Parts review Aftermarket naval guns parts to upscale, Part 3/3

Jimsky

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Forum Moderator
Joined
Nov 3, 2018
Messages
12,916
Points
938

Location
Brooklyn, New York USA
"Raise your words not your voice, it is rain that grows flowers, not thunder." Greetings all.​

This is Part 3 of 3 series log Accesories\Uspscale mini kits of naval guns. It is not the typical review, where the review subject is giving evaluation, it is rather the parts 'in action', In other words, the use of those parts in real scenarios. To those of you who came directly to this post, I suggest familiarizing yourself with my previous parts (Part 1/3 and Part 2/3) of reviews about aftermarket naval gun mini kits (links below)



I thought about the best way to show the reviewing parts 'In action', e.g. the use of them. Since the review of the naval guns, it would be most suitable to rig those guns. This way all the parts from the mini-kits will be used and shown as the final product. Besides the country of origin, where guns differ from rigging, there are various locations for rigging the naval. Let's examine the image below courtesy of Wolfram Zu Mondfeld from the book 'Historic Ship Models'. While the image shows the location of the French rigging gun, it should give you an idea.

1727886522634.png

As you can see, there are at least 4 common situations where the gun will be rigged differently. I will be showing a few situations, but the parts in my review give all the possibilities. If you have not had a chance to read the review of PE fret (image below), you can read it here. It is a complete set and has all the necessary parts to rig the gun for any situation.

1727887533039.png

Since the naval gun belongs to the British Navy, we will be setting up and rigging the gun in a British manner, and use the 'In action' situation, e.g. one side of the ship is ready to fire, or while other guns 'run in' for reloading.

1727889863147.png

This is how I plan to rig my guns, but wait... one of you should ask: " Jim, what about the rope, what kind of rigging without the rope? You have not shown us the ropes"!!! And you will be right, I have not reviewed any ropes...yet. But be assured that DryDoc has all the ropes to rig the entire ship, not just guns. I have some of the many varieties of ropes that Drydoc can offer us. Let's review some ropes for no.

Currently, I have the cotton rigging lines (ropes) and they come in two colors: Beige, for running rigging, and Dark Brown suitable for standing rigging. Ropes come in a plastic bag and have all the common sizes from 0.2mm to 1.4mm.

600_4780.png
600_4782.png

Being a cotton rope, it does have some minor fuzz, but it is only when you do macro. Other than that, the ropes are twisted evenly in the entire length and look nicely laid. Here are some images with close-ups.

600_4785.png
600_4808.png
600_4809.png
600_4804.png
600_4805.png

...and now Dark brown

600_4796.png
600_4800.png
600_4803.png

I hope you get an idea of the quality rope DryDoc can offer, I like it, and going a bit ahead, pleasure to work with. Note: I have not had a chance to use Dark Bown rope, but I am sure it will be the same experience as the Beige.

Moving on to the rigging of the gun. For each scale gun, I made simple buttle stations. While some of them look 'Fancy', and others do not, they are simply constructed from leftover material, just to show the actual rigging. They are made with no scale, nor belong to a specific ship. Getting parts ready for use.

600_4759.png

I started to make a breeching line.

600_4768.png 600_4769.png600_4770.png

This is the breeching position for a 'ready for action' situation. Note how the Breeching loop is made and attached to the breeching line.

600_4771.png 600_4772.png

Train and outhaul (side) tackles are made the same: one single and one double shave block per tackle.

600_4765.png 600_4763.png

close-up view. These are 3.00mm blocks

600_4762.png

All three tackles are made and ready. I left them with a bit of tension for a few days. It wasn't required but it gave my eyes some break while I worked on something else.

600_4764.png

Below are some other rigging blocks, I use for other rigging tasks. Just so you have an idea

600_4810.png

Alright, the following images will show the rigging for all scale guns available at DryDock. Starting with a 1:48 scale. To those who followed my latest review, I utilized the battle station built to show gunport hinges. ;)

Continue on the next page, as 25 images per post are reached....
 
Continue from the previous posts...

Ready for action gun in scale 1:48

600_4849.png
600_4856.png
600_4841.png
600_4840.png
IMG_2742.jpeg

Ready for action in scale 1:64. Here the barrel and all the fittings are blackened.

600_4842.png
600_4852.png
600_4853.png
600_4855.png

Scale 1:48

600_4856.png
600_4857.png
600_4859.png
600_4861.png

... and the smallest scale is 1:96

600_4863.png
600_4864.png
600_4865.png
600_4866.png

Uhhh...I was ready to say that's it but... I missed showing the 1:72 scale, and I do have photos of this batt;e station but... the 1:72 scale is shown in different situations, heck why not??!!! It will be ' at sea, but not in action. Ports are closed and gun secured. I made yet another battle station with a closed port.

Scale 1:72, at sea but not in action.

600_4875.png
600_4876.png
600_4878.png
600_4882.png
600_4881.png

Well..., I regret but the review, as well as the series of reviews, comes to an end. I have hours of joy working with those mini-kits, and I have even more joy when sharing my experience with you. I will give a big thumb for those mini-kits, and PE parts, and can recommend those to anyone looking to upscale the kit-provided fittings. It is hard to recommend to scratch modelers but hey... why not? It may save you some valuable time making those fiddly eyerings and hooks to rig 100+ cannons. Obviously, you cannot substitute the joy of making your own, from scratch but...in case you change your mind, the choice is here... at DryDock Model and Parts!

As always, if you have any questions, I will be glad to help. What do you think about those mini-kits? Don't be shy and give your opinion. Thank you all for your participation!
 
Great series of reviews Jim. I like the way you have shown rigging for different scenarios. I have been trying to find information for rigging arrangements for cannon and carronades on American ships, circa 1803. Do you possibly have a source or suggestion where I can find details? Thanks.
 
Back
Top