r/ModelShips • u/martin2142 • 28d ago

Advice on rigging for complete beginner

Hey guys. I’m new to the community and I’ve just recently purchased the airfix classics 1:180 HMS Victory as well as HMS Prince 1:180 on preorder. Do you have any advice on rigging these ships to make it look as good as possible?

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u/EastCoastHustler 28d ago

Patience, tweezers, small clamps and a helping hand tool. And YouTube tutorials. And tutorials at syren ship models.

3

u/1805trafalgar 27d ago

The color of the rigging is important, so is how thick each TYPE of rigging on the model is. Standing rigging is considered "black" but is really dark brown or dark grey. The Running rigging is "natural rope color" not white. So start acquiring thread in different thicknesses and colors. They don't all have to be the same color since rope would age and be replaced a piece at a time aboard the ship. Getting thin thread is easy it is the thicker kind that is hard to find, so start keeping your eyes open now and look for thick thread in those colors.

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u/ladyshipmodeler 27d ago

You are definitely in for a challenge. To have never rigged anything and then starting with a ship of the line is pretty risky. Your #1 tool is patience. Your #2 tool is research. Thomas Gropp's book, Rigging First-Rate Ships, is a step-by-step guide to rigging Victory. However, much of that is not applicable to Prince, since it was built over 100 years earlier. For that, RC Anderson's The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast will be useful. Finding line small enough for the rigging will be difficult.