Life has presented me with a task: to equip my small ship (only 23 cm long) with deadeyes and blocks. I wasn’t happy with what was in the kit (or rather, it wasn’t there at all) and so I had to do everything myself.
In this article I will share my method with the respectable public (it may not be mine, but still...
Ufers
Don't repeat my mistake. I made them from a birch ruler. It was necessary to take plastic, especially since I had it (white sheet 2 mm thick). The wood is soft and brittle. Deadeye diameter 1.8 mm. With such sizes, many unpleasant things happen: defects, breakage, chips. It is easier to work with plastic, it is not so capricious, and if it is also white, then there is no need to paint it.I’ll tell you how it all happened: the ruler is cut into square blocks. Then the block is clamped into a mini-drill and sanded until it is round. Then, using a triangular cross-section file, we make grooves (grooves for tying the deadeye into the shrouds). Then all this is processed with sandpaper, trimmed if necessary (all during rotation). It is sawed off with a file made from a razor blade. To drill the holes, I made a simple template: I drilled a hole in the plastic with a diameter the size of the deadeye. Those. the template only made it possible to fix the deadeye in a stationary state. Then I made 3 “dots” with a needle. Well, then I drilled in the designated places (drill 0.35). Drilling is the most difficult thing, because at this stage there is a lot of waste. It’s hard to drill 3 holes on such a small workpiece, and besides, it’s placed in a certain way
The picture shows an approximate view of the workpiece clamped into a drill and already processed for cutting off the deadeye.
Blocks
Here everything is much more complicated (or maybe easier... depending on your opinion). It’s just that you can’t clamp it into a drill anymore, you have to cut everything out yourselfFirst, a blank is made from white sheet plastic. (block size is approximately 2x1.3 mm. From here we determine the size of the blank) 
Next, mark the width of the block with a pencil and give it a shape (sandpaper and scalpel) 
Then we drill 2 holes: the first longitudinally (for threading a longitudinal thread or for wire. It depends on where the block is placed). The second one imitates a pulley. 
Attention!!! The hole for the pulley is drilled not in the center, but offset. Offset = pulley radius. Accordingly, this hole should be closer to the end of the block being fixed.
This picture, taken from O. Kurti’s book, clearly shows what I was trying to describe
Then grooves are cut on three sides. (the matter requires skill, because the dimensions are small and you can simply cut the part in half or cut right through the wall of the block) 
Well, then the block is cut off, the fourth side is processed, and it would seem that everything is ready. But no!
Attention!!! You should not cut off the block from the workpiece before all of the above is ready. A part of this size is very inconvenient to hold in your hands.
The simplest one is to thread a thread through it, one end of which is fastened in the right place, and the other end is wrapped around the block and cut off. (in the figure this is number 1)
More complicated (number 4 in the figure): If the block moves freely along the thread or is firmly fixed (to a mast, for example), then simply threading the thread is not enough. You need to make a “part” out of wire (see picture below) and glue it into the block for a super moment. Then the antennae are folded upward, cut, folded and glued. The hole that imitates the pulley is drilled.
If the block is attached to the mast (number 3 on the forto), then it is also necessary to make an eye (first the block is hung on the eye, and only then the structure is glued into the mast hole)
The block numbered 2 is made in the same way as a regular one, only there are 1 more holes in it, and accordingly the same amount of work.
PS: I’m writing an article for the first time, so don’t scold me too much
PPS: it may all look difficult to work with, but with a certain skill and constant work with such parts, automaticity is developed. And then the most difficult and lazy part becomes cutting out a “blank” from plastic for subsequent work.
In contact with
General tricks for all materials
What color are the sails anyway?
People who have seen sailboats only in the form of souvenirs and pictures will be surprised by the topic of this article. How can this be, they will say? The sails are white, or red, like in “Scarlet Sails” by Alexander Greene. But in fact, almost every nation that built sailing ships had sails that were quite different in color. And because of this, debates about the “correct” color of sails continue among ship modellers.
Manufacturing of sailing ship hulls.
The construction of the hull of a sailing ship is significantly different from the construction of its model. For example, the model is not double skinned (internal and external), all the frames, of which there are a lot, are not installed, all the decks are not arranged, etc.
