What is Silkspan ?

[Michelnou]

I am French and i have difficulties to translate the word Silkspan.

 

On French model airplane website i have found one products which could be equivalent. It is called "Pongée de Soie" in French. The description mentions that this product "waves in the wind".

 

https://www.123crea.eu/fr/ponge/240-soie-ponge.html

 

This product is available in different weights/length unit (g/m).

 

Do you think that this product is the same that the one you call Silkspan ?

 

Which weight is better for modelship sails ?

 

I thank you for the advices

Mike

[Bruma]

Hi Mike! 

No, to me the product you pointed out is not the silkspan. You can try to look for modelspan too, it is the same product. It is/was used for rc airplanes, in order to cover the ribs on wings and fuselage. Try to call an RC model vendor you trust.

I bought mine from Mantua Model:

https://www.mantuamodelshop.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=&q=modelspan

You may try to contact them and see if they can send it to France.

 

[ah100m]

I used this from Amazon for my sails.  It worked great.  It may be available in France.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KZH21E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Michelnou]

Thank you.

 

Do you know which is the good modelspan weight/length level for sails making because often modelspan is sold in two weights : light and normal ?

 

Mike

[Michelnou]

In France I can find modelspan 12g/m2 or 21 g/m2.

 

Mike

[Bruma]

Hi again. 

I've only used the lighter version so far, and I'm at my first ship model, so take my words with caution. 

There are many parameters that has to be taken into account: 

• scale 
• technique used (are you going to pant them? if so, with wath colors? Are you going to shape thet? ecc)
• period of the ship (generally I would say older -> thicker sail)

If you want you can have a look at my sails here:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25323-cutty-sark-by-bruma-revell-196/page/6/

post number 180. 

Those sails are made with the lighter version. 

In case of a ship of the line at the same scale a thicker version would probably fit better. 

Feel free to ask more if needed! 

[allanyed]

Mike,

Silk Span is a non-woven paper that is surprisingly robust once it has been painted with artist acrylics.  (not the cheap bottled craft paints)   If you have not already seen the posts that follow, you may want to check it out.   I would also buy a copy of the supplementary booklet on making sails by David Antscherl for $8 plus shipping from Seawatch Books.   I find it to be superior to cloth as it is so close to scale and avoids the need to do sewing or stitching which is nigh impossible to do at scale smaller than about 1:12.   " Seems" there have been a lot of posts showing sewn sails lately and they really do not look right  as they are so far out of scale and take away from what would have been a  very nice model.   

 

 

[Michelnou]

Concerning the metallic rods which surround the sails, I believe that their role is very important to keep the shape memory.

 

For brass, by example, what is the good rod's diameter to supply the necessary stiffness to the whole sail (0,4 mm) ?

 

Mike

[allanyed]

Mike,   I do not recall ever seeing a sail with metal rods.   Are you speaking about using metal wire of some sort to keep the sails for the model looking billowed rather than using a bolt rope?

 

Merci bien

[Michelnou]

Yes, i have discover this process in this post :

 

Cutty Sark by Bruma - Revell - 1:96

• tea race
• clipper
• 1:96
• cutty sark model
• revell
• cutty sark
• Plastic kit

---

By Bruma,
August 12, 2020 in - Kit build logs for subjects built from 1851 - 1900

 

and i think that it is a good idea. Hence my question about the metallic rod diameter.

Mike

[Michelnou]

Allanyed,

Does the Seawatch Book you cite provide informations about tissue-paper choice (brand, weight, color...) ?

 

Mike

[allanyed]

Mike,

It does not really have sources.   Check out https://sigmfg.com/products/sig-silkspan-tissue  which is what I used.   

You can also go to their home page and click on catalogs, SIG,  then scroll to page 86 for more options.   What I find strange is that the material I bought SIGST001, is not listed in the catalog.  They may have changed code numbers.  You can get prices in dollars, Euros or other currencies on their site.  

[Michelnou]

I  have bought the Sail making Seawatch book and finally i have found in France a product called "Papier Japon" on this website :

https://www.cmbmodelisme.fr/boutique/fp1883/PAPIER,JAPON,BLANC,19g,m².html

which is used usually for light modelplane canvas covering.

Mike

[allanyed]

Looks like the same or very similar material.  The site I gave above has weight of the paper as well so you can do a conversion and see if they are similar or perhaps exactly the same.

 

[Bruma]

On 4/15/2021 at 6:43 PM, Michelnou said:

For brass, by example, what is the good rod's diameter to supply the necessary stiffness to the whole sail (0,4 mm) ?

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. 
Yes, they are there to help the sail maintaining their shape. 
I have used a 0.4 - 0.5 twisted aluminum wire (at least I think it is aluminum, it is gray). 
But the point is: use what you think is the best solution for your model and scale. The wire provide also a simulation for the bolt rope, and they size tent to vary during different periods and sail sizes. 
I have made many test to find the best solution for me, and I'm glad to share my small achievement, but the process needs to be changed depending on your models. 
Plus: testing is a lot  of fun! You might enjoy the journey more than the destination, for me that's the case! 

[kondzik]

On 4/17/2021 at 6:05 PM, Michelnou said:

I  have bought the Sail making Seawatch book and finally i have found in France a product called "Papier Japon" on this website :

https://www.cmbmodelisme.fr/boutique/fp1883/PAPIER,JAPON,BLANC,19g,m².html

which is used usually for light modelplane canvas covering.

Funny how similar it is to polish "Papier Japoński" (eng. japanese paper) which I use for sails making .

Edited April 19, 2021 by kondzik

[AON]

Mike

Pongee de Soie is not Silkspan.

Silkspan is very much like the material used to make Tea bags... When I first saw it that was exactly what I thought of.

Alan

[PRS]

A good place to buy silkspan is Brodak.

 

https://brodak.com/silkspan-lite-white-only-2-sheets.html

 

[Matt D]

30 minutes ago, PRS said:

A good place to buy silkspan is Brodak.

Neat site, Paul.  It sent me down an hour long rabbit hole into airplanes!