11 | July | 2020 | Ship Modeler

For diorama purposes, cargo adds a lot to a ship or a boat. Here’s how I made something very simple for a Japanese boat model.

Wasen Mokei 和船模型

I’ve been thinking about making a diorama to include my recently completed tenma-zukuri chabune. One of the uses of such a boat was for transporting cargo. So, a diorama is going to need something for the boat to carry. An empty boat is fine for displaying the boat itself, but it’s not going to look right in a diorama.

Possibilities include barrels of sake or miso, or bales of rice. But, I’ve found that these are can be just bit complicated due to their shape and the way that are wrapped. Sake barrels have a somewhat fat, squat shape, and at least in modern times, are wrapped with colorful logos and writing. They would be interesting to include, but a bit complex for what I want to do here, especially with the unique rope wrapping.

One of the simpler examples of a sake barrel I’ve found on the Internet.