Therefore, here there is no need to look at the structure of the hull of a real ship in the same way; first of all, you need to dwell on those parts of the ship’s hull that the modeler needs to make.
Production of rope coils for models.
The sails are controlled using ropes and cables. And the ends of these ropes are collected into coils so as not to interfere, and hung on dowels.
This article describes one of the methods for making rope coils for hanging on model dowels.
Theory and practical work.
A series of lectures by the recognized master of modeling Boris Volkonsky.
In his lectures, the author provides a theoretical basis for ship modeling, shares many secrets and best practices in ship modeling, talks about the tools used and brings to your attention much more.
Spar and rigging of a sailing ship.
The article describes in detail the spar and rigging of sailing ships of the 17th-19th centuries. The basic proportions of the spar trees of battleships are given. It also describes the structure, order of application, places of traction and thickness of hemp standing rigging. The purpose and wiring of running rigging is carefully considered.
Sailing rig of the ship.
The article describes the sailing armament of ships of the 17th-19th centuries. The types of sails, their names, parts and methods of attachment to the spar are considered. Methods for controlling sails are also described. One of the many ways to make sails for models is described.
Calculation of spar and sail sizes.
The article provides a modern classification of sailing ships, a brief description of the production of general drawings, spar and sails of sailing ship models, methods for determining the dimensions of the spar of a sailing ship model, determining the area of the sails, determining the position of the masts along the length of the model, and also describes the main details of the spar and fastening of the sails .
Making a showcase or How to protect a model from dust.
I once read in a chat room (speaking in Russian, chat) a discussion about protecting models from dust. Judging by the number of participants, this topic worries many. Suggested measures ranged from simply using a vacuum cleaner and brush to placing your creations in plastic bags. I think all this is not effective. We ourselves, only ourselves, will save our creations from dust. After all, a showcase is like a frame for a masterpiece, it emphasizes and protects, and is aesthetically beautiful in itself.
My version of the rope
When building models of sailing ships, in the end, any modeler will come to the point where there is a need to make high-quality rigging. And it doesn’t matter what material the model is assembled from, but high-quality rigging is always made from threads. You can, of course, use online stores to buy ready-made threads, or buy a ready-made cable run there. But, personally, it was much more pleasant and interesting for me to make it myself.
Block tying
The other day someone asked me to tell me how I tie the blocks. I explained it to him in words, but they agreed that it would be better to do it in the form of a photo report (master classes are done by masters, but for now I’m making modest photo reports). Having made this photo report, I decided to publish it for everyone to see. Of course, I won’t discover America, professionals already know and can do everything perfectly well, but perhaps it will be useful for beginners to see, someone will take something for themselves, someone something will improve or change. One way or another, I will be glad if my (although, probably not entirely mine, since I also learned everything from someone) method helps someone.
Stitching drawings
This article will primarily be of interest to modellers who build their models from scratch according to drawings.
On the Internet you can find many drawings of ships (and not only) intended for building models from scratch. But very often, drawings are either broken up into many smaller sheets, or even collected in non-graphic formats such as DJVU or PDF. I will tell you how to convert these formats to JPG or PNG in another article. To work with them normally, of course, you can print out each sheet and glue it together with pens, but sometimes you need to have an entire drawing in a graphic file format. I’ll tell you how to glue the parts into one whole.
Nodes for modeling
I’m almost sure that many, when starting to engage in modeling, knew a couple of knots and were not aware of the variety of knots that exist. I myself discovered many nodes for a variety of conditions and places of application. These are the nodes that will be discussed in this article. I will list the components that I use or plan to use in making models.
Sailboat according to feng shui
This is interesting!
What associations do you have of a ship sailing on a serene sea under sail? Most of us will say: romance, freedom, independence, adventure, the desire for something new, unknown, the expectation of something beautiful.
Feng Shui ship or sailboat - prosperity,
floating to your home
This is interesting!
