Ratline Madness Update

kapudan,

     Yes, that's the Revell 1/96 USS Constitution. I took the advice given here to throw the kit's deadeyes and shrouds as well as the kits thread into the garbage.

     I'm a slow modeler so it might be another year but in the end I hope my model will look like this.

Leftie,

Glad it worked for you!  From the looks of things, the end result is really worth the effort you are putting in.

Bruce

 Note to BCS aka Bruce: Thanks for the tip. I tried it on a few lines and it worked like a charm. All I had to do is lay a plastic rod on the ratline until it dried. Unfortunately because  my clumsy fingers accidently yank on the lines I'll have to save that trick for last.

  Jose: Thanks for the compliment. This is my first Tall Ship. I guess its like learning to ride a bike. Great progress can be made the first time but also a great number of mistakes. Still...This is the most modelling fun I've had in years.

Leftie,

I'm in the middle of rigging my Constitution. Your deadeye/lanyard/shrouds put mine to shame! I had opted to rig mine with the kit-supplied deadeye/lanyards because I was unsure of my modeling skills- now I sorely wish I had not done so. Beautifully done!

Jose Gonzales

Leftie,

Although it might be somewhat tedious and you would have to be careful with the application, I have found that by soaking thread with just water then putting it in the shape I want it, it will lose any "memory" that had and when it dries, it will hold the shape quite well.  I have used that technique to put sags in line and to coil rope flat on a deck.  As long as the thread is well wetted, that seems to be sufficient.  After it dries, you can put some white glue on it if you think it necessary to hold the shape but it probably would not be necessary for a ratline.  The challenge would be to get the right sag in the line while it dries.

Bruce  

 Thanks Professor Tilley. Yes I'm going to add sheer poles but as far as the deadeyes color I'm searching for a color that won't totally hide the detail of the ropes going thru the deadeyes. Maybe a dark grey or dark brown. Also I hope to do a better job of the shroud seizing in the other locations.

   I'll have to agree...now that I have a better idea how I want to do the ratlines its really quite easy. Actually a relaxing meditative activity. I can't quite do it with just one hand yet but I'm definately better than I was in the beginning..I no longer have to hold my breath while threading.

   Is it possible to get ratline droop by glueing the arms of the knot down at a 45 degree angle? I haven't tried this yet but don't see why something like that wouldn't work. I think I read elsewhere that some were coating the ratline with a 50/50 mix of Elmer's glue and water and then adding the droop. As usual I'm open to any and all ideas.

  Thanks to all.

On the basis of those pictures I don't see a problem.  The ratlines look fine; the ratio between their and the shrouds' diameters is about right.  (I assume you're planning to paint the deadeyes black, and add the sheer poles.) 

Maybe it would help to set up a schedule for yourself.  I've found that a repetitive job like this gets easier IF I make myself stick at it for a while - say, a couple of hours.  (Good music or audio books can help.  I have a small stereo system in the workshop; I find that listening to a good story by Joseph Conrad or Herman Melville makes this sort of thing go a lot quicker.)  The finger muscles will train themselves to tie those knots faster, but only if they get a chance.  You might want to tell them they're stuck rigging ratlines for two hours - but promise them they'll get a break at the end of that time.

Another point:  thread ratlines simply aren't going to sag between the shrouds the way you'd probably like them to do.  Gravity doesn't function according to scale; it treats thin thread differently than full-size rope.  Thread isn't heavy enough to droop like scale rope.  The modeler is faced with a trade-off.  Scale thread won't droop; wire can be shaped into the appropriate sag, but some people think it's not a good trade on such a large scale because the wire doesn't look like rope.  The ratlines in those pictures look just as good as plenty of excellent models built by veteran modelers.  My suggestion is:  it's more than good enough.  Stick with it.