Hung by a Thread
Sometimes the things one does to enhance and progress in a build, may look good at the time; but can easily be overshadowed by a mere comment. such is the case with my rigging of the Cux. I thought it was a good job, a job to be proud of........I did the build log......I posted some of the best pictures on the Model Ship World website. I half expected to get a favorable comment, if I got any at all; but the only one I got, was a comment that my seizing was a tad bulky. bulky........oh, I don't know.....as I glanced over towards the Cux. as I looked over the rigging, reality sunk in, and I realized that he was right! I had used the same size thread to seize the lines, and they looked terrible! I was embarrassed......to say the least......airing my err to the world wide web, for all to see! how could I have allowed myself to think that this was a good job....I should have seen this right away! I'm the type of person, that when I am wrong......I say I am, dust off my muddy boots, and carry on to try and make right what IS wrong. I got on the website with the intent to agree with the gentleman, but felt that I further exacerbated the situation by disagreeing with what he called my back stays. he called them shrouds, but I debated the fact that shrouds have foot ropes and back stays do not. to tell the truth, I was confused as to what to call them......they have the belaying rail built into them.....they could be called by both names!
I didn't touch the Cux for the following week....half being down in the dumps, the other part not feeling up to par. I knew that I had to do something to repair the damage that I had done to the Cux. it is kind of ironic that I decided to take action on the 24th of the month, and this being the 24th build log. I must vindicate myself and prove that I can recover from a blunder such as this. as always, I like to detail my short comings, as well as my triumphs, in the hopes that others will benefit from it. here is an overview of the damage:
As you can see in the photo above, I had already started the healing process by replacing the boom hoist seizing with smaller gauge thread. I was going to go out and get some thread, but I was too keyed into finding netting material of the same mesh. Imagine me.....of all people......checking out the wedding isle in a craft store, looking at veil netting..................NOT!!!!!..........too small a mesh. I remembered that I had some thread, black and tan, from a 1:110 scale plastic Bounty kit that I had in my closet. I did the mizzen fore stay and decided to replace the bow fore stays, instead of trying to salvage them.
I had done a couple of other aspects as well. the separator legs are shorter now, closer to the tray that will be under it. I rolled up and hung the mizzen running rigging and started to do the same to the aft boom line......I need to install a couple of hooks to hang them on. I also rigged the net lines, the front pair of lines coming from the winch. the only main mast lines left to do now, are the back stay / shroud lines.....I'll probably end up replacing them as well. the mizzen will be another story........they will be harder to do, but I also have a few things that I want to do back there anyway.
You can see in the photo above, the massive knots that seize those lines. the fact that all this must be taken apart, is the reason that I might just as well replace them. at one point of all this, I took a good look at those two flat circles with a slot in them. the build calls for a "ball", but there wasn't one in the kit. it wasn't until I fitted them together....slot to slot....when I realized what I was to do with them......make one! this should be fun......me, make a spherical object........can't be no different than scratch building. I'll save it for the next build log......O.K.? I will also assemble the net frames too. in order to assemble them, I am going to need to create a sort of rack to hang them on, to make the task easier. sounds like I've already done something with them.....don't it? sorry if I made you curious. I'll leave off with a couple more shots of the repair {and repentance} of my bad attempt with the rigging of the Cux.