It’s not hard to guess why a ship, in Feng Shui theory, is a symbol of abundance and prosperity. After all, since ancient times, any arrival of a ship at a port was associated with the arrival of goods, luxury items and overseas curiosities. This is how the ship came into feng shui and received its main purpose - to increase the well-being and material wealth of the family. But, like every talisman in Feng Shui, the ship has its own maritime rules and customs, which must always be adhered to so that the peaceful “golden sails” do not turn into a pirate ship.
When building sailing models, the greatest difficulties arise when you equip them with “small things”: blocks, turnbuckles, deadeyes. I also spent a lot of time making so-called “efficient things” until I settled on the next method.
It turned out that the easiest way to make these parts is from... cardboard. To do this, first of all, blanks are cut from white cardboard 1 mm thick and glued together. The operation must be performed carefully, using tweezers. After the glue has dried, they are cut with a razor blade and equipped with sheets or braces. The block is painted to resemble wood (if the prototype is wooden) or simply varnished.
In this way you can make one-, two- and three-pulley blocks and deadeyes. The latter are glued together from round blanks, after which three holes are pierced for the tackle.
Perhaps the most difficult thing in the manufacture of miniature sailboats is screw lanyards.
Below is the final view of the two lanyard designs.
The easiest way here is to use a “turnbuckle” knot. How to tie it is shown in Figure 3. In this case, the tight end of the shroud or stay is folded in the form of two loops (Fig. 36), the root end is wrapped around the upper loop in the form of a hose, which is tightened tightly under load. The running end is passed through the butt, the tackle is attached to it, then passed through the lower loop and tightened (Fig. Zv). To prevent the fastening from loosening, it is enough to tie the end around the lanyard above the butt or behind the butt. To more fully imitate a screw lanyard, you can stretch a polyvinyl tube onto the tackle (Fig. 3d)
V. PETRICHENKO
I think that it is suitable for building aircraft, cars and other models that use frames. Let's consider this method using the example of building the hull of a ship model. The theoretical drawing contains spacing and frame contours, as well as the intersection points of the DP and KBL lines.
Start manufacturing the body by preparing templates for frames made of duralumin or sheet metal 0.2-0.5 mm thick (can be made of textolite, getinax, electrical cardboard or plywood) with two holes at the intersection points: the first DP and KVL, the second - DP and VL. Drill them or pierce them with an awl. Then cut foam plates with a thickness equal to the spatula.
Place the template on the plate and use a thin drill bit to make two holes in the foam. Insert thin threaded rods into them, on the other side of the plate, put the template of the adjacent frame on them and tighten this block with nuts.
Draw the ends of the frames with a simple pencil. Now if you run hot nichrome wire along the frame templates, you will get the corresponding part of the hull.
Disassemble this block and assemble the next one from adjacent frames, etc. For the bow and stern bosses, use rectangular pieces of dense foam. Process them by hand according to the bow and stern templates, also using the first and last frames. It is better to handle them with a knife, a sharp razor and sandpaper.
If shrinkage has not occurred, then the resulting body may suffer from such a disadvantage as angularity, but here sandpaper comes to the rescue. Sand the body, achieve smooth contours. Now it is ready for covering. A slight reduction in the body when sanding is only done by hand, since when pasting it will fit into the desired size.
The best covering, as is known, is currently covered with fiberglass (nylon) impregnated with epoxy resin. If there are complex contours such as rotating bodies or casings with damage, it is advisable to cover the entire body, and then cut out hatches for installing mechanisms. To increase the rigidity of the model, plywood (or cardboard) frames can be glued into a foam body.
Manufacturing of deflector fans.
In the literature on ship modeling, the authors, when it comes to making this “tricky” part, most often suggest casting it from lead, sharpening it from a metal rod, etc. While the superstructure parts of a floating model must be light and durable, for example, made of thin plywood, electrical cardboard, aluminum, and plexiglass.
Of all the materials listed, I prefer plexiglass when making deflectors. Firstly, it is sharpened on a machine, secondly, it is more than two times lighter than aluminum (and also has a wide range of thicknesses, starting from 0.8 mm) and, thirdly, it is easy to glue. I make the deflector from two parts: one is a cone, the other is a cylinder. This simplification allows them to be turned on a lathe.
