by David Griffith » Mon May 21, 2007 10:28 am
Go into a large fishing store and look around the fly tying shelves. See if you can find some "Caenis" thread made by Uni-Thread. This is an extremely fine (20 denier) polyester monofilament that comes in black, and is intended for tying flies on tiny hooks. In this country it costs about �1.20 for a 200 metre reel. This is not the absolute thinnest stuff that I've found to rig ships, but it's easy to use as it's on a reel.
If you can't find it locally, try logging onto
http://www.fishingmegastore.com as the Glasgow Angling Centre does mail order.
I use old fashioned stationer's gum, or gum arabic from the art shop to glue my fibres onto the ship. Secure one end of the fibre to the mast or yard with a knot, take the fibre round or over its next destination and hold it under very slight tension with a piece of Blu-Tack on the base board. The gum will set in a couple of minutes and you can trim off. If you make a mistake, it's water soluble and you can take it off.
Don't be afraid. Provided you've got some patience, plenty of light and an absence of draughts, it's not too difficult to do basic rigging. It makes an enormous difference to the appearance of a model, instantly bringing it to life.
Kind regards,
David Griffith
Go into a large fishing store and look around the fly tying shelves. See if you can find some "Caenis" thread made by Uni-Thread. This is an extremely fine (20 denier) polyester monofilament that comes in black, and is intended for tying flies on tiny hooks. In this country it costs about �1.20 for a 200 metre reel. This is not the absolute thinnest stuff that I've found to rig ships, but it's easy to use as it's on a reel.
If you can't find it locally, try logging onto http://www.fishingmegastore.com as the Glasgow Angling Centre does mail order.
I use old fashioned stationer's gum, or gum arabic from the art shop to glue my fibres onto the ship. Secure one end of the fibre to the mast or yard with a knot, take the fibre round or over its next destination and hold it under very slight tension with a piece of Blu-Tack on the base board. The gum will set in a couple of minutes and you can trim off. If you make a mistake, it's water soluble and you can take it off.
Don't be afraid. Provided you've got some patience, plenty of light and an absence of draughts, it's not too difficult to do basic rigging. It makes an enormous difference to the appearance of a model, instantly bringing it to life.
Kind regards,
David Griffith