RARE WASA MODEL SHIP SCRATCH BUILT MUSEUM QUALITY VASA Handmade & Delivered by Renowned Model Ship Builder Start Price USD 65,000.00 Current Price USD 65,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, July 15, 2008 End Time Friday, July 25, 2008 Location Montreal See more about 'RARE WASA MODEL SHIP SCRATCH BUILT MUSEUM QUALITY VASA' Description GET IN ON A PIECE OF THE AUCTION !!!  w w w . n - v e n d . c o m     Large WASA Model: Scratch Built, Museum Quality Measures 1.96 Meters Long, 1.70 Meters Tall and 0.66 Meters Wide at Main Yard Weighs in at an impressive 20 lbs. In 1625, Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden ordered the construction of the "WASA".  Three years later, on the 10th day of August 1628, when the WASA cast off for her maiden voyage, tragically she capsized and sank in the Stockholm Harbour.  That was the end of her short life and the beginning of a true love story, inspiring the creation of this outstanding handcrafted masterpiece by the internationally renowned model ship builder Mr. Ardaches Asdarjian. Mr. Asdarjian, a master diamond setter by profession, has been featured numerous times in Model Ship Builder Magazine, with this most exquisite WASA model featured in the July/August 1993 Issue of Model Ship Builder Magazine #84.  Mr. Asdarjian has won several 1st Place Awards and Awards of Excellence for his exceptional model building skills, including in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Chicago, Toronto & Montreal. The Swedish WASA Warship was of particular interest to this master craftsman, as 17th century Swedish Warships were heavily adorned with many carvings reflecting the literary and philosophic trends of their time.  This outstanding project proved to be a major building challenge, with Mr. Asdarjian's experience in creating objects of art in precious metals serving him well.  It took more than 3-1/2 years and over 3000 hours of  intense labour, the same time it took to build the real-life Swedish Warship. The unbelievable attention to detail is evident and impressive: (All statues & adornments have been hand-crafted) 3000 Pieces of 4 kinds of wood (Balsa, plywood, oak & white wood) 2200 Nails 187 Statues and figures cast in silver & gold plated 49 More pieces cast in silver & gold plated (including the tail light) 56 Cannons cast in lead metal 553 Pulleys cast in silver & oxidized 42 Cudgels cast in silver & oxidized 2 Anchors cast in silver & oxidized 104 More pieces cast in silver & oxidized 78 Copper pieces 2.500 Kgs. of Silver         Handcrafted History (from the craftsman) First I started with cutting the keel which was 5'5" long and 8mm thick. Then I began cutting the 13 frames of 3/8" thick plywood, using my jewelry saw. I used approximately five gross of sawing blades to finish this part of the project. I had a hard time cutting the frames. After I filed and sanded everything to a nice smooth surface, I took a break in order to refocus my energy on my next task. All 13 frames were ready. I tested and fitted each frame prior to the actual gluing. I glued one a day to the flimsiness of the keel. The most important part of building a model ship is the perfection of the base. As with everything in life: the foundation should be the very best. Ironically, the magnificent original WASA sunk on her maiden voyage, due to instability in construction which caused it to heel over in strong gusts of wind. After inspection of this portion of the project, which seemed to be almost perfect from all angles, I began to prepare the 56 guns with carriage. I cast the guns myself, cleaned and painted them black, and placed them on their carriage. Then came the measuring of the lower gun deck. It was essential that everything was measured accurately before the planking was started. The reason for this is that the gun carriages were bigger than the gun ports. I purchased about 100 pieces of balsa wood 2" x 25" by 90cm long and started the planking process. I finished the hull with sheathed balsa wood planking. I was obligated to double sheath the hull using another balsa wood for a second cover in order to add thickness and strength to the planking. I used glue and nails to secure the planking and I sanded them to a smooth finish. I covered it with a thin, beautifully colored oak wood, purchased from a local hobby craft store. I bought large sheaths and cut it in strips in such a way revealing the natural like finish of the original oak. Next I started the task of making the masts which were carved from well treated white oak and plywood. When this portion of the construction was completed, the ship began to take shape and I was really impressed with how beautiful it began to look. Next came the preparation of 553 pulleys and 42 cudgels which I molded from wax and cast in silver metal. They were then polished, cleaned and oxidized, ready for the rigging process. I did all the upper part rigging on the masts before placing them on the upper deck. I nailed the three masts straight on all angles and glued them perfectly. I also prepared the bow and installed a small mast. Now came the decoration of the statues and figures which adorned WASA. There were approximately 200 silver oxidized, gold plated pieces made with a special jewelry machine round wire. There was one tail light that was silver cast and gold plated. Then two anchors were silver cast oxidized. A beautiful lion in front of the ship, 13cm long, consisted of 190 grams of silver cast and gold plated.  