So, I opened up some of my new Model Shipways Hemp rigging line to use on my current kit today, expecting to embark on a journey away from kit-included lines…and my dreams were dashed.
The texture of it is like plastic. It’s shiny, stiff, and remains fully kinked up after begin unwound from the little spool-card it comes on…I tried to wax it, hoping it would loosen up, but no dice.
I actually prefer the Corel stuff I bought a long time ago WAY more than this junk.
Sorry, but I thought for some reason that it would be superior stuff, and so I stocked up…now I have a box of line that I’ll probably never use…
Question: Where’s the good stuff? Anyone?
Or am I stuck with kit-supplied line (which isn’t so bad, compared to what MS sells!) ?
That sounds bad- I don’t know what to say. I buy Caldercraft line and I think I get it from Blue Jacket. It comes on a little cardboard tube maybe 3/4" in diameter. It has a nice rope look and is pretty pliable.
Model Expo sells several different kinds of line. It sounds like Dave got some of the inferior stuff. The stuff I’ve bought is labeled “cotton poly mix,” and comes on black plastic things shaped sort of like flat spools. I’ve been pretty happy with what I’ve bought - but I honestly don’t remember whether it was called “hemp” or something else. It does have a little bit of a sheen to it, but that doesn’t seem to be noticeable once it’s been handled and set up.
I don’t recall that it retains kinks from the spool. If yours is doing that, you can probably get the kinks out by dampening the line with water.
It sounds to me, though, like Dave and I bought different products.
I don’t think Bluejacket sells any Caldercraft products. The Bluejacket catalog does include cotton (not recommended), nylon (ok with reservations), and linen line. Lots of old-timers swear by linen, and it’s certainly good, durable stuff. It used to be possible to get linen fishline that had a real ropelike lay to it. No more. The Bluejacket linen, to my eye at least, doesn’t look much like rope. It would be great for spinning up with a “rope-making machine,” though.
Toward the bottom of the page, the ones that say Manila Hemp…I bought several diameters…the really thin (.008") isn’t too bad, and could be used for ratlines, but as it gets thicker, it gets worse and worse…
Not the end of the world, I got them for 1.00 each, but I really expected better quality…honestly, the Corel line is waaayyy better…I ended up using it for the windlass-to-halyard line on the Thomas Kogge, and it bends smoothly.
I used that line on the Hanse Kogge. I also picked it up on sale from Model Expo and I had the same issues with it especially with the black thicker line, which I believe was the nylon twist (tarred). However, I unwound the length I needed plus some more and then soaked it in hot water for five to fifteen minutes then secured one end way up the wall so the whole length was straight and then took my Tamiya clamps and hung them from the bottom end and let stretch for about a week. The clamps are not really heavy but enough to work. After that the kinks were gone so I ran them threw beeswax and ran them over a flame (not too close). After that they worked alright but I vowed to find better line to work with in the future.
I am going to check out morope which looks beautiful but I understand you need to secure the ends otherwise it will unravel. There is rope from jbmodel.eu as well as really nice blocks although rather on the expensive side. I tried to connect but nothing came up; I hope they haven’t gone bust. There is also line available from cottageindustymodels.com called cim rope.
Here’s a picture of stretching the line in question. Hope this helps Dave.
I have to suspect that ME is selling different products under the same label. That doesn’t necessarily imply anything dishonest; I think a lot of its thread comes from Europe, and the supply is probably erratic. (Some of the nice ME line I bought is on spools labeled “Mamoli.” I wouldn’t dream of buying a Mamoli kit, but the line is nice. Mamoli undoubtedly buys it from somebody else.)
The stuff that comes packaged with kits (plastic and wood) varies tremendously - probably for the same reason. Some of the line I’ve found packaged in Revell kits is worth nothing but tossing in the trash. But the line that came with the Revell Viking ship was fine. I used it for most of the rigging on my model.
Another source of good, rope-like line is Cottage Industries Models ( http://cottageindustrymodels.com/?page_id=153 ). It’s some sort of synthetic, but it looks great, is nice and flexible, and can be ordered in either right- or lefthand twist. (For most - but by no means all - ship modeling purposes you want righthand twist.) Recommended with one slight reservation: I haven’t had the chance to rig a major model with it yet, and can’t testify to how well it lasts.
I’ll try soaking at seeing if I can get it to relax…but meanwhile, I guess I’ll just use some of my Corel line, and the kit-included line…
I suppose the moral of the story is to be careful when buying their line, and maybe ask them what it’s made of, because I’m sure this is very plastic-y…although, the twistof it looks nice!
I’ve got a lot of nice line on “IMAI” marked spools. It probably came with my Victory.
One thing I’ve done, Dave, is to pre purchase my tackle stuff only in phases.
For instance, I started rigging Victory by purchasing the cable, messenger, breech rope and training tackle. That alone cost $ 60.00. It’s been two years of working on that, and I’m a ways from ever stepping any masts.
I agree, GM…all the line that has come with my Imai kits has been pretty good! The only problem I’ve had with their stuff is that in the Spanish Galleon kit, both spools were black, so I substituted some other tan stuff for the running rigging…
Sounds like your Victory, while expensive to build, is a nice long-term investment! Plenty of hours-per-dollar!
