Ship Model Building

Spars And Rigging. Part 1

We come now to the pleasant work of embellishing the hull with its small fittings, and raising the billowing spread of gaily painted canvas. Two anchors (A, Fig. 9) are needed. The shanks and arms of these may be cast in bronze, cut from lead pipe, whittled from wood, or bought ready-made (see Chapter III). The shanks should be about 2 in. long. The stocks are about the same length as the shanks; they are wood with a hole bored to take the shank. The rings are wire. Stain the stocks brown and paint on black rings to represent the clamping bands. The remainder should be a green-bronze color. The guns are cut from small wooden dowel sticks. Those for the main deck are 3/16 in. in diameter and 1 in. long, shaped as shown at B, Fig. 9, with a small belt pin driven in the inboard end. The carriages C are 3/4 in. long, cut with a fret saw from a square stick of soft wood 3/8 in. square. They are painted black, and all the guns are antique bronze. The orlop (lower) deck guns are similar, but the inboard ends are not finished off. Four of the upper deck guns are longer, so that their butts can be glued against the center piece. The falcon guns are about 5/8 in. long and thinner; a piece of copper wire is passed through a hole in each of them and brought together underneath and twisted to form a swivel stand. There also may be two long thin guns on the forecastle; and two should project from the stern gallery.

The wreaths around the gun openings and the gun ports are all made in one piece of thin, tough cardboard. The outside diameter of the circle is 1/2 in.; in the center, three 1/4-in. cuts are made, and the square center flap is bent up to represent the port. The rim is gilded and the port painted scarlet on both sides. These are glued over each opening. Paint all these parts and lay them aside for the present. For the rigging of the ship, a few additional tools will be handy: a pair of good embroidery scissors, tweezers, and some needles (No. 7 crewel are best). You will also want some good cord, such as fishing line - some about 1/32 in. thick; some about half that, for the rigging; and some bead or purse twist of luster cotton or silk of a rich brown color (it can be dyed if necessary; see Fig. 10). The masts and yards are made from dowel sticks, 3/8 and 1/4 in. in diameter. These are round birch rods, ordinarily 3 ft. long, which can be obtained at almost any hardware store. The lengths are given in the rigging detail, Fig. 7. The mainmast is 3/8 in. at the step (bottom), tapering to the top; the topmast is slightly thinner, and the topgallant mast still thinner. The foremast is a little smaller than the main, and the mizzenmast than the fore.

The bowsprit tapers from 3/8 to 3/16 in. Cut the end of the bowsprit 3/16 in. square, and for the sprit-top- mast take a piece of the 3/8-in. dowel and cut a hole to fit the bowsprit end at a slant. When the bowsprit is in position, the sprit-topmast must be upright (Fig. 7). Above this hole, shave the sprit-topmast abruptly to 1/4. in. and then taper to 3/16 in. at the top. Put a thin wire binding under the hole and cut off close. The trucks (X) at the top of the masts are half-round 3/8-in. wooden button molds, glued on the mast heads and gilded. The yards taper from the center toward the ends; each is a bit smaller than the one below. The flagstaff is about 3/16 in. all the way up. These spars are all stained dark oak, varnished, and then rubbed dull with pumice stone and water. It is easiest to join the three parts of each mast together before stepping them.

First the tops will be needed (G, Fig. 9). They are cut from the three-ply wood and are 11/2 in. in diameter for the lower tops of the foremasts and mainmasts and 11/4 in. for the other four, one going on the sprit- topmast. In the center is bored a hole just large enough to take the mast under them; on each side are two crescent slots, which are the lubber holes for passing the shrouds through; and on the outside edges, abreast of the mast hole, are two holes in the upper tops and three in the lower. Around each of them, except the one for the sprit, is glued cardboard lattice- work, painted scarlet. To join up the masts, bore a hole in the mast under the point where the top or cap is to come, push an inch of toothpick through it, place the cap on, hold the topmast in position so that it rests on the cap, and lash it to the top of the lowermast, passing a few turns of the cord between the masts. Invert and nail through the cap into the heel of the topmast so that they will be slightly apart. A steadying nail may then be driven through the two masts. Fix the topgallant mast on in the same manner. Insert the assembled masts in the hole in the deck, so that the topmast is before the lowermast, and the topgallant before the topmast. From the top of the lowermast, run some cords to the ship's sides and bow, to steady it firmly in position - upright but raking slightly aft (leaning backward). The foremast is almost vertical, the main rakes a little more, and the mizzen more still.

You will now need 96 deadeyes (J) with which to set up the rigging. They can be made from boxwood, but are more easily made from celluloid knitting needles (see Chapters III and IV). They should be about 7/32 in. in diameter for the lower, and 3/16 for the upper. With a fret saw or small file, cut grooves in the needle 1/8 in., or rather less, apart; then, with the saw or a sharp chisel, cut the needle in sections between, not at, the grooves. Then bore a triangle of three holes in each with a hot darning needle. Celluloid is inflammable and, although small holes can be bored in this way without setting fire to the material, it is essential to take every precaution against a blaze. To keep the shrouds clear of the ship's sides, channels are used as at K and L, Fig. 9. These are 3/16 in. thick by 5/16 in. deep, of wood, with seven grooves for the main and four grooves for the fore. They are glued and nailed at the lower edge of the bulwark, with the forward groove level with the mast. In line with the grooves, bore holes with an upward slant just above the lower molding.