Golden Hind Sailing Ship: WIP

[peteski]

On 8/31/2025 at 9:48 AM, stavanzer said:

The Lines are not too dark.

Tar was used on many lines & ropes on a ship.

Yes and no.  In my sailing ship building experience I learned out that ships had two kinds of rigging: Standing rigging, and running rigging.  Standing rigging (lines which are stationary holding up the masts, etc.) are covered with tar and black). Running rigging is the rigging which was used to set up the sails and other such functions. That rigging had to remain flexible and was natural rope color (tan).  The ropes molded on those sails are part of the running rigging, so shroud not be black, although the color they are now looks ok to me.

 

As a teenager I built that ship along with several others in the same series although my models were by Airfix, packaged in clear blister packs. The parts breakdown was similar, but they seemed to be smaller scale.

 

[stavanzer]

20 hours ago, peteski said:

Yes and no.  In my sailing ship building experience I learned out that ships had two kinds of rigging: Standing rigging, and running rigging.  Standing rigging (lines which are stationary holding up the masts, etc.) are covered with tar and black). Running rigging is the rigging which was used to set up the sails and other such functions. That rigging had to remain flexible and was natural rope color (tan).  The ropes molded on those sails are part of the running rigging, so shroud not be black, although the color they are now looks ok to me.

Thanks, Pete!

I knew about Standing and Running Rigging, but did not know the differences and colours! I've learnt something new today, so the day wasn't a complete waste....

 

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I've been on kind of an obsessive bent with this build. Well I guess nearly every build I do gets me to that stage at some point.    But it's been very slow-going on this one as I scale the learning curve that it's one is throwing at me. 

With the masts securely glued in place and the cannons mounted to the deck, the next step is the ratlines. I found some old steel bead wire I plan to use for the runners.

 

After drilling holes above the blocks and one in the mast it was time to start running the wire.

 

The cross lines are black thread soaked in diluted PVA. Once this mess dries, I'll trim the loose ends and paint the whole thing black.

 

The aft set is nearly done and almost ready to be painted. The set amidships has six lines. Unsurprisingly, with twice the lines it's showing itself as more than twice the challenge. But I was able to get it strung and it's now awaiting a trim. The fore section only has five lines so getting the six-line set in place should teach me all I need to know to tackle that one.

 

I also made a golden hind for the stern just to dress the space up a little. I cut the silhouette from some photo paper and painted it gold.

 

I'm sure my methods of building the ratlines are grossly incorrect and all the model shipbuilders are cringing in horror but I justify my actions based on the lack of detail and accuracy of the base model!   

Seriously though, thanks for taking the time to follow along and please feel free to post ant comments you may have.

David G.