rigging question

Quite a few people have tried rigging ship models with human hair. Some people like it and swear by it. The general consensus, though, seems to be that it doesn't work well because hair is extremely hygroscopic. It expands and contracts considerably with changes in the humidity. I suspect we may get a post from somebody who'd used it and had good luck with it; maybe different people's hair differs significantly. But I've heard and seen too many horror stories about it.

Several rigging materials work well on 1/700 scale. Lots of modelers, including me, like stretched plastic sprue. I find it works well for all but the longest lines. For them I like fine wire. I've got a spool of extremely thin (about .002") nickel-chromium wire that a friend found years ago in a military surplus store; I'd have no idea where to find it today. An excellent source, though, is Radio Shack. Buy a spool of the smallest multi-strand wire they sell, strip the insulation from a foot or so, and separate the individual strands. You can find even finer wire in the cords of cheap earphones - the kind used for Walkmen and cell phones.

A little while ago we took up this topic in another thread and got an interesting post from a gentleman who advocated extremely fine fishline. I haven't tried that because none of the sporting goods dealers in my neck of the woods carries it, but it sounds like a great idea.

i had some x-tra fine fish line but it is only good for 550-600 scale

McMaster Carr www.mcmaster.com sells .0031" nichrome wire. ( p/n 8880K87). It is $28.22 for 3000'. You might try calling them for .002". They have a lot of stuff that is not listed in their catalog. McMaster Carr is an excellent source for all kinds of materials.

thanks pm

I use several varieties, but I've found that fly-tying tippet is good, and lycra thread. Tippet can be found in most sporting goods stores, and lycra thread is available from White Ensign Models in the UK.

Lycra takes some getting used to, because it's an elastic thread, but it's super thin and never sags. It responds well to CA and all types of paints.

Jeff

I've heard invisible thread for clothes repairs is alright too.Anyone tried it?

"Invisible thread" is pretty good stuff for rigging under some circumstances. It's fine enough and has a really smooth texture. Its big drawback is that it's springy. It comes on a spool, and has a tendency to assume a curve unless it's under tension.

In practical terms, that means it's ok for ship rigging IF it's firmly fastened at both ends. To make it work right you really have to be able to secure one end firmly, let the adhesive dry, then stretch it to reach the other end point, secure it there, let that adhesive dry, and cut off the excess. For something like the rigging between the wings of a biplane, that works fine: you can drill holes for the thread to go through. For a small-scale ship, it's tougher. Putting enough stress on the thread to straighten it is likely to pull a mast or yardarm out of line.

There's no reason why several materials can't be used on the same model. For a long line running, for instance, from the foremast to the ship's bow, you might start by super-gluing a piece of invisible thread to the mast. Then pull it through a hole in the deck at the bow, put a drop of superglue on the underside of the deck (where it won't be visible), and cut off the excess. For shorter lines, such as signal halyards, you could use wire or stretched sprue. Cut them to length in advance, dip each end in white glue, and put them in place with tweezers.

One other thought. Most masts and yardarms in 1/700 scale kits are over scale. The most recent kits are much better in this respect than the older ones, but if a mast is reproduced to scale in styrene it's mighty fragile. Particularly if you're going to add rigging, it's an excellent idea to replace the masts and yardarms with brass wire. I like to solder mine together, but if you're not handy with a soldering iron you can use super glue. You'll find the brass masts are much stiffer - and if they get bumped by accident they bend, rather than break.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

I like to use tungsten steel wire, that I get from www.smallparts.com
I use .005 for ships, .009 gauge for 1:72 scale armour and planes.
Admittedly, .005 is too thick for 1:700. But not so thick that's it looks out of place. I think of it this way- when trying to simulate wire, nothing looks better than real wire.... I like the results I get from tungsten steel wire.- Craig

I used Sewing Thread for my 1:180th USS Lionfish, works for me.

Hey Jtilley
Thanks for the tips.
Cheers
Mick

Hi there, quite new here. Would like to check with you guys, how to make guardrails (those 'fences' surrounding the outter part of all ships)? I have heard of stretched sprue but wasnt sure whether those are measnt for mast rigging or fencing purpose. As you would have to overlap those sprues to have them for guardrail purpose and by doing so, it will be rather thick. i plan to have those on my 1/350 BB but prices on Ebay including shipping's rather high from where i am staying. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

It's possible to make guardrails on 1/350 scale from sprue or wire, but I think most veteran modelers these days are using photo-etched aftermarket parts for that purpose. They aren't cheap (especially on 1/350 scale), but they're easy to use and improve a model's appearance tremendously.

In the case of a popular subject like the Bismarck or an Iowa-class battleship, you can take your pick from several manufacturers' products designed specifically for your ship. (If I'm not mistaken, there's a set of photo-etched parts out there for virtually every injection-molded 1/350 kit on the market.) The sheet will not only provide the guardrails, but also radar screens, ladders, and all sorts of other details.

A good place to start looking is the Steel Navy website ( www.steelnavy.com ). On the home page of that site are icons for most of the aftermarket part manufacturers. I've had excellent experiences with Gold Medal Models. Several other firms, including Tom's Model Works and White Ensign Models, also sell 1/350 parts and have excellent reputations.

Jtilley,

Thanks a lot for the info! Dropped an email to Tom's minutes ago enquiring quotation from him. Though somehow, i havent reach the stage of using stretched sprue for the guardrails, maybe another few years, hehee..~ : )

Though any other alternative if assuming shipping's tooo high and i decided to scratch build the guardrails apart from sprue? Thanks again!