Line Diameter for 1/72 shrouds?

A big question is what size ship.  A small cutter or such would have considerably different shrouds than a SOL or larger frigate.  Is the Black Swan the project you are wondering about the rigging for?

I applaud you for throwing out the kit ratline assemblies and doing your own.  I assume in 1:72 scale this would be for a smaller ship.  Getting really fine thread is harder these days, but I would guess that the normal stuff you find in sewing departments of Michaels or a place like that are likely to be just about right.  You might use the finest you can get for the ratlines themselves, but a more medium thread would be right for the shrouds.  You do not want something like carpet thread unless this is a very large ship. And go on the finer size if you have to rather than the next size larger.  Finer rigging, even if finer than scale, always looks better than stuff larger than scale.

Hi Don-

The Black Swan is indeed my current baby...

I hope I can manage the ratlines.  In think many beginners are apprehensive about rigging their own, but it sounds like once people get started on it, it's easy enough to learn, and, like most things, turns out to be much less frightening!  If the repetition is my biggest foe when tying ratlines, I think I'll be okay!  But it still seems so foreign...

Anyway, as far the size of the ship goes, all I know is that it's 1/72 scale, and physically about 24 inches in length.  Does that mean the *real* size of the ship would be 2 feet x 72?  144? That seems too big...

I got some standard thin sewing thread in a lighter brown color to use for the ratlines, but I guess my question is, more specifically:  Are the shrouds typically the same thickness of line as most of the standing rigging?  Or is it usually thinner, or thicker?  I don't know if the kit comes with enough of the supplied black standing rigging line to *share* it between shrouds and all the rest, so I wonder if I will be okay if I can just find some black sewing thread of a similar diameter as the black from the kit?  And is regular craft store thread the way to go?  I thought the stuff from the Model Expo site looked really nice, but like I said, I couldn't tell from diameter call-out which size I would need...  

Thanks!

One suggestion to ease things is to use simple overhand knotst to tie the ratlines to the shrouds.  That is not the scale knot used on real rigging, but you,ll hardly notice the difference.,  I usually paint my completed ratlines/shrouds with black paint anyway, to simulate the tarring,

Paint!  That's a good idea...I was trying to find a thread with a similar appearnance to tarred rope....it never occurred to me to paint it....Thanks, Don!

Hi David,

 all my experience of ship modelling has been wooden models, but here are a few comments which may be useful.

 As has been said before, the rigging size depends on the type of ship. A fighting ship will have heavier rigging, to help it stand the punishment it will get. A merchant vessel will have lighter rope because it is easier to handle, spare rigging takes up less space in the hold, and it keeps the weight down at the higher level, so lowering the centre of gravity.

 The shrouds, since they support the masts, will be similar to the other standing (i.e. fixed) rigging, while the ratlines will be much thinner. The standing rigging, which has to stay in position for many years, was almost always treated with tar to stop it rotting, so it will be black.

  As Don said, err on the thinner size. I have found that if I use a thread that is correct for the scale, it always looks too thick. This is not helped by the fact that most threads are not totally smooth, so the 'fuzz' on them makes them look even larger. You can reduce this by rubbing the thread with beeswax, but then you can't glue them, and I find a small spot of glue on the knots make them much neater. Unless you are making a 'museum' piece, so the scale has to be perfect, use thinner.

 I have just finished a 1:50 scale HMS Bounty, which is about 29 inches long (the actual ship was about 115 feet long), and I used 0.6mm dia. for the shrouds and 0.15mm dia for the ratlines. This is not much over half the correct scale size, but I think it looks OK.

 As an example, HMS victory had shrouds which were about 2.3 inches dia, and ratlines which were about 0.5 inches dia. She was a fighting ship, about 220 feet long.  

 Bear in mind that if you use a reference book for rigging sizes, that in the 18th and 19th century all rope sizes were quoted in circumference not diameter. So the shrouds on the Victory were quoted as 7 inch rope. (The anchor rope was 24inch ! - still quite large at 7 inch diameter but not as big as it sounds).

 Hope this helps. The main thing is to be patient. I found on the Bounty that the rigging (of which there was lots) took nearly half the total build time, but it cam make or break the final appearance.  Also be careful about not making the rigging too tight  (which can distort the model) or too slack (which makes it sag). It is sometimes better not to fully tighten the knots or cut off the excess until a whole section is finished.

 Good luck,

BOB.