All statues and adornments were handcrafted, as I endeavored to duplicate all decorations that were originally designed for WASA. I painted a small area in the stern poop deck first and then I glued the decoration pieces on the upper deck before I started the rigging. I did the rigging for all 10 sails using cotton material. All sails functioned properly like the original. All the wood parts on the ship were left in a natural finish using a clear satin. When all the figures, statues and decoration pieces were glued and nailed from the bow to the stern gingerbread, my last job was to replace the 38 gun port lids which were mounted on silver cast, gold plated lions' heads, situated above each gun port. Finally my beautiful model ship was completely finished. I started in 1988 and finished in December 1991 and now I hope to find a true collector who will enjoy viewing and displaying this wonderful replica of 16th century Swedish ship construction in all its glory as much as I have enjoyed creating it. Please feel free to forward specific questions here and I will be happy to address them personally. I will also be hand delivering the ship myself and it will be my pleasure to meet personally with the buyer for a private discussion. Good luck and best regards. Special Delivery This item is available for FREE DELIVERY within Canada & the Contiguous United States. This excludes Hawaii, Alaska, Nunavut and the Northwest & Yukon Territories. The model will be hand delivered by the artist himself and the buyer will have a rare chance to meet in person with the craftsman who built this one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Transit Time This item is currently located in Montreal, Canada & will be hand-delivered within 30 days from the time we receive your full payment. Customs & Laws Buyers are responsible for customs & importation laws as well as duty & brokerage fees. If an item is undeliverable and/or returned to our location, the buyer is responsible for all associated charges incurred, including but not limited to shipping, duty, customs clearance fees and a restocking fee.         Forms of Payment You may choose to pay by: Visa, MasterCard, Money Order, Certified Cheque or Wire Transfer                        Payment Period Payment must be completed within 7 days of the close of auction. If your payment has not been received in 7 days, a Non-Paying Bidder Alert will be filed with eBay, negative feedback will be left & further action may be taken.  If you will not be paying on time, please contact us.         Return Policy We do our best to provide accurate descriptions & detailed photos of all items listed. This item is guaranteed to be as described. All sales are final and this item is sold as is. No returns can be accepted so please be sure to ask all your questions before bidding. Our friendly staff is here to serve you 7 days a week.         Feedback Customer Service and your complete satisfaction are of utmost importance to us. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, we invite you to contact us before leaving your feedback comment.  We will work with you and do our best to rectify the issue and come to an agreeable and amicable conclusion for all.  We want you to be happy purchasing here and come back again soon.         Disclaimer N-VEND IS NOT THE OWNER OF THESE GOODS, BUT RATHER A CONSIGNMENT SERVICE ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE SELLER TO FACILITATE THE SALE OF THE GOODS.  WE use our best efforts to inspect the goods, create accurate descriptions and provide detailed photographs that clearly and adequately depict the type, condition and image of the goods at the time of sale.  N-VEND makes no express or implied warranties or representations regarding the condition or suitability of the goods and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties, including but not limited to ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PURPOSE. All text & images in this listing are copyright N-VEND Inc.  All rights reserved.           Our Service N-VEND is a new and easy way to buy and sell online.  Our specialists provide the community with full access to eBay and Internet Trading.  Learn more...         Our Commitment Our team is committed to the highest standards of integrity and quality service.  We take pride in what we do and view it as our privilege to do business with you.  Learn more...         Our Location N-VEND is a Canadian corporation, headquartered in Montreal.  We are here to serve you 7 days a week.  Our business hours are 10am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 5pm Saturday & Sunday (EDT).  Learn more...                 Place a Bid!