New article on making sails

[Jake]

Hello,

 

I just received my Finescale Modeler magazine (March 2018), day before yesterday.. In it there is a article on making realistic sails.

 

The author was making sails for the Revell 1/96 Connie. In it, he used the plastic sails in the kit (he pointed out, could use card stock instead).. As a... Sort of mold, sewing cloth around them.. And also using wires... Using the plastic/card stock, to make billowing sails that don't sag.

 

The article is 4 pages long, with pictures. It also goes into attaching these... Modified sails to the yards, and attaching staysails.

 

Having build Revell's Connie, I will say... The picts look much better then the plastic sails supplied.. Of course, that wouldn't be hard to do, lol.

 

While I don't plan to add sails the the MS Connie I am about to start (I really like the look of standing & running rigging, w/o sails)... I want to post about this article, in case someone on here is planning on building a model with sails, it might be something they may want to check out.

 

Jake

[wefalck]

Haven't seen this article or the model, but sewing sails at a 1/96 scale is likely to look grossly overscale: neither the fabric will be fine enough nor the sewing thread.

 

Many decades ago, when I was a teenager, I wasn't happy with the kit-supplied vacuum-formed plastic sails. I had the idea of using them as mold to make my own. I failed then, not having access to suitable materials. I tried to use thin paper and paper-glue. With silk-span or thin paper and acrylic varnish one probably has a better chance - at least it works for flat sails.

[rwiederrich]

I read the article and the author did do some nice tricks with his approach. I did like his application of wire edging to support the natural bow and billow of the wind filled sails.  I do agree the stitching he used was slightly out of scale...but his sails were far better then any unmodified vacuum formed sails one may use....and a mile better then the bulky outta scale cloth sails some use.

 

Rob