garym

as I mentioned.  the spacing between the decks,  is not very tall.   I was curious how they would stack.   the bridge deck is not as wide as the A deck ans boat deck.  the bulwark sides allow them to slightly bulge out past the hull perimeter.
 

 
in the background,  you can see the can of primer,   which I think matches the bottom paint.  I haven't tried it yet.  the admiral and I much have looked like a couple of nuts........I was trying to find the number that the TRMA suggested for it.   to make matters worse,  I forgot to bring my reading glasses.......so,  here we are......in an aisle,  trying to find a four digit number on a spray can......we'll soon see if I'm right about the color.  these first two pictures were taken with both lights on......I had to turn the overhead crane light off for the others.     ....a look at the bow end .........
 

 
....and a look at the stern end .........
 

 
the boat deck does interlock with the A deck in two places.   there are decks associated with these two areas as well.
 

 
there are no openings between these two decks.......although there are two holes inside the confines of the forward structure that I'm curious about.......not sure how they come into play.   the stairwells in the bridge deck and the A deck will not be seen.......I may not even bother to paint them  {I'll look into it further}.   the same thought goes for the insert that was cemented in the molded inner structure of the forward structure.   the outer walls were painted,  but from what I can see so far,  this will not be seen either.
 

 
of course,  there is still some touch ups that need to happen,  and more parts need to be added,  before the decks can be joined with the port and starboard bulwark parts.  

I had today off.......I was going to add electrical outlets out in the garage,  but it was a really cold damp rainy day!   such a good day to sit inside and play      I was looking over what I had done,  and I though you might like to see how these decks associate to one another.   that is the bridge deck and A deck........and also a good idea how light can impact a color.
 

 

 
really not that much space between decks either......looks like about 10/32nds.   I'm only using one of my crane lights for those pictures....both,  and you really go blind!.   I started to play with the stern and  poop deck,  making the structure for it.
 

 
Ben really helped me out with the anchor chain.....I knew there had to be a chain gate.  the detail for this is lacking in this model......hard to imagine,  with all the detail that is there.   in order to enhance this aspect,  I'm going to modify the capstan platform....it doesn't allow for it.  there are two small tabs there,  which I cut off.  a small square of the platform was removed from the starboard side platform.
 

 
not sure if it's doable,  but I may try to make the chain gate from these two little pieces of sprue.  even if I don't,  it might not matter too much......some of the gate detail is missing at the front hawse holes of the guide.
 

 
I will get the port side notched out and then drill a couple holes.  I can touch it up  then.

Both sides are notched out now.  the capstans are in place and the holes are drilled.  I may have to enlarge them a bit more to accept the chain.
 

 
some work has been done to the stern / poop deck.  the double benches are in place,  four more capstans,  and the bollards along with some of the other detail has been painted.
 

 
the same treatment has been done to the fore deck as well.
 

 
I have a few other thing that I'm working on.....there are eight cranes that are to be located on these two sections.  they also lack a bit of detail,  that I think should be there.  I'll show you those next {second enhancement}.   the structure for the stern [ poop deck has been painted.  it was cemented in place on the deck,  the same way I did the long structure for the A deck,  by cementing the tabs from underneath.
 

 
the night is still young....I may do a bit more before I call it a night......I'll post it if I do 

ohhhhh wait.....what about those chrome parts I've been soaking?  well.....I checked them,  and they look ready.   so, I brought them all to the kitchen counter and set up the plastic bags again.   pulling them out one by one and scrubbing them with the stiff brush,  they cleaned off well enough to be thrown in the tub of soapy water.  when I was done,  everything was triple bagged and thrown in the trash.   the parts are tiny......I used a strainer to rinse them off after washing.
 

 
when they were dried off.....this is what they look like now.   I used a dime for reference.
 

 
the A deck when I turned it over.........
 

 
some assembly was done to the fore deck......four of the capstans and two of the hold covers.   I'm kinda miffed about the hold covers.   clear parts are nothing but pure styrene......the hardness hasn't been compromised by the addition of color pigment or additives.  even though I took care to get them off the sprue,  marks can still be seen.
 

 
...and of course,  the A deck with all the clamps off of it
 

 
there are some small part to go on there yet........then I can get going on the boat deck.   I will continue with the fore deck, and begin work on the stern.   the fore deck has two lengths of chain {plastic} that needs to go on there........I want to sub in a couple pieces of actual chain.   I have been looking for a good picture of the chain routing.........if anyone has one,  I'd be pleased to see it.......can't find one out there,  anywhere!   {so far....anyway} 

so......as far as the railings are concerned,  they have been set aside for the moment.  I had to fix a couple repairs while cutting out the rungs,  and I want them to dry totally before I start fidgeting with them again.
 
I went back to the bridge deck and added a couple more parts....some benches and a pair of vents.
 

 
the fore deck and the stern section were repainted.   the sand color that didn't come off did make these parts look a tiny bit darker,  but it's OK........these decks were planked with pitch pine and will appear darker anyway.
 

 
I was looking for the hold covers for the foredeck........I found them in the last place I would expect to look.  they were on the clear plastic sprue!  this is a bit strange,  since they are to be painted flat white.  what a waste!  I already painted them here.
 

 
I painted the inner structure areas on the boat deck......let these dry.
 

 
...and I began to assembly the cranes.
 

 
note that I painted the inner wall structure on the front section of the boat deck.........I did the same thing with the A deck,  which has three of them.    not that anyone will ever truly see through the windows,  I painted these areas.....I went darker with this deck.   I want to put all these decks together,  to see if the stairways need to be done.  I'm thinking no.......but I will if I need to.....not a problem.
 

 
the outer wall structure has been painted flat white.   it was clamped in place and all the tabs were fitted in their slots.  I dabbed these slots from underneath with cement.......makes for a much neater job.
 

whoa.........74 inches!!!  must be the Warrior that's 51 inches.  one of these days Gary......I hope to attempt a build that size.  glad to hear you have that site to work from 
 
 
I hope to do something like that with the handrails.......they are like that throughout the entire ship.   there's quite a bit too!   I like the color of the decks.  the sand that is still on there does give it some different hues.   I did the fore deck and the stern.......came out pretty good.  these two deck should be slightly darker due to the different woods used.   spotty progress today,  but I did get something done.   I'll post the progress soon.
 
at the moment,  everyone's clammering for food...........better go man the grill 

more of the structures were cemented on the bridge deck
 

 
there are a few small features that still need to be added.  I saw this picture and had to take a second look......the center portion looks to be unpainted.   it has been painted with the A&M sand......it's just the angle.
 

 
I kept thinking about those railings.......how was I going to make them look better?
 

 
these seem to be the only real problem with the kit.   it's a mixture of flash and mal-tooling of the molds.
 

 
I decided that I would try and save the frame work and go from there.
 

 
the bow railings came out pretty good........some fine tuning will be needed.
 

 
the stern railings gave me some fits though.......I will need to do a bit more to make them right.
 

 
the stanchions are very small......too small to drill.   I may try to use thread of thin wire to restring them.  I need to do four rows.......but if I get three,  it may just pass muster........depending how much grief they give me.
 
 

I though I had shown the stripped decks to you.....varying degrees of paint removal.  it might not be all bad......may tend to shadow here and there, when they are repainted.   I did show you these though
 

 
the paint that I decided on is called U.S. Army/Marines sand......it's lighter and has a bit of a yellow tint to it.
 

 
these are the parts you haven't seen.    these came out with varied success as well,  but I think it will cover nicely
 

 
I began to paint and  assemble the bridge deck.....hope to have more for tomorrow.
 

the paint was removed from the bridge deck using thinner......can't say if I'd stand behind the use of it.  I think it may have ruined some of the deck detail.   I'll know more when I repaint it.   I guess I should count myself lucky that this isn't one of the upper decks.....some it might not be readily seen.   Still curious about the bulwarks and how they relate to the deck levels,  I tried to put them in place on the hull.   only one side stayed put though.
 

 
As mentioned,  the A deck and the boat decks got the treatment using brake fluid.
 

 
then I took a look at how the other processes are coming along
 

 

 
I used the tray with the plaque,  to draw the fluid from when the decks were painted......I have more if the need arises.  I painted on some more after a short time,  and ran our errands.  when we came back,  they got their first scrubbing with a nylon brush.
 

 
I was able to pick up most of the paint I wanted...really stinks that HobbyTown isn't close anymore.
 

 
I had a problem with the names of the paints,  wearing off the labels.  this happens due to the handling they go through,  made it hard to read what they are.....let alone getting some more.   I put scotch tape over the names and numbers to prevent this from happening.   the decks underwent another scrubbing.
 

 
they were them brought outside and given a bath of strong soapy water.  the results varied....
 

 
some of the other smaller deck parts were entered into the process.
 

 
I figured I'd get a little more assembly done on the boat deck.
 

 
I forgot about the rest of the deck parts........I had painted just about all of them
 

 
more assembly of the boat deck......and checking out the new colors
 

 
last thing I did was assemble the main parts of the funnels
 

 
once I can get past the stripping process,  I can get my main table free,  and can do other things.   what a drag!

well.....now that I've caught myself up somewhat.........Andrea's in the gallery,  along with the Lobsie Twins {which was way overdue}........closing logs are done on Word Press {haven't done the Titanic yet.....don't want to wait too long and have them pile up on me}....I can now settle down a little {still have the lawns to mow though} 
 
 
so far,  the only paint I've used is deck tan.......I did all the decks with it {I'm still jealous Evan  }  at the moment,  I'm going to assemble the structures between the decks,  and paint them flat white,  after cleaning up all the joints.
 

 
once assembled I'll try to keep them separate......but with them at this point,  it won't be too hard to see where they go.  I took the stand parts and have them sitting an a container full of brake fluid.  this is the old school method of removing chrome.
 

 
now we wait.........  in the meantime,  I'll share this with you.   I'm a bit of a hound as well......I'm forever curious as to when a kit is produced.  I noticed that on the instruction manual,  it has a copyright date of 2012.   but,  that doesn't tell me when the molds were made......so I looked through the parts.  in the case of the Revell Cutty Sark 1:96,  the date stamp can be found on one of the deck sections.......on the top,  of all places {if I remember right}.  with this kit,  I found it on the flip side of the sprue sheet tabs......1998.  the sprues are stamped from Korea.....the hull is stamped from the Philippines....... another bit of trivia.    so........these parts were put in the brake fluid.  they've been in there for over three days.   now they look like this.
 

 
it's looking like it's time to take them out.......it doesn't hurt the plastic at all.   during this time also,  I've been working on the deck structures.   I will assemble them and paint them after with an airbrush.
 

 

 
this is the bridge deck.  the parts fit in a very narrow impression in the deck.   there are tabs that need to be fitted....a few of them are very tight.....I've had to open them up a bit more to accept them.   these are the parts that Evan was referring to....the fore and aft railings.  I'm not impressed with them.......the railings are molded solid with no slotting at all to depict them.   I want to do something to make this bit of detail come out.
 

 
the next thing I did was to cement the screw tunnels to the hull.   the paint was sanded off and they were installed.  After the rest of the hull seam is cleaned up,  the bottom paint will be redone
 

 
new spelling for the word thread?
 

 
this is the A deck.  this structure goes almost the entire length of the deck.   the clothes pins you see on there are merely for support.  these decks are so flimsy.
 

 
I only painted the deck areas on these deck parts.........I'm curious to see what color the floors were inside the structures.
    you can't see much,  but the inside is still visible to a degree.

my smaller table was cleaned off........and THAT'S where it is to be assembled.  I told myself that.......the main table is for the wood builds........I really need to get back into that habit.  
 
as you can see,  the stand is a pillar type stand.   there are recessed circles that can be drilled out in the hull bottom.
 

 

 
one thing I might elect to do,  is to attempt to light it.   I have the stand and hull figured out.......it's the upper deck areas that I'll need to figure out.   I'll know more as I go along.   the bow and stern panels are shown here.......right side up.   you can see the detail that they molded into them......it's really nice.   they even embossed the names of the sections on the deck areas.   it's great for knowledge,  but none of this will ever be seen.   still cool though. 
 

 

 
a firm rule is that paint will not adhere to chrome,  so all of this will be stripped.  the name plate is quite intricate.....even the pillars are in halves,  and will need to be cemented together,  and will leave nasty lines.  stripped,  I can sand them smooth and paint them.   I have the Testor's gold and the Billing's gold......I'll be sure to give them a clear coat to resist finger prints.
 

 

 
it's kinda sad actually that they painted the waterline and bottom.  the two prop housings that need to be cemented on are unpainted......black colored plastic.  they tell you what colors are required to mix and achieve the color,  but it can be a hit or miss thing.  I also have to sand and do a small repair to the bottom.......there is a visible mold line and ripped out sprue marks.   I match up a color close to that and redo it.......no preblemo!
 

 

 
I began the build,  by cementing the spacer bars in place,  in the hull.   there are slots along each one of these to accept the port and starboard bulwarks,  once the bulwark and decks are assembled.  there are also a pair of bow and stern bulwarks,  that will be added once those panels are in place.  I am a bit concerned,  since all the decks {except for the bridge deck panel} appear to be a tiny bit wider than the hull,  even with the spacers installed.  I hope they are right.
 

I received this kit for Christmas from my admiral......she was so bummed out,  that it wasn't the Billing's Titanic.  I have never built an academy kit before......I was impressed with how the kit looks.   there is quite a bit of detail to it,  and I really like the size......the hull is 26 1/2 inches long.  I have to be brief....I am to grill supper.   it has been an off the wall busy day!
 

 
  I will start with an overall view of the parts......there are so many small parts.......I really have been away from plastic for quite a while.  I had to do this on the dining room table,  so there may be some bad lighting issues.
 

 

 
the instructions don't look too bad,  but since I plan to do some painting,  I think it best to hold off on the rigging until the painting is done.  {I'm sure they mean well}   I'm not too keen on the chrome....a few of the parts pertain to the stand,  but the name plaque,  props,  and anchors will need to be stripped.  I use brake fluid for the process and a good stiff brush.
 

 
there are a few water slide decals.......jury's still out on the flags.......they are peel and stick.   I neglected to mention that the parts are done in colored plastic.  for those who don't do much painting,  this kit would be ideal........reminds me of the larger scale Revell kit from the past.  here are all the white sprues.
 

 

 

 
the deck parts and sprue is done in a tan color....the deck areas will need to be painted a flat tan.  sorry.....I have the sprue panel upside down.
 

 
there is a black sprue panel,  a couple brown sprue panels,  and the funnel parts are done in an orange / yellow color.
 

 

 
there is a pack of rigging thread tucked in the sleeve of the stand base.   there are plastic ratlines in the kit as well....I may do away with them,  as well as throw another size rigging thread in the mix.  I'm pretty sure that not all the rigging is the same size.  the hull is an interesting part........the bottom paint has already been done.  I'll go into it more in my next post.
 

 
as the build progresses,  you'll see the detail that is molded into this kit.   it is a pretty nice kit......but it's going to be a nightmare to paint the detail on the bow and stern panels.  personally,  they might have done better to increase the part count,  instead of molding the detail into these parts.   that of course would alter the skill level.......and the market span as well.   I just hope I haven't lost my knack in painting small detail 

NEEDLES/PINS AND PROTECTIVE NET FOR KITCHEN PIPE
 
Under fore deck on Cutty Sark there is almost hidden pigpen.
 

 
In scale cca 1:100, pigpen is only about 9-10mm high.
 
Two points were significant for me - bars on cage, and a net on door.
 
Bars ... after some experiments with rope (too hairy) and holly telephony and other thinner wires (too soft) solution was in needles/pins
 

 
Ok, this was seen already in variations
 
But ... net ...
 
Great provocation, and a challenge to me from Mark Taylor
 
Whole day I was banging my head where I had seen such a fragile net with so small fields ...
 
A ha - wrong bought protective attachment to kitchen pipe, hanging on wall in workshop direct in front my eyes
 

 
After carefull canibalizing of this, I have got two thinny nets
 
 

 
Frame is made from telephony wire
 
 

 
Fixed with CA, cutted excess of net and fitted with Dremell thing
 

 
Mounted and painted (yes, there is little piggy inside, my first carving attempt)
 

Bruno,
 
what is the base for your model (Friesland) in the gallery – which plans did you use? Is it a scratch or a kit?

Can I (we) see the project Narim Maygeldinov is doing? I am curious also about his sources (plans, etc.)  since this is one of the
biggest issues in my build. How does he mean to do it in admirality – Dutch did not have so strict rules like e.g. English ships? But, maybe a Dutch ship model showing the construction underneath... could be interesting.
 
A great book about Dutch shipbuilding  (I also have it) is by Ab Hoving: "Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age"

Dražen

... than, before iI start with my build, i post few photos from the ship my friend Mile Bijelić made. Well, I hope to be not to far from the quality of the model, but, let's see...
 
(Mile is the guy in blue shirt, I am on the left - the ship is the HMS Prince 1670, 1:70, won gold last year on World championship)
 
Dražen
 

Outlining the hull for the finish second layer of planking.
I have a specific method I use which works for me. There are many methods that work well. I did not invent this method, just like it better and copied it from another builder who was kind enough to publish an article in a magazine.
 
1. Invert the hull.
 
2. Divide the hull into 5 plank wide bands by taping 5 short pieces of planking wood side by side and starting from the keel, tape them to the hull midships where the planks will run parallel to the keel and at full width. Draw a pencil line at the lower edge.
 
3. Place the taped short strips on the pencil line and repeat all the way down the hull. Depending on the size of the hull, you may have as many as 6 or more bands.
 
4. Place a full length plank on the bottom of each line and tape it in a natural run so as not to twist it or bend it .
 
5. Draw a pencil line  along the top from stem to stern.
 
6. Repeat for each short pencil line.
 
You can now see how the planks run and where they will need tapering and where they will need filling in between them at the stern. By mearuring between the lines at any point along a band and dividing by 5 will give you the width of each plank at that point.
 
Vince P.

Thanks garym,
 
Enjoyed the discussion and look forward to more of your input on future topics. Let's have a grog or two to knew friends.
 
wq3296

Thanks for all the information and  opinions. I have just finished with my ratlines on my MSW"s Armed Virginia Sloop. I ended up setting the spacing at 14" or .291 in 1/48 scale. It looks right at that spacing.
 
I made up a spacing block so that I could check the spacing as I went along. Being the Toolmaker that I am they all came out within .020.
 
As to the 1/16"  building tolerance,I would presume that you are  talking about 1/16" in full scale,which would be .001 ?  I have made up displays to show our building group just how close of differences can be seen by your naked eyesight.
As for feeling diferences on a surface,the average person can feel height differences side to side of .0002.
I uild to variuos tolerances as everyone does.
 
It just is up to each person as to what is important to them. 
 
 
  I tied on the outside right shroud line and then went across to the other side. Just used the block to check along as I went. It's just takes time-about 3 hrs later they were all done.
 
I did not measure any of them with a dialcaliper,I just looked at how they compaired to the setting gauge stick,and how they looked as a whole. It's better to have a little variation. Too perfect can also standout as being unnatural.
 
Thanks
Keith

Yes and no: I had my ratlines at -on average - 4 mm apart (at 1:100) scale. I changed it to 3.5 mm (again, on average), just because it looked better.
Your eye picks up tenth's of milimeters, especially in the case of ratlines, as larger spacing results in fewer ratlines. So the question between 11" and 15" is not just an academic question.
 
Jan

Hello Andy,WOW,What a great picture of  the SoS and yourself,a masterpiece to be sure,with accolades from other brilliant modelers such as Garym ,Denis Pink and many others you can very very proud of yourself.I don't think my heart would have survived the mishap which you magnificently repaired,Bravo a job well done,now you can relax some and enjoy your beautiful garden,keep in touch.Edwin

Hi Everyone,

 

Shipbuilding moves more slowly in the summertime because the high temperatures here in Northern California limit shipbuilding time in the shed to early morning, when it is cool.  In spite of that, I have completed, installed and rigged the main mast. Today, I started working on the mizzen mast. Everything has gone pretty well, although it is hard to keep all the lines taut. If you tighten one line, something else gets loose. I'm sure, though, that I am not the only one who has experienced this problem.

 



 



 

I've built several solid hull models, some from kits and some scratch. Personally, solid hull is still my preferred form of scratch building.
 
Solid hull kits have the beauty of construction flexibility. A beginner can take a solid hull kit and do almost nothing to fix up the shape of the hull (depends a bit on the manufacturer) and build a nice looking model. A more advanced modeler can take a solid hull and fine-tune the shape to build an accurate model.
 
As pointed out, one can plank over the solid hull, which provides a solid foundation for the planking. Going a step farther, a solid hull can be carved down to accommodate the planking more accurately (the thickness of the planks do change the dimensions of the hull slightly).
 
Solid hull kits avoid some of the pitfalls of plank-on-bulkhead modeling since you don't have to worry about shaping planks unless you choose to plank over it, and you're less likely to end up with bumps and flat spots, which can often appear on plank-on-bulkhead kits if you're not careful.
 
It's true that I've seen some people be a bit disrespectful regarding solid hulls, but not really here. But it did take me a lot of work on another forum to convince them to go beyond listing model categories as: Plank-on-Frame, Plank-on-Bulkhead and Other Models. But, there's a lot of "solid" support here (pun intended).
 
Well, all of this is to say, build your model and enjoy it. I hope you start a build log and post photos of your progress.
 
Clare

Hi Everyone,
 
It has been over a month since my last post because I have been pushing to get the Sovereign completed, and I'm happy to say if is finished. All in all it has been an enjoyable but difficult build. The kit has almost everything needed to build a beautiful model, but the instructions are practically worthless, and I thought the quality of a few of the materials was lacking.
 
Building the Sovereign is a bit of a humbling experience and has shown me how far I have come in this hobby, but also how far I have yet to go. When I see the level of workmanship of some of my fellow modelers, I shake my head in wonder. There were many times during construction when I knew I should be doing a better job, but just didn't know how. As they say about getting to Carnegie Hall: Practice, Practice, Practice.
 
Several months ago I received an email from one of our suppliers announcing a major sale on Corel's Wappen von Hamburg. It was less than half price so I bought it and stuck the huge box under my bed. After a brief break from shipbuilding, I will be digging it out and starting another major project.
 
