Rigging line for more realistic looking vessels

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It is always a good idea to stock up on rigging line. Amati makes some of the best. Mamoli makes different sizes and is good quality. Mantua rigging is also good. Model Shipways makes some of the best and does have a .08 mm that is great for ratlines and since there sizes are in inches, their can be used to fill in the gaps between mm size line. A. J. Fisher is another good source for different sizes. Corel carries some sizes that others don't. Billings makes decent rope. Finally, OcCre makes a few that others do not. I have listed these in the order of best to OK in my opinion.
When I made La Soleil Royal, I used 19 different sizes of line and this really made a difference in making the ship really appear like a properly rigged sailing ship. It gave the ship a far better appearance than any other vessel I had constructed even using even 6 or 8 different sizes of line.
By having a supply on hand of about 40 sizes of line, I was able to calculate the line sizes needed and match all the calculation very closely without having to make a special purchase and having to wait for it to arrive.
 
Re: Rigging line,blocks, dead-eyes, etc., more realism

<t>How do you determine what is the right size of line? Historic Ship Models by Wolfram zu Mondfeld cover standing rigging sizes from 16th through 19th century on page 272 and 273 and running rigging on page 308 and 309. Blocks for these ropes are usually 12 times longer than the rope diameter. Dead-eyes are 1/2 the diameter of the associated mast. If you do not have this available, I believe, they tended to round up for lower mast and round down for upper mast. <br/>
Kit dead eye all seem good except that they do not make a 6 mm size. Kit blocks, however, takes a little work to make them look OK with Model Shipway's looking better than most in my opinion. Kit makers do make fiddle block and sister blocks that are nice.<br/>
Sizes of blocks comes in 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 mm. There are single, double and triple blocks. Dead-eye are available in 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18 mm<br/>
Also, open and closed hearts are available.<br/>
Two after market blocks and other items are available and these are really done exceptionally well.<br/>
One source is Syren Ship Model Company and the other is Warner Woods West. Xyren blocks have holes on the top and bottom to give the impression of a sheave. Warner blocks seem slightly narrower which I believe were for later vessels in the mid 18th century and beyond.</t>
 
Gary,
this is an excellent resource of material here. I take my hat off to you for putting all of this together. I hope that others will follow into this topic. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Donnie
 
Yes, the book is so full of information that it is an indispensable reference for almost any model. It contains information that is not available in other sources. The illustrations are almost worth the cost by themselves.
The way to measure line diameter is to wrap line around an object with at least 10 turns, 20 would be better and measure the distance. Divide it by the number of turns and the result is the line diameter.
 
I just came across this topic, great info. I have the book Gary has mentioned, and always wondered how to use that info. Thank you Gary.
:handgestures-thumbup:
 
Glad you found this and can help you take advantages of the book. There is another item I put in this section on how to calculate the size of rope no mater what scale your model was made in.
 
Hi Gary,
Yes I read that and I have already put it to use, works like a champ. I am already committed on this model, however, I do plan to do the calculations in advance when I start my USS Constellation. It is a Constructo model.
Like Donnie said youy are a wealth of modeling information. Thank you again.
:text-thankyouyellow:
:music-rockout: :handgestures-salute:
 
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