Dziadeczek

I once learnt how to plank from Jim Roberts' brochure "Planking the Built-up Ship Model".

If you are asking about traditional rigging tools, it is easy to make your own, using a couple of large needles and fixing them into wooden dowels, or even a couple of handles from old brushes. See the attachment. I am just in the middle of rigging of my French 74 gun ship model (1:48), [geez, what a pain! 😬], and constantly using my three DIY rigging tools - I find them indispensable!

Awesome!!! What scale is the lion in? (Judging by the size of your hand holding it, I am guessing it might be in 1:24 or even 1:12...) Wow! 👍

I have the Vanda Lay thickness sander for more than 20 years now. It still works like when it was new, I only from time-to-time exchange sandpaper. Mine is attached to a handheld drill, instead of a separate motor.

I don't know if you guys are aware that there is a free and very simple focus stacking program online. Focus stacking online - free online focus stacking software Only two steps required.

Richard, you have to click on the link I gave in the previous post - where it says "At a Glance..." and scroll down there to post # 89. I don't have my own build here.

I am not sure about your article, but I am building all three boats for my French 74 gun ship 1:48 (right now finishing the third one - a cutter), pretty closely following the advice in a chapter from the book on modeling by B. Frolich. They are all built on wooden plugs (carved from a soft basswood piece according to the profiles given and triple painted with polyurethane to make them smooth and shiny) and then mounting on them all individual ribs, the keel, sternpost and stem, and planking with individual planks. Meticulous work. I am making mine from cherry. Here is my second boat finished - a barge. Post # 89. But, you have to have a small precise table saw to be able to precisely cut all pieces. I have an old PREAC.

I "painted" them to the canvas with diluted white glue (Elmer's) and a small brush, and gently "persuaded" them to hung down until glue dried. Once glue is dried, it is invisible. My model is in 1:48 scale.

A while ago somebody (I don't remember his name) has posted this image of the HMS Victory (along many others)...

Check this (post nr. #4). Also see this : Gebhard Kammerlander shows edge bending from ~ 3:15 onwards.

I always pre stretch my ropes right after I remove them from the ropewalk. Some time ago I got a large spool of linen thread from Barbour, if I remember. The thread is snow white and too stiff to make ropes from. I don't think one can get appropriate linen thread anymore. Who knows, maybe polyester instead of cotton, after all. But I found that polyester is even more "springy" and has this undesirable tendency to suddenly unravel once you cut it... 😕

I would simply replace the planks with, say, cherry - it is a bit "stronger" wood specie, similar color, although with slightly more pronounced grain. If you cut new planks on a table saw, you can carefully select better areas from your board and make your cuts along the grain and not across it or at an angle. Cherry is a pretty common hardwood, so you should not have any troubles locating it in hardwood lumberyards in your area.

Actually, in my case, the cotton ropes get tighter when the humidity goes up (~70%) and the temps get down (~60 F). When the humidity goes down (~40%) and ambient temps go up (~75 F). the lines get loose and are sagging. As I promised, I did a little experiment out of the model. I stretched three pieces of rope (each ~ 18 inches long) and treated them with three different substances: Shellac, Wipe Poly satin and Testors Dullcote - these are what I had handy around the house. (I avoided any substance which is water based, since I thought it would not insulate the ropes well enough from moisture). After the first coat (brushed on), I noticed that the treatment has helped somewhat, but not enough. The ropes were still stretching and shrinking, albeit not so much. So, I repeated the same applications. Right now, I am waiting for the results, when the weather gets dryer/warmer (which is more normal for this area). I also noticed that shellac gave some shine to the rope - a bit undesirable... 😬 Wipe poly looks shiny and whitish. No... 😬 But after two coats of Dullcote (petroleum-based product), the third rope looks virtually indistinguishable - no shine and no color change!!! 😀 So, i think I will opt for this Dullcote for my rigging. I attach three pics of each rope treated with the above (in the same sequence). Notice that these pics are large enlargements of the original ropes, so the effects are somewhat exaggerated, when compared with the original lines.

Your attention to detail is mind boggling! 😲

Many thanks, Druxey and Bob Cleek, for your advice! I too was thinking about clear shellac, since white PVC glue, when dry, would still absorb moisture, soften up and allow it to penetrate into the ropes, and thus the situation would continue... Shellac should seal the ropes and stop the expansion/shrinkage phases, in relation to changing humidity. At least, in theory. I certainly will try it on a length of rope stretched outside of the model, and let you know the results. If it doesn't work, the model aircraft dope will be next. Thanks again! 🙂 Thomas

Is there a way to fix sagging standing rigging on my model? I made those from cotton threads which I twisted on my ropewalk. They looked good and when I mounted them on the model, they were fairly tight, just right, not too tight and not too loose. But, when we got wet this winter and cold weather came in here, those lines (mosty stays) became loose. At first I thought, I would pretend that "I did it deliberately to show natural way of slightly loose lines", but with each bout of rains and cold and subsequent warm/dry temps, sagging became too pronounced, I am afraid. If I tighten them some more, when the temps again drop down and we get more rains, they might became too tight and break, I fear. I don't want to replace them with synthetics - at this stage it would be way too laborious and probably impossible, maneuvering in the midst of this spiderweb of other ropes all over. Is there a way to gently coat them with something that would insulate them from the elements and excessive temp/humidity spikes? If so, what should I use? Thanks, Regards, Thomas

This is a brand new deck (replacement) on the "Star of India" in San Diego. You can barely see treenails there, but they can be seen, nevertheless, if you look carefully.

I see that you actually darned your mouses (mice?) Very good! EXCELLENT! Congratulations!

Perhaps you should have preheated your brass strip to make it more pliable.

You can use white glue (Elmer's) or Titebond for wood. I wouldn't use contact cement - messy and smelly! CA glue sparingly, only in places where you cannot hold pieces in your hands and wait until wood glue dries.

I would first pre bend the bulwarks OFF the model so that their general shape follows the shape of the hull. Than I would use wood glue (either Titebond or Elmer's Glue All) placed on the edge of the deck and attach the lower edge of the bulwarks to this edge of the deck. To speed up the drying process, I would use a couple of drops of fast drying (gel) CA glue in the forward edge (on the bow) of both bulwarks, as well as in the stern area. Also, I would use strategically placed rubber bands to keep everything together while the glue dries.

Mixing your paints with powder sugar will increase the adhesion to smooth surfaces like glass or metal. Try it!

And here are the Rattlesnake instructions from Model Shipways: MS2028_Rattlesnake instructions.pdf

I found it for you here. Post # 4: