Biplane rigging

[chillaton]

Hi all,

I have just acquired the Eduard 1/48 Gladiator which will be the first biplane I have attempted. I have read here that the modern way of rigging is to use EZ line which is apparently slightly elastic, my question is what is this and where can I get it in the UK?

Many thanks

[fingers]

EZ line is very elastic and makes rigging half the job it was, it's well worth the investment.

Little Cars, one of the forum regulars, supplies it along with many other things.

[Greenshirt]

This stuff is far superior: http://www.uschivdr.com/products-in-detail/rigging/

Unlike Ez-line (which is square), Uschi's is round. The drawback of Ez-line is that you must be careful to not induce a twist in the line as its "squareness" becomes obvious.

I use the thinnest for radio aerials, the thickest for bracing wires and the intermediate size for any visible control cables.

Tim

[fingers]

Hi Tim,

That Uschi elastic seems a good product and cheaper than the ez line although the squareness isn't hit you in the face obvious.

Dave

[Paul Thompson]

EZline is flat, but not square. And Gladiators had aerofoil section rigging wires (Rafwires), so EZline is IMO much more suitable for rigging this sort of biplane than round section thread, so long as you're careful enough not to get it twisted while fixing it.

Paul.

[Chuck1945]

Just an observation, the Uschi fine is very fine! For a 1/48 scale a/c, you probably want the thickest

[chillaton]

Thanks guys, much appreciated and very interesting

[Pin]

I use GoldZack elastic thread. Essentially same stuff as EZLine IMO but cheaper.

One spool will last for another 20 years

[Mark]

Wow! What a great collection there, Pin! Is that the Airfix Handley Page 0/400?

[Don149]

EZ line is ok up to a point, its quite easy to use as its name suggests, but don't have your model standing for long

in direct sunlight,I made that mistake with rigging the double wireless aerial on the HK B17!. A simple job to re rig,

but an annoyance all the same. Those wires are sagged down now, almost touching the fuselage.

Happy rigging,

Don.

[Jessica]

Wow! What a great collection there, Pin! Is that the Airfix Handley Page 0/400?

It looks more like the Frogspawn Vimy.

[Paul Thompson]

But with the required (and tedious, so hats off) corrections. At the risk of hijacking the thres, this is the 0/400 kit, but built as an 0/100. And that is EZline.

The control lines I did by splitting the line into thinner threads. That was a few years ago, and it has shrivelled, but the main rigging is fine. In 1/72nd I now use the Uschi stuff, but for anything larger I use EZline if I want it dark, or some old Aeroclub lycra thread that takes steel coloured paint very well. HTH. Also hope the photos work - first attempt at posting images. If not, I'll come back later to edit and try to fix it. Busy now.

Paul.

[Fin]

I have a question for you guys. Won`t elastic threads - regardless of if they`re in the sunlight or not - lose their elasticity eventually resulting in collapsed wires? How much life do they have into them? It`s one of the doubts that put me off when I consider a biplane.

A simple job to re rig, but an annoyance all the same.

Is that feasible at 1/72? I was under the impression that the wires get glued and painted and the holes are filled so that the setting is more or less permanent.

[Mitch K]

With EZ-line, it would be possible to cut off the original broken rigging line at each end, then re-glue a new section onto the tiny "stumps" with CA, hence not needing re-drilling/repainting.

[Paul Thompson]

I have a question for you guys. Won`t elastic threads - regardless of if they`re in the sunlight or not - lose their elasticity eventually resulting in collapsed wires? How much life do they have into them? It`s one of the doubts that put me off when I consider a biplane.

Is that feasible at 1/72? I was under the impression that the wires get glued and painted and the holes are filled so that the setting is more or less permanent.

30 years or so ago there was rigging material made available that was, IIRC, rubber based. This, in the course of time, tended to perish. So I guess it depends on if the stretchy stuff you use is rubber or elastic based. I've been using the Aeroclub stuff since 1999, and none of that has gone slack or shrivelled. Haven't used EZline long enough to tell, but no problems so far except in a small percentage of the cases where I'#ve split it, and I'd kept these under low tension so it's possible they may have been okay if I'd put them in tighter.

There can be a different problem with Ezline - some spools I've seen, every few turns you'll find a thickening (only perceptible across the broadest dimension). This needs cutting out and is a waste.

