what size is the rigging lines?

[Charlestonguy]

I would like to rig a couple sailing ships but have no clue what size lines to use. Is there a chart or something that would give the rope size based on a scale?

[s4usea]

I would like to rig a couple sailing ships but have no clue what size lines to use. Is there a chart or something that would give the rope size based on a scale?

Try here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/for ... and-sails/

[wefalck]

A very generic statement: the size of rigging material depends on the period and on the element of the rig. There are a various contemporary manuals around since about the 18th century (some of them as copies on the Internet or reprints) as well as modern books.

If you tell us what kind of ships you are talking about, one could be more specific as to the literature.

[Charlestonguy]

What I was looking for is a chart that would have like this: { 1/96 scale/ main mast (size) XX ( color) Black }

It probably don't exist anywhere but thought I would ask, sometimes you never know unless you ask.

wefalck
I have two ships right now in need of rigging, the lindberg Jolly Roger (scale unknown) and the 1/96 Revell Constitution.

Thanks

[wefalck]

The 'Jolly Roger' is a mere phantasy ship, so you can do whatever you like.

USS CONSTITUTION obsviously still exists in restored form and there is extensive documentation on her, as well as literature for the model maker. I am not so familiar with the US American ships and the literature on them, however. I gather, a bit of Googling will turn up various books. Actually, this forum here is more concerned with the late 19th century and later navies. Have a look around http://modelshipworld.com, there several models of her in various scales and materials are under construction.

There are two main categories of rigging, the standing rigging and the running rigging.

Standing rigging, such as stays and shrouds as a rule is tarred to protect it from the elements. Up the early decades of the 19th mainly wood-tar was used, which gives the rig a blackish-brown colour when new, which turns greyish, after a while on sea. In later years coal-tar was used, which is essentially black, but will also turn a bit greyish with time.

Running rigging are those lines with which the spars and sails are controlled. They are normally of the natural colour of hemp.

The rigging of an 18th/19th century ship is in fact quite a complicated affair and the various ropes are made up in a very sophisticated way, using splicing etc. To a degree this can quite faithfully be reproduced in 1/96 scale, but it requires patience.

Personally, I would focus on making a good job out of USS CONSTITUTION and forget about this pirate ship ...

[Harquebus]

The 'Jolly Roger' is a name contrived by Lindberg to sell more model ships especially in light of the recent popularity, over the years, of pirate movies. The Jolly Roger began life as a decent model of the La Flore, a French frigate.

See http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_su ... 94708.aspx where the subject is discussed in some detail...