When I first started building the Sovereign I came across the famous painting of the ship, and it's builder Peter Pett, by Peter Lely. I thought it might be fun to try and duplicate the painting with my own ship and me. Below is the result and some final photos of the model.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a history of doing maintenance work on historic sailing ships and I have painted on a fair amount of pine tar in my day. Landlubbers often think the tar we talk about when we talk about Tar is asphalt tar, a not too good smelling petroleum industry byproduct used in road maintenance on land. Easy to mistake it with Pine Tar if you don’t use your nose since the two products are shiny black and gloopy. But those of us who use Pine Tar on ships all agree it’s the most lovely smelling substance, perhaps in all the world. Some even say its an aphrodisiac.
But I digress.
Traditional pine tar is made by heating the roots of pine trees in the absence of oxygen, which produces charcoal and pine tar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_tar  and this nice essay on tar is worth a look too: http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-kaye-tar.htm
 
Nobody on modern tall ships paints tar on their ratlines, but neither do modern sailing vessels use natural fiber line as ratline stuff. Unlike natural fiber line, modern Dacron line is impervious to rot and requires no coatings. But natural fiber line can last longer in a marine environment if its painted or impregnated with tar.
Tar can and often should be cut with turpentine or linseed oil or both, this allows it to flow better and penetrate the fibers of a rope. Full strength unadulterated tar has the consistency of molasses and appears black and is very gloppy. Its not really pigmented and if painted onto a white nonporous surface it will appear to be a streaky dark brown film, it will not behave like black paint which has pigment particles suspended in it and will thus “cover” the same white surface the tar would only smear.
Also the paint will dry in a day while the tar remains very sticky for quite a long while, it remains sticky for weeks. Repeated applications of tar will eventually produce a thick black opaque coating and this is why shrouds and standing rigging is black, they have many coats of tar applied to them eventually leading to a hard shell of tar which keeps the water out and the Ultraviolet Radiation can’t penetrate. Despite modern man-made-fiber lines imperviousness to rot, it still can be harmed by U.V. radiation and this is why it is sometimes tarred but I have read that black paint is often used on modern ships in place of tar since it performs the same U.V. blocking function, LOOKS like tar and is also universally available while Pine Tar can be hard to come by in our modern age. But back in the old days Pine Tar was ubiquitous. Today small quantities are available at tack shops for the horse riding trade.
If you paint Pine Tar on canvas (which I tried once) it turns the fabric an olive drab color and makes it heavy and waterproof and this is where we get Tarpaulin. Paint it on manila line and it darkens it slightly but not so much that you would tell the difference right away between a painted and unpainted piece of line. Put four coats on manila and you will certainly see the color shift to a darker hue but nowhere near black, the line now fairly waterproof and very sticky.
Getting finally to the point, the long way, I am sure pine tar was painted on ratlines. Also I am sure pine tar was already in the rope when it arrived at the ship, having been applied at the ropewalk in a thinned solution or rubbed on with a rag to produce a coating that would penetrate the fibers and add to the lines longevity. But I don’t think it would have been applied in thick enough or repeated coatings sufficient to make the ratlines black. I imagine the bo’sun would have thin tar applied to the ratlines whenever they started to appear dry or took on a chalky chaffed appearance but I do not know that for a fact, I just surmise it from my own experience.

One blasphemous question:
 
Was there perhaps more than a black and white world that we ship modelers usually dwell in ?
 
Does tarred automatically means pitch black? For the hemp often stockholm tar was used. Depending on how hot the destillation was done, it was from brown to black, if diluted by spirits it was even getting quite clear. And also if applied cold or hot made a difference upon the appearence. Also wide spread was the use of other tarred things, in AOTS Bellona the tarring of the hammock crane covers is mentioned and if I understood well, even rain coats could have been tarred.
 
And if one states that tar is not to be applied where things are held in a bare hand, here is a small feature for the baseball fans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_tar see  Use of pine tar in baseball ...
 
... perhaps the tarred ratlines were much a lighter colour in appearance and perhaps the tar even helped too to have a good grip? And weren´t the tarred hands and feet even a feat for the press gangs to find sailors on the dry?
 
Because of these thoughts I decided to opt for darkish brown on my shrouds and a lighter brown for the ratlines as contrast to the untarred (?!?) running rigging :-)
 

 
 
Cheers, Daniel
 
PS: Written parallel with Frankie´s wonderful post!
 
 
By the way, already someone else wondered about black and white ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lobyPxNisJ8
 
Enjoy!