I bought a couple of ships on ebay that were not complete. I am sure I can get the missing parts from DS.
While I was looking over my ships, I was wondering if sails from different ships would fit different ships. In the case of Blackbeards ship, the sails included in the set are furled, dose anyone know which masts and sails I could use to make this ship 'sailable'?
Donmobil
Sorry to revive an old thread yet again, but my interest in the ships remains ever constant, and I figure it's still a "classic" topic that can continue. I will address the questions I read in this thread with the knowledge I have discovered through my own Playmobil ships. Hope it helps:
BLACKBEARD’S SHIP:
FYI, to those who have discounted the BlackBeard ship as rubbish (which were my initial thoughts on the ugly plastic furled sails, lack of a spanker, YELLOW ratlines, and just tacky colour scheme)-- use that to your advantage: since most people don't value the Blackbeard ship as much, she is plentiful on ebay at cheaper prices, and easily can be redeemed by being converted into a more suitable ship.
COLOUR SCHEME:
Colour-wise, though unappealing in layout, she bares the correct colour scheme for what is traditionally associated with Edward Teach's (BlackBeard) pirate ship: black, red, and yellow highlights. Even the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie (On Stranger Tides) is using this colour scheme for BlackBeard's ship:
It is Playmobil's layout that is lacking, however, mostly due to having yellow ratlines. The 3750 has grey ratlines, which is also unrealistic (as shrouds and ratlines should be black, since they are covered in tar), but doesn't look unnatural with the ship as do the yellow ones. Her black hull, however, makes her a perfect ship to customize into a pirate ship or dark ghost ship of sorts.
MASTS/RIGGING
The mounting points of the masts on the hull are the same between most of the tallships. 3286 and 3750 masts are interchangeable. This includes Blackbeard’s masts.
The spars differ, however. Spars on the 3286 and the newer 3750 style ships (Skull Ship) are interchangeable and feature ball-joint attachment points for the yards. The older 3750 spars, however, feature axle-type pivots for the yards and cannot be used with the ball jointed yards of new ships. The BlackBeard ship’s masts have built-in spars that have a balljoint, so it cannot accommodate older or new style spars at all. The balljoint on the built-in spars on BlackBeard’s ship is slightly different in size compared to the ball joint system on the 3286 and new 3750 ship (Skull Ship), but, with some minor mod, can accept a ball joint yard from either ship.
PLAYMO SAILS
Sails for the classic 3750 style ship are the same size as the new Skull Ship sails, but will not fit onto the new Skull Ship (or 3286) yards without modification because the holes on the sails are aligned differently. (simply punch new holes to accommodate the new yards). 3286 Sails are larger than the 3750 style ship, but are the same (and correct width) to fit 3750 style yards. Again, the 3286 sails will fit the SkullShip’s yards without modification, but will have to be modded to fit the older 3750 style yards.
The spanker sails for the 3750 and 3286 also are not exactly the same, but can fit either ship with very minor modification (poking new holes). The main problem is that the spanker yards and the sails from the 3268 are larger than the old 3750, and have a different angle of incidence on the top yard. I fitted my Skullship with the spanker yards from a 3286 ship, but used a classic 3750 sail. The 3750 sail was a bit less wide, and because it was also different in length, I had to move the bottom spar up a little. Additionally, since the angle of the top yard is wider on the 3286 than the 3750, there is a slight billow effect on the spanker sail itself, which actually looks good (as oppossed to completely flat, as it would have been on a stock sail with matching yard). Here is a pic of the new SkullShip with classic 3750 Sails:
AFTERMARKET SAILS:
My first aftermarket material I used was replacing BlackBeard’s furled sails with full sails made and cut from flexible thin 3-ring binder plastic. It worked very well.
As far as cloth sails go, I suggest a thin, lightweight synthetic material (as opposed to cotton) to minimize fraying and minimize weight gain when the sails become wet (due to rain or capsizing). To create the sails: 1) trace your pattern (or use a paper pattern) on to your fabric, 2) using some flexible cyanoacrylate hobby glue, glue some cords along the outline of the sail fabric’s shape. 3) Once the glue is dry, cut out your shape. The cords and the added stiffness of the glue will not only eliminate fraying at the edges, but it will also give it that stiff feature that real playmobil sails have along the edges to help maintain a billowed look, even when there is no wind. I’ve done this to my black pearl (using glue along the edges of the sail) and it works wonderfully. (However, I omitted the cordage and actually let the edges fray on purpose before “sealing” them with the glue, so that they would appear frayed as part of the ghost ship’s aesthetics. They won’t fray further, though, now that the glue is applied). The benefits to cloth sails is it adds realism, and they can, on option, also be furled if you rig them appropriately.
Oh, and as far as attatching cloth sails to the yards: you can poke holes at the top of the sails to accomodate the pegs in the playmo yards and snap on the covers just like stock ones, OR, as I have done, you can simply LASH the sails onto the yards, as you would a real ship. (you can use a needle and thread). The only downfall is the sails can no longer be interchanged without cutting the lashes or re-lashing, in case you decide to change your sails later, or fly different ones according to season.
