Rope Color

[BenD]

I've been Experimenting with different colors of cotton thread and would like to know what you guys think of them.  I'm not quite sure about any of them so the search is still on.  

 

From right to left

#1 Aurifil  5013 Asphalt. 

#2 Gutermann  3020 Seal Brown  

#3 Aurifil  4241 Very Dark Grey

#4 Gutermann  1001 Black

#1 Gutermann  2700 Khaki 

#2 Aurifil 5011 Rope Beige 

#3 Aurifil 2314 Beige

#4 Gutermann 3260 Beige 

#5 Aurifil 2310 Light Beige

Gutermann 3260 and 2700 on the belaying rack.  I feel they are the closest but still could use something in between 

Here Is my home made rope walk V2, It does the job but by God does it make noise.  V3 is still one the drawing board.  

[Landrotten Highlander]

This is my personal preference, and in no way should be taken as gospel.

For the standing rigging I would prefer the #3 Aurifil  4241 Very Dark Grey

For the running riggin I would prefer the #2 Aurifil 5011 Rope Beige

 

Both these colours 'feel' right for a scaled down version of a vessel that has been subjected to the elements during a voyage.

[BenD]

Yes they are Both very good options and I've thought about that combination.  I'm still going to keep searching a little bit for running rigging colors.  #2 Aurifil 5011 Rope Beige is really close to Caldercraft's rope color. 

[wefalck]

The rope colour depends on period and region - plus the treatment and grime as mentioned above.

 

Hemp was the main raw material until cotton was introduced from the US. Hemp has a pale yellow to beige colour, while cotton is more whitish.

 

Stockholm (pine) tar leads to a darkish brown colour, while coal tar makes the ropes black. With age and weathering, both tars become more greyish.

 

If you work on an 'artisanal' style model, you may want to have only two colours, for tarred and for untarred rope. When you want depict a real life ship, you may want to use several slightly different colours to represent different makes and ages of the ropework.

[Bob Cleek]

 

What wefalck said. Note that in the pictures above, these lines are apparently Dacron. Few traditional vessels today will be rigged with anything else. The old natural fiber lines simply can't compare in the "real world." Dacron does not stain easily and will stay "white" longer than natural cordage. Photos of full-size ships today aren't an accurate measure of what period ships' rigging really looked like. (There is, however, specialty cordage and sailcloth for traditional vessels which is dyed various shades of cream and tan color to simulate the natural materials.)  

 

The set decorators doing Master and Commander - The Far side of the World took pains to get every detail right, though. The line on the ship, in the close-ups, at least, appears to be natural fiber cordage and this is what it really looks like after use. Note that the lines in the foreground are a slightly different shade than the lines in the upper left hand corner of the frame. Note also that the frayed strands of what appears to be a broken, unraveled line in the upper left corner and upper right hand corner of the frame are lighter, as would be the case, as they hadn't been exposed to as much dirt and weather. The standing rigging, being oiled, would be very dark brown and at a distance appear black.

 

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[BenD]

God I love Master and Commander!  I've considered this movie for color schemes. 

 

There are so many variables to consider with this seemingly simple aspect of ship modeling.  Thanks everyone for you're input.