: Believe it or not, telltales are difficult to model realistically. The : frames are a snap, but if you use thread to duplicate the dangling ropes, it : always seems to want to hang in a slight curve rather than extending : straight down as did the prototypes, and if you use wire instead it ends up : looking like, well, wire. : : Should you find an easy solution to this problem you will no doubt be : awarded the plaudits of a grateful newsgroup. :
I use a trick for getting the curl out of the line I use to make rigging for my full rigged ship modeling. For that I made a rack where I could hang multiple threads, but a closet doorway will do for a few threads to make tell-tales.
Take length of thread (18 - 24in is handy to work with) and run it through a cake of bee's wax.
Attach a 1or 2oz weight to one end of the line
Use a push pin on the other end to hang it from the inside sill of a closet doorway. (SWMBO doesn't like holes on the outside sill). You want the weight free hanging.
Leave it for 12 - 24hrs to let the spool curl, and natural twist come out.
Take it down, and cut into the lengths you need for your tell-tale.
Len