My Workbench

Sunday, May 18, 2014

II-Rory McCreadie’s step by step guide to painting and rigging 1:1200 Scale Napoleonic Ships - Part II

Part II of Rory's guide is a long one. It is our sincere hope that 1/1200 scale modelers of this period will benefit from the information here.
(Sorry for all the wierd spaces between some of the photos and text. It doesn't look that way on the input screen and just got worse when I tried to fix them.)

=======================================================


Rory McCreadie’s step by step guide to painting and rigging

1:1200 Scale Napoleonic Ships

Part 2 Standing Rigging

The tools for rigging: 3 types of thread, Thick black sewing thread, and a black and lighter colour thin embroidery thread. All man made. Bent tweezers, Cocktail sticks, Nail scissors, Glue and cutters for ratlines.










All ways dip the thread end into the glue to make the thread end hard. Do not use short bits of thread. Make a loop knot and lay it over the base of the main mast and pull tight.











Add glue to the knot with cocktail stick and pull.

Go around the mizzen mast under the fighting tops and over the crossjack. Knot.

Pull and glue.

Lay thick thread next to bowsprit and glue.

Cut ends of first thread as close to masts as you can.



Take the thread through the hole in the bow.



Go over the bowsprit and back through the hole again.



Go over the sprit-yard, under the bowsprit over the other side sprit-yard and back into the bow hole again.


Start going over the bowsprit and through the hole as many times as you can. Knot, pull and glue.

Cut the 2 thin threads away. Move the thick thread out of the way of the fore mast. Use a long thin thread and knot, glue and pull at the base of the fore mast.
Get both threads and move they back to the main mast. Go under the maintopsail, thick to port and thin to starboard. Put both through the hole at the main fighting top.
Knot around the mast over the fighting top.Pull the thick thread back under the maintopsail and pull and glue. Cut away thick thread when dry.
Knot and pull thin thread around mizzen mast at the top of the mizzen topsail and under the top. DO NOT GLUE!
Go over the back of the 2 tops and on to the top of the mizzen topgallant. Knot, pull and glue at the topgallant only.
Knot, pull and glue at the top of the maintopsail and under the top.













Knot, pull (under the fore topsail) and glue, over the fore mast fighting top.

Make shore you go to the back side of the Jib (stay sail) the side the wind blows from. Knot, pull and glue at the sprit-yard.

The ship should look like this, after you cut off the rest of the thread.

(By the way I said I would rig the Selafail 74. She has more sails set, so after I have done the standard rigging on the Venera (48). I will use the Selafail for the running rigging, when she has the standard rigging done.)
Knot, pull and glue some thin thread to the top of the mizzen mast.

Go through the hole at the stern starboard side from the outside and pull.

Take the thread and fish it thou between the mast and the rigging between the top two tops.

Pull and work it under the bottom of the 2 tops. Pull, DO NOT GLUE!

Go through the hole at the stern port side from the in-side. This is hard take your time.

Go up to the top, top lay the thread over the top pull and glue hold for a short time down the starboard side.

Go through the hole on the starboard side again.

Go again through and under the top as the first time and again through the port hole from the inside again.

Go up to the top of the mast, Knot, Pull around mast and the end of thread and glue.

Go under the top, top of the main mast. Knot, pull and glue.

Go under the 2rd top from the top of the fore mast. Knot, pull and glue. Wait a minute and put a spot of glue on the jib sail. Lay the thread on the sail and hold.

Add a small thin line of glue along the front edge of the jib and lay the thread on the glue. Knot, pull and glue around the front of the sprit-yard arm.

It should look like this after you cut away the extra thread.

Now for the main mast. Knot, pull and glue thin thread at the top of the main mast.














Go into the hole behind the main mast channel starboard side from the outside.

Lay the thread across the top middle rigging from the mizzen mast (2nd one down). From the in-side of the port side go through the hole on the main channel.

Pull up to the top, top lay the thread across the top and pull and glue.

Go down to the starboard side the back from the out-side thou the hole again.

Up we go again to the top middle rigging again and again lay it over again.

Down the port side and (sorry) from the in-side back thou the hole.

Back up to the top of the mast. Knot around the mast and thread, pull and glue.














Go to the fore mast above the topgallant yard. Knot, pull and glue.


Knot, pull and glue the thread on the jibboom/flying jibboom joint.

After cutting off the thread ends should look like this.

Before I go on. If you have more than one jib sail, you may have to drop this part of the rigging from the main mast to the fore mast to match the 2nd jib sail.

So the last or fore mast. This mast is just the same as the main mast. The only thing different from both is this is the last bit and you have more room to work in.





















Add glue to the end of the flying jibboom, and loop thread around it and pull side wards (port).

Add glue to the end of the port side spritsail yard. Loop thread around it and pull towards the ship. From the in-side go through the hole by the port cathead.

Go over the middle port side of the spritsail yard, under the bowsprit. Go over the starboard middle spritsail yard and back to the ship.

Go through the hole by the starboard cathead, from the out-side.














Add glue to the end of the starboard spritsail yard. Loop thread around end.

Again add glue to the end of the flying jibboom. Loop thread around this, pull down and back.

Put glue on the end of the dolphin striker. loop thread around it and pull.

After you have cut off the lose ends. your ship should look like this.















Now for the rat-lines. I start from the middle of the spur. Working outwards I use them so: Lower main, fore, mizzen, upper main, fore and mizzen. On some spurs the upper mizzen is across the top of the spur.

Look for the name tag in the bottom left side. This is the right side to be on the outside, pointing out from the ship. Look for the straight edge on the main mast rat-line, this goes to towards the bow. As do all the rat-lines on that side of the spur.

Cut free the first rat-line. I do it in the order as said above. (main)

Put the rest to one side. I only do one at a time.














Using the bent tweezers and hold the R/L next to the mast.

If too long, cut away from the top. The blocks should rest on the channel and the top under the fighting top.

Turn the R/L over and add a spot of glue to the top and bottom. As I have only 2 hands, I use the glue straight from the bottle.

Lay R/L from the top to bottom, holding the R/L with the tweezers. I also use the closed tweezers to push the R/L to the channel. If you push at the top it can move the R/L around the mast.(bad times) So push the bottom haft of the R/L only.

I then move to the fore mast, doing as above again. I find the main mast the hardest to do, as you have less space to work in. So it gets easier as you go.

I then do the mizzen R/L.

Wait for a minute or two, and do it all over again on the other side.

I now do the upper R/L'S. I again start with the main mast. I hate having to cut them to size as I feel they should be made to fit. Fit to the mast under the top, and go to the outer edge of the fighting top. Glue, move around as above.

I wait again, turn the ship over and do the other side.
This is the finished ship.

=======================================================

So this is the end of Part II. Stay tuned for Part III "Running Rigging".

Comments are welcome!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great tutorial and nice technique to loop the threads.
Well done!