A wooden sailing ship kit comes with a bag (or several) of small parts: blocks, deadeyes, pins, rings, cannons, anchors, gratings and many more. These fittings make up a big share of what people see on a finished model. They vary a lot in quality, from finely turned boxwood to rough castings.
This guide explains what the main parts are and where they go. It also covers how to improve kit fittings, how to finish metal parts, and what to do when a part goes missing.
How Kit Fittings Are Made
Fittings in wooden ship kits are commonly made from:
- Wood: walnut, boxwood, pear, beech or basswood for blocks, deadeyes, belaying pins and gratings.
- Brass: turned cannons, belaying pins, eyebolts, rings and nails, plus photo-etched parts such as chainplates and decorative work.
- White metal or other cast alloys: anchors, cannons, figureheads, decorations and ship’s wheels.
- Resin and 3D prints: increasingly common, especially in aftermarket sets.
- Laser-cut wood: gratings, hatches and decorative panels.
The same named part, such as a “5 mm double block”, can look very different from one maker to another.
Rigging Fittings
Blocks
Blocks are wooden pulleys. Each one has a shell around one or more sheaves (wheels), and the running rigging passes through them. On models they come as:
- Single, double and triple blocks, with one, two or three sheaves
- Fiddle blocks, which have two sheaves of different sizes set one above the other
- Snatch blocks, which have a gap in the shell so a line can be dropped in
Block size should suit the line running through it. A thick rope through a tiny block, or a thin line through an oversized block, looks wrong. Check your plans. When they don’t give sizes, compare the rigging line diameter with the hole and sheave slot before you commit.
Deadeyes and Chainplates
Deadeyes are round wooden blocks, usually with three holes, used in pairs to tension the shrouds and backstays. A lanyard is rove back and forth between the upper and lower deadeye. The lower deadeye is held to the hull by a chainplate, a metal strap or chain link fixed to the hull below the channel (the ledge outboard of the hull that spreads the shrouds).
Before you reeve lanyards, set every upper deadeye at the same height above its lower partner. A row of deadeyes at uneven heights stands out once the shrouds are in. The shrouds then become the base for the ratlines, covered in our guide on how to tie ratlines on a model ship.
Belaying Pins, Cleats and Eyebolts
- Belaying pins sit in pin rails and fife rails. The running rigging is made fast to them.
- Cleats are fixed to masts, booms and bulwarks for lines that don’t go to a pin.
- Eyebolts and rings are fitted all over the deck and bulwarks for gun tackles, stays and other rigging.
Kit eyebolts are often made of bent wire. Close the eye neatly and set the shank into a drilled hole with a dab of glue, so it doesn’t pull out under rigging tension.
Rigging Line
Kits usually include standing rigging thread (dark, to suggest tarred hemp) and running rigging thread (lighter, often tan or natural). Many builders replace kit thread with better-quality line that has less fuzz and a truer scale diameter.
Hull Fittings
- Rudder hardware: pintles and gudgeons (the pins and straps the rudder hangs on)
- Channels and chainplates, as above
- Gunport lids and hinges on warships
- Catheads at the bow for handling the anchors
- Stern and quarter galleries, and decorative carvings
- Hawse holes and bolsters, where the anchor cables pass through the hull
- Copper plating, on later ships
Deck Fittings
- Hatches and gratings
- Capstan or windlass
- Ship’s wheel and binnacle
- Bitts and kevels, used for making fast heavy lines
- Pumps
- Galley stove chimney
- Ship’s bell and belfry
- Ship’s boats and their chocks or davits
- Lanterns
- Ladders and companionways
Fit deck fittings after the deck is finished. Scrape or mask the finish where the glue goes, as described in our pillar guide to model ship finishes.
Armament and Anchors
- Cannons and carriages: barrels are commonly turned brass or cast metal, on wooden carriages. Carriages often need breeching ropes and gun tackles to look complete.
- Swivel guns and carronades on smaller vessels or later periods
- Anchors: often cast metal. Older anchors had a wooden stock, so check whether yours should be iron or wood.
Upgrading Kit Fittings
Many experienced builders replace some kit parts. The usual upgrades are:
- Blocks: better-shaped blocks are one of the most visible improvements on a rigged model. Specialist makers sell wooden blocks with realistic rounded shells.
- Cannons: finer barrels in turned brass or crisp castings.
- Rigging line: better scale line.
- Deadeyes: neater versions in a fine-grained wood.
You can also improve basic parts with hand work. Rounding the corners of square-cut blocks with a sanding stick and opening up the holes can make a big difference. Sealing and staining them evenly helps too.
Blackening and Painting Metal Parts
Bright brass usually looks out of place on a model, because ironwork on a real ship would have been black or painted. You have two main options:
- Chemical blackening. Clean the parts thoroughly with a degreaser or a quick dip in a mild acid cleaner, rinse, then dip them in a blackening solution made for brass and copper. Rinse again and let them dry. Patchy results usually come from grease or old lacquer left on the surface. Wear gloves and follow the product’s safety instructions.
- Painting. Prime first with a primer that bonds to metal, then paint matte black or a dark iron colour. Painting is easier on white metal castings, which don’t blacken as reliably as brass.
Seal blackened parts with a thin matte clear coat if they’ll be handled.
Making Your Own Fittings
Simple parts are within reach of most builders:
- Eyebolts and rings from brass or copper wire wrapped around a drill bit
- Belaying pins by filing or turning wooden dowel or brass rod, using a drill as a crude lathe
- Cleats carved from strip wood
- Gratings from slotted strip wood, glued and sliced
- Blocks cut from a strip of hardwood that has been shaped and drilled first
Replacing Lost or Broken Parts
Small parts fly off tweezers and roll into carpets. When one goes missing:
- Check whether the kit maker sells spare parts. Some do, or have a spares service.
- Buy a matching generic part. Common fittings are sold in packs by size.
- Make a replacement, especially for simple wire or wood parts.
- If you have to substitute, put the odd part somewhere it’s less noticeable and move an original to the visible spot.
Once the fittings are done, think about how you’ll show the model. Our guides to making a model ship stand and choosing a model ship display case cover the next stage.