Regarding repairs - a major plus for all stretchy stuff I've tried is that it takes very well to CA, so a hole isn't essential unless you need it as a guide, such as when spacing doubled flying wires. IInitially a small pin gentleman's parts will do, and you either put a tiny dab of accelerator on that or on the end of the line, then a dab of CA on the bit you didn't put the accelerator on. Bring the two together carefully, and done. Whether or not this is how you do it, it is an adequate and fairly pain-free way to replace damaged rigging. Your call as to whether to paint it or not. On the gratuitous photo of my HP 0/100 I've used charcoal Ezline, and decided it looks more in scale if unpainted. On a 1/48th model I'd probably give it a dull silver colour. Lycra stretched out with a peg on one end and hung from the ceiling, then assaulted quickly with a brush loaded with stainless steel Modelmaster Metalizer does the job for me there. The paint doesn't come off easily, so the line holds well on the model.

There's still a place in my book thought for stretched sprue, and rolled copper wire, and also that hardest of all material to get hold of, but easiest to use, Wonder Wire. The latter is a ceramic wire, easilt cut with a scalpel, that stays rigid over lengths up to 7 or 8 inches. Round in section, thin enough for 1/48th (sorry but I forgot the actual dimension) and quite stable. But AFAIK only available from one small shop in America, and they don't have a web presence. And for the purposes of the original poster, depending on how picky you want to get it wouldn't look right on a Gladiator, but would be dead easy to use.

Ramble ramble. Not enough coffee yet, so unfocussed. I hope this was useful anyway.

Paul.

[Paul Thompson]

Sorry Mitch, you posted while I was typing. Just to clarify, if possible I'd remove the original stumps in order to get as clean a bond as possible, but that's not always possible and it's very easy to damage the paintwork as well. Fortunately, it isn't something I've often had to do.......

Paul.

[Work In Progress]

I have a question for you guys. Won`t elastic threads - regardless of if they`re in the sunlight or not - lose their elasticity eventually resulting in collapsed wires? How much life do they have into them? It`s one of the doubts that put me off when I consider a biplane.

I used to use an elastic Lycra thread which was dead easy to use and looked great, but when left in daylight deteriorated under UV after about five years. Most elastic materials do eventually degrade under UV, so really you have to ask yourself how long do you realistically keep a finished model on the shelf before you break it for spares, or need the space for something newer? And/or do you want to keep it out in the daylight all day every day? If you want to be safe then keeping the model out of bright daylight and certainly out of direct sunshine whenever you're not enjoying it would be wisest, which could be as simple as pulling the curtains or blinds when you leave the room.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Work In Progress

[Fin]

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

@Paul Thompson thank you! That was a very useful description and I think you gave me enough confidence to try a biplane at some point.

I'd kept these under low tension so it's possible they may have been okay if I'd put them in tighter.

So, stretching the thread towards its maximum when attaching it to the model would be the way to go?

Btw, which EZ line would you recommend for a Hawker Fury at 1/72?

so really you have to ask yourself how long do you realistically keep a finished model on the shelf before you break it for spares

Ah! People do that?! Being new at this and not having what to replace with what (or the other way around) I tend to have a more ... "for ever" approach to finished models.

[Paul Thompson]

Fin,

I'd love to give a blanket yes, but it's going to depend on how solid the wing cellule is. It can be easy to pull the top wing out of alignment if the wings are thin and bendy, and/or the struts are weak. To minimise the chances of that I do one wire, then the matching one on the other side. Doesn't have to be a problem so long as you know it's possible and don't use silly amounts of pull - I usually cut the line about 1/4 shorter than the length to be rigged and like I said ahven't had problems with slackening yet.. If you're going to put holes right through the wing it makes balancing the tension easier because you just put 2 or more matching wires in place, weight them (a wooden clothes peg is usually plenty) and then drop a bit of liquid CA on the location with a bit of sprue or metal wire. But as I said earlier I find that much hard work something to avoid, although I do use it if I'm using non-stretch line such as fishing line, which is what I use in 1/72nd scale if there is a need for the rigging to function as in real life, e.g. with long resin wings that would otherwise warp.

For 1/72nd I'd use the thinnest EZline, and for something like a Fury you should really paint it silver or steel, but if you're going to do that you may as well use any Lycra thread such as Kinitting-in-elastic, and make life easier by painting it before you install it.

Some of my models get daily sunlight, some are in permanant shadow, and so far I've had no temperature or light induced adverse effects on the rigging. Moving house every now and then has always caused far more damage, FWIW........

Paul.