rope

[Short John Bronze]

The photo below includes two pieces of hemp rope. One new and one weathered. Also included are some bits of Corel and OcCre rigging thread.
All are three stranded and laid right handed. The rope is about 13mm in diameter and is probably quite thin by marine standards. At 1:65 it would scale to 0.2 mm. The Corel threads are 0.25 and 0.5; the OcCre is o.15. On Colour the range between new and weathered real rope will encompass many intermediate shades of beige/brown/tan/ umber etc.
If tarred ropes are represented by black thread the differences between real and model cordage would be even less
I do not understand why this forum includes so much criticism of the threads supplied with kits.

 

[TheGatzby]

I do not understand why this forum includes so much criticism of the threads supplied with kits.

Because a lot of the threads supplied in kits, looks like thread, not rope..

That Occre thread doesn't look too bad. How many sizes are provided in the kit?
What if you want to build a kit where the rope doesn't look that good? And they only provide 3 or 4 sizes?
The simplest of kits would probably need at least six different sizes.


The best of that Occre thread is not laid very tight.

Compare to some I made. ( On the right. ) Thread on left is from an Artesania Latina kit.

Making rope is a lot easier than planking done right.

 

[Short John Bronze]

Because a lot of the threads supplied in kits, looks like thread, not rope..

That Occre thread doesn't look too bad. How many sizes are provided in the kit?
What if you want to build a kit where the rope doesn't look that good? And they only provide 3 or 4 sizes?
The simplest of kits would probably need at least six different sizes.

View attachment 630233
The best of that Occre thread is not laid very tight.
View attachment 630234
Compare to some I made. ( On the right. ) Thread on left is from an Artesania Latina kit.

Making rope is a lot easier than planking done right.

HMS Victory apparently had 45km of rope which scales to 600m. Do you really have the time and patience to spin up enough thread on a bench top ropewalk to span six soccer pitches in order to build such a model?

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Well one comment on kit ropes (thread) is it often looks fuzzy, but in the photo of real hemp rope, it is fuzzy, unless that is a focus issue.

 

[TheGatzby]

HMS Victory apparently had 45km of rope which scales to 600m. Do you really have the time and patience to spin up enough thread on a bench top ropewalk to span six soccer pitches in order to build such a model?

That is a question for someone who will be modeling the Victory.
For the models I build, I will find the time to make the rope I need, rather than rig it with string.

Which kit of the Victory do you feel provides adequate model rope.?

 

[Short John Bronze]

I'm afraid I can't answer that one. I perceive Victory as a frigate with two tedious, extra layers of gun ports and cannon with a ridiculously enhance price tag so I am not inclined to go there.
Your hand made ropes are very impressive and I see the difference between the tightness of the lay and that of kit thread though I don't think my aging eyesight would detect it on a completed model.

 

[Short John Bronze]

Well one comment on kit ropes (thread) is it often looks fuzzy, but in the photo of real hemp rope, it is fuzzy, unless that is a focus issue.

It is fuzzy when new but it wears smooth with use. Possibly the fuzz beds in or the stray fibres get pulled out.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Because a lot of the threads supplied in kits, looks like thread, not rope..

That Occre thread doesn't look too bad. How many sizes are provided in the kit?
What if you want to build a kit where the rope doesn't look that good? And they only provide 3 or 4 sizes?
The simplest of kits would probably need at least six different sizes.

View attachment 630233
The best of that Occre thread is not laid very tight.
View attachment 630234
Compare to some I made. ( On the right. ) Thread on left is from an Artesania Latina kit.

Making rope is a lot easier than planking done right.

yeah exactly. that's the thing the kit supplied "yarn" doesn't look at all like rigging rope. I have a few made with this stuff and I wish I had invested in a ropewalk long ago.

 

[Rob444]

The photo below includes two pieces of hemp rope. One new and one weathered. Also included are some bits of Corel and OcCre rigging thread.
All are three stranded and laid right handed. The rope is about 13mm in diameter and is probably quite thin by marine standards. At 1:65 it would scale to 0.2 mm. The Corel threads are 0.25 and 0.5; the OcCre is o.15. On Colour the range between new and weathered real rope will encompass many intermediate shades of beige/brown/tan/ umber etc.
If tarred ropes are represented by black thread the differences between real and model cordage would be even less
I do not understand why this forum includes so much criticism of the threads supplied with kits.
View attachment 630207

I have used rope from Ropes of Scale, Syren and Dry Dock models All were superior in look and running through blocks then the supplied ropes.

 

[Y.T.]

HMS Victory apparently had 45km of rope which scales to 600m. Do you really have the time and patience to spin up enough thread on a bench top ropewalk to span six soccer pitches in order to build such a model?

I do and get fun of it. I wind my rope as required and of proper diameter. I need ropes of about 18 different diameters for my Victory plus I make them in two colors: black and hemp color. You will never be able to buy that many rope diameters as model requires. They are not available and your model rigging will look out of scale. Besides buying the rope will cost you manyfold more than to make your own.

 

[frankieg]

Make your own rope with polyester thread, it's fairly simple, you'll never look back, kit supplied is very much below par. Each to their own choice, I know what I like, cheers folks.

 

[Fred P.]

I have been making my own rope since 2021. I built a rope-making machine, and the result is far superior to the thread supplied in kits.

Examples of rigging of the Confederacy and Benjamin W. Latham:



I posted a video here showing how I make this rope (https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/ropes-of-scale-untwisting-once-cut.16194/page-2).
However, it is difficult to find the base thread needed to make rope with a 0.2mm diameter; I only start making my own rope at the 0.3mm size. For anything smaller, I use commercially available polyester rope.
Feel free to contact me if you would like me to supply you with rope.
It is also necessary to have a worming/serving machine, as standing rigging was always wormed and tarred.

Below is my rope-making machine:


And my serving machine:

 

[Stuart Little]

I'm afraid I can't answer that one. I perceive Victory as a frigate with two tedious, extra layers of gun ports and cannon with a ridiculously enhance price tag so I am not inclined to go there.
Your hand made ropes are very impressive and I see the difference between the tightness of the lay and that of kit thread though I don't think my aging eyesight would detect it on a completed model.

I've come to the conclusion that I should never have gone down the Caldercraft Victory road. I was wrong in thinkin that the scale of it would mean bigger parts, easier to work with, but being true to scale the sizes wemt the other way! Eye bolts for example have proven almost impossible t work with for me. The hull isn't finished after 18mths. & has been put aside since December '25, I lost count how many times I had to work the gunports after each operation. I still ask myself if the cost was worth it - it's now £200 more than I paid in April '24!