Advice please? Rigging and antenna wires
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B-17engineer
Colonel
hahahahaha
Crimea_River
Marshal
Dwight, thanks a lot for the research, mate! Didn't try Walmart but Michaels was a dead end when I looked. Mind you the service was pretty bad and if you weren't in the right aisle there's no way the help would know where to find this stuff.
I'll take another look around. Thanks again!
I'll take another look around. Thanks again!
kgambit
Tech Sergeant
I would try one of the fabric stores before Walmart. That thread is kind of a specialty item.
And I know what you mean about the service at Michaels. It seems to be a universal issue at their stores.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Yup, my wife worked there for a while many years ago. I'll check it out.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Andy and Dwight. The stuff you are refering to is the 'invisible' mending thread I mentioned. It should be available from a number of manufacturers and, I believe in North America, Coates (of Paisley, Scotland) products are available, who manufacture this 'thread' in clear, black, brown and a sort of smoke grey translucent colour. I just use the clear, and bought my last reel (actually a card holding around 30 m) at a store selling 'needlework' materials - threads, pins, cross-stitch materials, cushion-cover kits, that sort of thing. Any habadashery or milners or similar outlet should stock it.
As previously mentioned, it can be used in most scales, up to 1/32nd, for antenna and some other wires, with the 'gauge' being adjusted by part or total painting, or by leaving bare. The advantage over some fishing lines, is that it won't change shape - sag etc, with variations in temperature, and is, in most cases, easier to glue than some fishing lines. (I also use fishing line on occassion BTW).
As previously mentioned, it can be used in most scales, up to 1/32nd, for antenna and some other wires, with the 'gauge' being adjusted by part or total painting, or by leaving bare. The advantage over some fishing lines, is that it won't change shape - sag etc, with variations in temperature, and is, in most cases, easier to glue than some fishing lines. (I also use fishing line on occassion BTW).
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Crimea_River
Marshal
Thanks Terry.
I've heard of something called EZ Line, which apparently is elastic and thus can be stretched, and is resistant to breaking and sagging over time. Haven't used it yet but I'm thinking of buying some.
Micromark (heard of them?) sells a special line for rigging which is treated to prevent the fuzziness. However it's thick and black and so not to scale for all projects.
Micromark (heard of them?) sells a special line for rigging which is treated to prevent the fuzziness. However it's thick and black and so not to scale for all projects.
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Crimea_River
Marshal
Ask her to sit very still!
Seriously, you need to do this with a magnifying glass and good tweezers. Just grab one thread and pull hard and it will separate. However the worst part is that it springs back into a tiny wad and it's tough to find an end to glue. Tried this once and gave up. I use stretched clear sprue now.
Seriously, you need to do this with a magnifying glass and good tweezers. Just grab one thread and pull hard and it will separate. However the worst part is that it springs back into a tiny wad and it's tough to find an end to glue. Tried this once and gave up. I use stretched clear sprue now.
B-17engineer
Colonel
Alright guys, since spruebrothers has some great prices on Eduards WWI kits I'm thinking of buying some but the rigging looks rigorous. Does it all have to be done in on sitting or will it look wrong if you stop and go back to it another time?
Scares the Sh!t out of me Harrison...
Seriously you gotta figure out what you are comfortable with as I'm sure there are a number of methods to achieve the desired result. sure some guys will offer up some methods but it may be a good idea to get on some WW I modelling forums and see what these guys do. just remember you will get better as you try and do more.....simply look at what you first did with now....definite improvement!kgambit
Tech Sergeant
It's a multi-step process actually. There are tons of great references around for how to do it. Just google biplane rigging or something similiar.
Here's one link from BritModellers forums that I think does a good job of explaining things:
http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67770
Basically you will need to pre-drill some holes in the wings / fuselage before the wings and struts are glued into place. At least some (and probably all) of the holes are going to need to be drilled all the way thru the wings and fuselage unless you are using pre-cut PE. Then attach one end of your rigging wire and glue it into place. I've seen rigging done after the entire biplane is assembled and painted; other folks do the painting in stages. Again check out some references and see what you are comfortable with.
You have multiple options for the type of material to use for the rigging. Invisible thread, mono-filament fishing line, beading wire, stretched sprue and even PE just to name a few. I'm not a fan of using stetched sprue but some folks swear by it.
Equipment wise, you will need a micro-drill bit, a pin-vise, super glue (and possibly putty) and several pairs of pliers / hemostats at the bare minimum. You are also going to need a set of detailed instructions showing exactly where the rigging needs to be attached. Photo of real planes or three view views are absolutely essential.
One of the biggest problems is keep the rigging taut. Sagging rigging looks awful. Wire and thread will need to be pulled very taut and then glued using CA and an accelerant to speed up the drying process. Mono-filament fishing line can actually be tightened further with CAREFUL application of a little heat.
One tip. To keep the rigging wire pairs at the same spacing, predrill a pair of guide holes in a small scrap piece of plasti-card at the correct spacing. Then use that as a guide for every pair of holes you drill. You can use an extra drill bit (or even a scrap piece of thing wire) and run it thru the first hole to hold the guide in place while you drill the second hole of the pair.
And if you are using wire, you can get VERY fancy and fabricate turnbuckles at the ends of the wire.
And lastly, don't forget that a lot of rigging wire pairs actually had wooden block spacers partway up the wire pairs.
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B-17engineer
Colonel
Thanks Dwight! Will definitely come in handy!
hawkeye2an
Staff Sergeant
In this thread on page 7 there are a few pics of my method of rigging.
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/start-finish-builds/1-48-lindberg-jenny-wip-25303-7.html
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/start-finish-builds/1-48-lindberg-jenny-wip-25303-7.html
copcheck
Airman 1st Class
We have some stores in the US such as Joann Fabric or Michaels, that might have this material, do you know if it has a name or should I just mention your description?
Thanks Wurger!
Jon
Edit: Damn I need to start reading entire threads before posting. I posted this after Wurger's post on page one, before I see you all chatted about various stores. Looks like I'll be raiding the wife's drawer for some panty hose LOL.
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Night Fighter Nut
Master Sergeant
I've used the winding from a junked electric clock motor. The windings are exceptionally thin and very strong. Used it on my Mosquito night fighter.
Edgar Brooks
Senior Airman
British aerials were stainless steel, which is why I always use stretched clear sprue, since it looks shiny without any need for painting..
