Quick question for the group:
I have Revell 1/96 USS Constitution that I finished awhile ago and some
of
the rigging has started to "droop".
Is there a way or method to correct this?
Thanks for any info.
Fargo, ND
It's usually due to variations in the moisture content of the thread.
A trick that I've found often works is to wet the threads using a
moistened Q-tip, and allow them to dry. As they dry out, they become
taut again.
To avoid this in the future, pull your rigging through a block of
beeswax prior to fixing to the model. The wax will make the thread
less prone ot variations in moisture.
John W. Alger
IPMS #10906
Charlotte Scale Modelers
If you use cyanoacrylate glues, this won't be a problem. Cotton thread is
really not what you should use. Good scale rope is available made out of
polyester. It doesn't have the sagging problems. Silk is also a good
choice. Silk thread in various thicknesses are available at any good sewing
supply shop in many different colors.
I have read that CA glues eventially rot the standard rigging thread. I
therefore used Elmers glue on my Soverign of The Seas ship as recommended.
Been good for 5 yrs. so far. Walt O
I've got about the same amount of time with my CA. Guess we'll have to wait
for the verdict from our grandchildren or their children. Actually, I use
three: thinned Casein glue (e.g., Tightbond, Elmer's), CA (both thin and
gap-filling) and so-called "rigging cement" which is also known as
watchmaker's crystal cement.
1. Thinned Elmer's if for givng coiled lines a permanent shape and not for
holding the line down.
2. There should be no knots unless the full-sized ship had such knots in
those places. In other words, almost no knots. Knots are used for lines
for which there will be cause to do and undo in the course of sailing. Such
lines are very unheard of in the standing rigging and rare in the running
rigging. The exception being the knots used to attach sail-hanks to sails
or sails to stays, to hold reefing lines in place, and of-course, the clove
hitches on the rat lines.
The end attached to a block, spar, or eye should be served -- as
they would be on the full-sized ship. If the scale is too small for that,
a drop of CA will hold the two lines together at the block and a small dab
of black paint will do for the serving. However, I find that at 48:1 or
50:1 or larger scale, all lines that should be served can be served.
I usually serve lines with very thin, blackened, copper wire. (38
gauge or finer). The simplest source for such wires is to take apart the
shielding on microphone cables, although the thin wire in lamp cord will
also do. Blacken it with the appropriate blackening compound (e.g., liver
of sulphur) I make it up in lengths of about 18" which is convenient to
work with and I put it out of the shield bundle only as I need it.
You'll find that serving with thin copper wire is much, much easier
than serving with thread. Furthermore, it provides a much better scale
appearance, even under a magnifying glass. Once the serving is done, a tiny
drop of the thin CA finishes the job off.
3. The bitter end usually goes to a belaying pin. Now wrapping the line
about the belaying pin, especially the last reversed loop, can be very
difficult. I usually cheat there. I take the line through the belaying pin
hole and then shove the pin in, adjusting the tension as I do so. Then a
tiny drop of crystal cement finishes off the job. After the glue dries
(about an hour or so) I snip off the bitter end and hang a pre-formed coil
over the belaying pin to finish it off.
4. CA is wonderful for making "glue needles". A drop of thin CA about an
inch long on the rigging line converts the end into a glue needle. With CA,
it takes a few seconds, while other glues you'll have to wait an hour. A
glue needle is much better than a sewing needle because if they line can get
through, the glue needle will. A regular needle is much thicker and besides,
there is the doubled thread -- for an over-all thickness of about four times
the line. That means that threading through a small block, you'll break
about half the blocks you attempt to use. With glue needles, that doesn't
happen. The glue needle gets into places an ordinary needle can't possible
get and furthermore, it can be bent into a hook for the really in-accessible
cases. By comparison, the smallest curved surgical needle (e.g., used for
eye surgery, is gross by comparison).
5. I've been doing less and less use of waxed thread. With glue needles,
you don't need the added stiffness to get through blocks. Also, the
lubricating properties of the wax, while occassionally useful, smears down
the line strands so that goos scale three-strand line ends up looking like
waxed thread instead of three-strand scale line. Also tends to be shiny,
which is poor scale and obliterates detail. I think the idea of waxed
thread is more tradition than necessity these days. For cotton thread used
for rigging, wax greatly increases the strength of the line but for modern
dacron scale lines, that's no issue. The line strength, even for very thin
lines, is far greater than the spars can possibly take. The only place
where wax is useful in my mind is when you want to get a realistic, scale
droop to a particular line. I personally like the thinned elmers better for
that purpose.
Boris
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