BenD

47 minutes ago, TomShipModel said:

Is Gutermann E thread polyester or cotton?

It's 100% Polyester. The thread is meant for an overlocking/serging machine. It also happens to make nice rope.

Having the varnish crinkle up like that would have killed me. I would have contemplated giving up, gone to bed, and stared at the wall for a few hours. You overcame the problem and kept going 👍 

Another thing is the kit seems to have a lot of errors. How old is this kit? I wonder if my HMS Wolf is like this. I wonder if they fixed these problems because I was looking at making this kit at some point.

Look's like a lot of rope makers wanted this thread! Thank you for your orders.

I've added two more E121 186 Tan spools to the store's inventory. I'm nearly out of stock on a few others. Im going to order some more today from A&E, it should take 2-3 weeks to get delivered.

Hello all,

Gutermann E thread will now be available on my website: https://ropesofscale.com/collections/thread

People have been asking me where to get this thread for a while. It's hard to find on the internet, so I'm going to supply it.

The size most people will want is the E121 (tex 12). I will also sell other sizes, E151 and E382, for those who want them. This thread is the best for making scale rope. It's similar to using Serifil or Skala thread but with much less shine.

If anyone has questions, please reach out. 

I like the wood grain you painted on. No easy task and you have to essentially do the whole hull. 

I have the HMS Wolf on the shelf waiting for me. I'm glad there is less wood to simulate on that one. I feel like I won't do a good job of that. 

Looking really good mate.

Glad you like the rope. The dark drown is looking realistic, did you use matt varnish on it like we talked about?

I use Minwax satin wipe on poly. It's easy to brush some on and then quickly wipe off the excess. It leaves the wood treated beautifully and with very little shine. If you want the spray version go with #4. Minwax Polyurethane satin.

There are also artists' satin and matt varnishes that work well too. They tend to be acrylic and don't bring out the colors of the wood as well. 

Hi Scotty,

That kit rope looks not half bad, to be honest. It has a nice tight twist to it even if it is left-hand.  It would also need to be stained. I also doubt the stated size of the rope, looks more to be 1.1mm - 1.2mm, and the small one is 0.35mm - 0.45mm.

I'll send you a PM and see what we can do. 

Really great work. The extra activity on deck really brings it together. The sails look fantastic, hard to tell they are parchment paper. 

Closure at last! 

Nice work on the ship. I'm surprised it survived so well being moved to a new country. 

Cheers

Really stunning build. I love the yellow ochre on the hull.

15 minutes ago, JoeMacD said:

Hello Ben, the rope on the front and back of my Dory is from Ropes of Scale! 
thank you they are great!, I will also be using them on my Pram , 👍😎

Oh yeah, that does look like my light beige rope! 

I'll be looking for the build log of the pram.

Amazing work all around! I really like the way you rigged the guns. 

Welcome aboard. looks like your almost ready for the ready for the Constitution, The Fair American will be a good stepping stone.    

I'd recommend using Aleene's tacky glue, or white pva. The yellow Carpenters stuff for wood leaves noticeable color stains, even when diluted. 

I suspect a lot of manufactures are changing to synthetics for a very good reason and that's Price. Polyester is a fraction the cost of cotton, linen, or hemp. 

Someone on here might have some of the older stock and be willing to send it to you.

Another option is to use the new line and brush some diluted matt varnish on it after rigging. That method work's quite well on the polyester shine. 

I've got Shipyards HMS Wolf on the shelf waiting. What one did you buy?

@catopower is doing an in depth log of his HMS Wolf build. I've added the link below. 

You can find other shipyard kits if you type in "Shipyard" in the search bar.

Looking really good mate 👍 looking forward to more.

My kit is still teasing me on the shelf. 

I'm back from my holiday in the Dominican. It was really hot and yes I got sunburns... 🥵

I've started processing everyone's orders. Look's like I'll have a busy week restocking.

I will be going on holiday next month. Orders placed from October 31st to November 11th will be processed starting November 12th. If you guys need any rope before then now is the time to buy it!

9 minutes ago, David Lester said:

Those look beautiful, Ben. Did you glue them? If you did, I don't understand how you did it without the glue being evident.

Thanks! I used diluted white PVA glue for the making them, It was about 60/40 Water/PVA. After that is dried I use watered down matt varnish (same dilution) over the whole hank, Then used a small weight to help shape it around the belaying pin and rack.

I've made some of the Tom Lauria stile rope hanks and liked them. Yours look just as good. Sewing them together makes them solid, Now you don't have to worry about them falling apart.

Here are some test ones I made years ago using that method. They were the first ropes I ever made, Lumpy and left-hand laid... 

Here are the contents of the accessory boxes. 

The paints look decent but they are rather thick and will need a lot of thinning. The jars have a rubber seal so you don't need to worry about them drying out.  

Next box has the resin castings, brushes, and various thicknesses of wire. The castings will need some careful work, the head piece looks great.

Here we have the guns, chain, belay pins, and a part for rigging Crow's feet apparently called a Euphroe. The cannons are really small! I had a lot of trouble with my camera focusing on them. They have a lot of detail for such small parts.

Next up is the dowels, rigging thread, and the rigging blocks. The dowels are pretty standard, They did manage to stay strait. The rigging thread only comes in this light natural color, I guess they expect the modeler to dye or paint them. There is quite the array of blocks in this kit, totaling 492 pieces!

That sums up the rest of the parts in this kit.

I can't wait to start this build!

Cheers guys

On 9/14/2022 at 6:02 PM, catopower said:

Hi Ben, when you get around to it, maybe you can add to this review and include the contents of the boxes and things I didn't take photos of and post here?

I sure can!

You were only missing the accessories boxes and the paints. I'll get around to that soon.

Really good stuff here. That stove looks incredible, the weathering powder really makes it look like cast iron.