(I note that this post gets viewed frequently so I want to point out that the rigging is incorrect, done before I had a good reference to go by.)
I just finished a Langton 40 gun french frigate at quarters. I used black thread for the stays, horse hair for the jib sails, and .008" coated smoke colored bead wire for the running rigging. I really like the bead wire, but as it turned out it doesn't hold paint very well. At first it appeared to paint qhite well but after a while I kept noticing places where it had sluffed or curled up. I ended up coating it with varnish after it was freshly painted. If I could find this gauge of wire in other colors, it would be perfect.