Frankzett rowers, having their legs stretched forward already, could be used with their feet on the benches before them after removing their seats and feat-rests. But most of the rowers in these pictures have their legs spread a littlebit or even a lot. Time to cut and bend one of those metal rowers.
I started building that primitive Indian ocean worthy fishing boat already but did it in too much of a hurry.
ending up like this:
The frame was so a-symmetric I decided to destroyed it and make it all over again.
Now I have five different sizes in boats:
The one I made last week underwent many small changes and improvements. I removed both front top-boards, the two boards backward elevating from the board edges will stay:
More ribs were added and shaped in raw, lively pieces of 'vintage'-wood of which so many cheap traditional vessels were build. Ribs all over makes it possible to use this boat without the front- and aft decks so there is possibility for variety once more.
The front- and aft decks were shortened so there is more space for rowing crew and cargo:
I will cast this boat only after I have some more prototypes ready so I can do it in one go. I am getting exhausted of changing my home studio from woodwork bench into chemical laboratory and sculpting studio again and again so I try to stay to one of them as long as I can.