Category Archives: Erik Collette

Models that Erik Collette has built.

Red Dragon Chinese Junk

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Erik Collett’s Red Dragon Chinese Junk from a modified kit.

Modeler’s Name: Erik Collette
Period: last 300 years
Scale: 1:60
Type of Model: Modified kit
Build Time: 150 hrs.

Build Materials:
Boxwood, Sapelli, Walnut, Brass fittings

Ship’s Story:
The Red Dragon was a Chinese junk. These ships have sailed the Far East oceans as far as Africa for over 3000 years. They navigated with the help of the sun and over 2500 greater stars. Navigation became a lot easier when they invented the compass in the 11th Century. Originally, junks were built with a flat bottom and without a keel, a stem and stern posts. Only when they began to sail on the open ocean did it become a necessity to incorporate a keel to strengthen the ship. The junks were always built with watertight bulkheads which the Chinese learned from studying the structure of the bamboo plant. Junks are still built today, the same way as they were built centuries ago.

Modeler’s Bio:
Erik has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights since he was bitten by the modeling bug after visiting the RMS show in 2003. He completed his first model in 2004. Erik hails from Norway, where he was around boats during most of his youth. He attended the Norwegian Naval Academy and sailed on a merchant ship for a year. He came to the USA in 1962 and earned his BSCE and MBA degrees from the University of Denver. He is currently semi-retired as an engineering consultant.

Oseberg Viking Ship

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Erik Collett spent 150 hours building this Norwegian Viking Ship model. The hull is built from oak planks, glued together and then glued to the ribs. The wood was then sealed with flat varnish. The sail is cotton.

Modeler’s Name: Erik Collette
Period: 815 AD
Scale: 1:50
Type of Model: Kit built
Build Time: 150 hrs.

Build Materials:
Birch plywood, pine and basswood

Ship’s Story:
This ship was a Norwegian Viking ship built in approximately 815 AD. It was used as a burial ship in 834. It was discovered in a burial mound on the Oseberg Farm in Norway in 1904. It has been restored and can be seen today at the Viking ship museum in Oslo. It is 71 feet long with a beam of 15 feet. The construction was unique in that it was klinker built with iron nails and then the planks were tied to the ribs. The mast was approximately 35-40 feet tall. Homespun wool, woven into squares, was used for the sail. The squares were sewn together and the sail was reinforced with strips of leather. There were 15 oar holes on each side. The rudder was an enlarged oar fitted on the aft starboard side. In 2011, a full-scale copy was built to evaluate the design and test the ship’s seaworthiness. The ship is docked in Tonsberg.

Modeler’s Bio:
Erik has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights since he was bitten by the modeling bug after visiting the RMS show in 2003. He completed his first model in 2004. Erik hails from Norway, where he was around boats during most of his youth. He attended the Norwegian Naval Academy and sailed on a merchant ship for a year. He came to the USA in 1962 and earned his BSCE and MBA degrees from the University of Denver. He is currently semi-retired.