Navalis has issued several 1200/1250 scale photo-etched brass sets. These
include radars for U.S. ships, and two generic ratline sets (#1250-1 Small, and
#1250-2 Large). Illustrated here is the use of these ratlines in the
construction of the Skytrex model NS 64 NORTH
CAROLINA, which I built as her sister ship, the DELAWARE.
NORTH CAROLINA and DELAWARE were two of a number of ships of the line built for the U.S. Navy in the early
1800's. Both ships had long and active careers.
Since this is a fairly large vessel, I found it necessary to use primarily
the large ratline set. The ratlines come in sizes and widths that are generally
larger than what is needed and so they must be cut to size. This is not a
problem, however as they are easily cut with scissors. After cutting them to the
appropriate size, they were glued on with super-glue and painted black. The
manufacturer recommends air-brushing them before installation, however, I
installed them, then hand brushed them repeatedly with a thin coat of paint so
as to avoid filling in the holes in the ratlines.
The end result is visible in the accompanying photographs. Several photos of
the model under construction are included so that the reader can more easily
view the ratlines. I think that these greatly enhance the finished product and
highly recommend them to the modeler.
Lest one mistakenly assume that these are only useful for sailing ships, one
should be aware that ratlines were often used on steamships and steel warships
even into the early part of the 20th century. So the builder and
collector of these ships may find them of great value as well.
C.ick to Enlarge
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These sets are available direct from the manufacturer. The Navalis web
site can be located by clicking onto the link found on the Home Page of this
site.
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