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The current model ship building fad seems to be to encase everything in plastic.
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Even the parts that are already made out of plastic! I'm afraid scale ship modeling has gone the way of scale model planes, cars, and trains these days.
Wow, lots of information and thanks to all. I'll just use the thread that came with my OcCre kit and I purchased the Masters Touch all purpose acrylic sealer from Hobby lobby. Just want to use a readymade sealer and not get into the advanced chemical mixing or special ropes/lines that you advanced modelers use.
For an experiment, I coated the various threads that came with the kit with the Masters Touch sealer and also with CA. The CA treated lines did crystalize and snapped with a tug. The Acrylic sealer held with a good amount of tugging. I'll go with that to seal the fraying along the long riggings and not any CA.
What I did learn from you all, was to keep any sealant away from blocks, knots, dead eyes and belay pins in case I need to loosen and tighten/loose those lines during construction and to make those areas more adjustable.
Thanks to all me mateys!
For an experiment, I coated the various threads that came with the kit with the Masters Touch sealer and also with CA. The CA treated lines did crystalize and snapped with a tug. The Acrylic sealer held with a good amount of tugging. I'll go with that to seal the fraying along the long riggings and not any CA.
What I did learn from you all, was to keep any sealant away from blocks, knots, dead eyes and belay pins in case I need to loosen and tighten/loose those lines during construction and to make those areas more adjustable.
Thanks to all me mateys!
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As a solid it comes in pellets which should have an extremely long shelf life. It is quite simple to make your own at various concentrations. You can mix it with acetone or alcohol. A one pound bag would probably be good for a lifetime of use.
Rob
For securing knots, natural shellac is the best solution in my opinion. It dissolves in isopropyl alcohol, dries quickly, and is reversible. The photo shows a 100-gram pack of purified shellac from Aliexpress.
Forgive me if I am being over simple and possibly ignorant but, I have been quite happy to use PVA both neat and diluted on many, many models without any problem. If I make a mistake or need to remove something a good soaking in just plain water softens PVA quite enough to separate parts and residue is easy enough to scrape off if necessary when dry again. I have used diluted PVA with water a few times on rigging lines with no problems at all. I am just amazed at how a simple question at the beginning of this post has become so involved and 'technical'. Just my thoughts and not meant to cause any offence.
You have a point. I find it interesting to see what new ideas are out there that I had never thought about. Bob Cleek introduced me to the use of B-72 and I think it may be a new alternative for many areas of usage (I just need the time to try it more). It is nice to see there are usually more than one solution to a problem.
Rob
To keep ropes in their 'natural' shape, or secure knots, I use Lineco Neutral pH Adhesive, diluted with water.
2 or 3 thin layers will dry transparent, without a glossy surface. Let it dry in the shape you wanted:
Before:
After:
Use the ‘search option’ of the forum with ‘Lineco’ and you will find lots of positive posts with the use of this PVA.
Regards, Peter
2 or 3 thin layers will dry transparent, without a glossy surface. Let it dry in the shape you wanted:
Before:
After:
Use the ‘search option’ of the forum with ‘Lineco’ and you will find lots of positive posts with the use of this PVA.
Regards, Peter
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The line looks totally natural.