Ship Model rigging

Jay;

I recommend you paint the model then rig it. The glue might mar the paint but it can be touched up again once everything is dry. I suggest you not use thread as it has a "fuzz" to it and it will look odd. It also stretches with age so it may sag where you don't want it to. Some guys coat the thread with diluted white glue to reduce the fuzz but I'll leave that up to you. Perhaps you should use stretched sprue or metal rod for the rigging.

Install the rigging in steps. Start with those bits closest to the mast and work outward. If you do it from the outside - in then you'll invariably bump into a strand you had installed earlier and remove it. Some guys attach the rigging with paint or lacquer spray (overcoat) but make sure the rigging does not endure any stress or strain or the join will not hold. I use white glue as it allows time to place the line before it gets tacky. I sometime follow that up with CA glue to give it strength. Work in sections and don't do too much at any one time. I find it takes a lot of concentration to get the accuracy and steady hands needed for the job and fatigue will result in sloppy or poor work.

Paul

jay wrote:

Hey Paul, Thanks for the info. A couple of questions- By white glue, do you mean "elmers"? I was going to use plastic cement (Testors #8872c) that I will use with the rest of the model. Wrong? I don't want to try the 'sprue' right now. The distances are too great to get a uniform thickness. Maybe a synthetic thread, no stretch? Thanks again Jay

My recommendation is to never glue thread. They sell little blocks of bees-wax, and just draw the line along the top with your thumb over it, and you get rid of the snags, the tendency to droop, and make it much more manageable.

For my ships, I use nylon line. Most of the stuff I get is white, and I dye it by boiling it. Makes it very flexible, and it will retain the shape you want it to (standing rigging, for black. Running rigging my differ.) I tie off my pulleys and dead eyes to the masts and spars, and then run the line through them. I don't glue those, either, because they need to flex as tension is put on the lines.

Start with the standing rigging, and then, if you place sails on the ship, install the running rigging. Otherwise, you can leave the running rigging off, and say that it's in dock for a while!

I never use sprue or metal, because it isn't really compatible with the way the real thing looks. I've been on the Cutty Sark and HMS Victory, and the only place I can think metal might work is with the main and fore stays, and even then, getting it wrapped around the heart could be a real chore.

HTH

Don Harstad

on 1/8/2009 5:28 PM (ET) jay wrote the following:

Don't use thread. Go to your local hunting-fishing store, or other store that sells fishing equipment (I got mine in WalMart) and pick up some fly fishing tippet line. It comes in various thicknesses as small as .005" ( 5 thousands of an inch). It's clear, so you'll have to paint, or dye it, or you might not see it at all.

You should never really need to glue the thread to anything. The lines were either tied to fittings, or looped around the spar and tied. On sailing ship rigging I do use regular thread. You can use the beeswax to reduce the fuzz, but polyester threads do not have as much fuzz as cotton, so may not need to be waxed.

Now, I do put a small drop of white glue on knots after I tie them, to make SURE they do not come undone, but that is not gluing to any painted part. I frequently dilute the glue for use on knots so it does not leave a gob.

Modern warships are something else- completely different rigging procedures and materials.

Jay,

Yes, Elmer's glue or any of the water soluble glues like that.

Instead of thread or sprue some guys use fishing line obtained from, well, your local fishing store. Also,invisible thread is popular, although I've ever used it. Keep in mind that some of the rigging should appear to be taut (standing rigging used to hold things up) while other should show some sag (running rigging used to change the position of yards and sails).

Paul

jay wrote:

snip the rest }

While I use monofilament for modern ships where the rigging is glued at attachment points, I do not use it for sailing ships, especially running rigging or any line that runs through blocks. The reason is that it is too stiff and makes a curve when you bend it around a block, as opposed to going directly from the block to the next point. Also, while modern ships are in small scale (1:350 and 1:700) where you want the rigging to be almost invisible, many sailing ship models are in larger scale, like

And you really want somebody to be able to see your work!

Don H.

Don, I agree with you on the momo and wanting to see the rigging. Talking to a couple of friends about this and one of them suggested the new braided fishing line. Very thin and very flexible. Not sure if comes in black, which is my color of choice, but we'll see.

Thanks to all for the help and advice. Jay

jay wrote in news:8a5002f4-87fb-48ea-a947-5caff9dc3164 @d42g2000prb.googlegroups.com:

I generally paint the standing rigging black anyway, as on the real thing it would have been tarred. Seems to work, and to cut back on the fuzz.

cd