All You Need To Know About Making Silkspan Sails

Over the years, sails have been seen on model boats in one or another form. The majority of ship model kits include sails that are made of muslin cloth due to its color as well as close look to old time canvas. Such sails are typically pre-cut and sewn up around the corners with rope in order to fasten rigging lines and blocks securely. There are several boat kits that include sails that do not look too bad as the sails are given the authentic appearance with detailed sewing of seams and panels. Plus, they look rather natural in the way that it hangs, therefore, improving the overall look of the entire ship model.

Such sort of sails are even one that can be created on your own (by the modeler) simply by using a sewing machine having a bit of sewing experience. Let’s talk about Silkspan sails. Even though it gives the impression of a tissue paper, however, is way stronger since the availability of silk spun into the fibers. Most often, it is available in a white sheet of tissue and can be converted into any type of the color. To make it limp and let it form any shape, water can be applied to it. Once shaped, the shape can be retained as the water gets evaporated.

Strangely enough, a lot of modelers building ship model kits have discovered that details like seam lines onto the Silkspan can be printed easily. Moreover, the pieces of Silkspan can even be glued to each other to make it look like strengthening panels, which can be seen on authentic sails. Given such properties, let’s explore how simple it is to make Silkspan sails in any color, size, or shape and make use of them on the scale mode boat. Such sails have to open up all sorts of possibilities for display like sails under the wind, furled sails, or simply plain sails hanging from a yardarm.

Once you have created the pattern on your Silkspan, it is not time to attach it to your model kit. After the Silkspan sail has been attached to the yardarm, you will not have to fasten a variety of blocks and ropes to the cringles along the bottom and sides of the sail. In addition, the reef ropes can even be added all the way through the horizontal strengthening bands by making use of a thread and needle. Usually, such ropes have a knot on each side of the sail in order to hold them in place. For scale ship model kits, it is easier to have a knot on one side of the sail and make use of a dab of the tacky glue undiluted to grip such ropes in place.