Building a Longship- final construction (part 3 of 3)
With the cardboard cut and painted, it was time for Nick and I to put the pieces together.
First we poked holes in the side of the ship with a screwdriver, then bolted the shields on.
Nick activates the ship's deflector shieldsOne side finished. It was around this point that we started getting funny looks from passers by.
Then we attached the two sides to each other.
The ship stands up pretty well. Nick is finishing the sail, painting over the last of the floral printNick cuts the curtain rod, while our ship bobs serenely on the drivewayThe sail dries in the sun. The crossbeam of the mast is held by a bolt and some wire
We cut a hole in the sail so that the mast could poke through the middle- all finished!
"Oy. Don't even think about christening the boat."
Time to set sail. (…there’s an awful lot of seagrass here.)
To infinity, and beyond!
This process gave me lots of ideas for a sequence in the book, and for the character design of Josh/Knut. Next week I’ll show you some sketches I made from reference photos…
James makes books for courageous kids. He’s the author/illustrator of the S.Tinker Inc graphic novel series for middle primary: Brobot (2016), Dungzilla (2017) and Gastronauts (2018) star Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, and Joe Tinker, her stinky baby brother. James’ earlier books My Dead Bunny (2015) In The Lion (2012), The Last Viking (2011) and The Last Viking Returns (2014) have all scored several honours, including children’s choice awards, shortlistings in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards, and selection to the International Youth Library’s White Raven list. James comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts. Follow him on FB/twitter/insta/youtube @jamesfoleybooks, or at www.jamesfoley.com.au .
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