Something that made me smile.

[AMStreet]

I was struggling to rig my model of the Libramodels DH5 with some Lycra thread.  It has obviously deteriorated with age and kept snapping, something I have noticed with some other previously rigged models.  Instead I decided to use invisible mending thread as advised by  people on several forums. 

 

The thread is nice and strong and does look the part when used.  Just one problem,  I had great difficulty in getting the thread in place.  I tried and tried and eventually walked away in frustration.  On thinking about the problem I realised that I had overlooked one aspect of invisible thread.  That is it is very hard to see.  Thus causing all my difficulties.  I felt like Homer Simpson "Doh!".  The very name should have given me a clue.  In the end I solved the problem by dipping the end of the thread in some paint.  That way I could see what I was doing and I am now happily rigging the model. 

 

It is sometimes true that we get so involved in a project that normal thought goes out the window but thinking about it has made me chuckle.  1/72 biplanes can be fun.

[Epeeman]

Welcome to the world of biplane rigging - I know exactly what you mean and sympathise completely!  

 

All rigging material has it's plus and minus points.   I find even using elastic thread tricky as it always seems to me that it never likes being threading through any drilled holes.

 

Regards

 

Dave

 

 

[Seawinder]

I use IMT and fishing tippet line (similar but thicker) a lot. I always paint the stuff with various metallics applied with a micro-brush. One other thought: IMT comes in clear and smoke color. The smoke is somewhat easier to see.

[KITCAT]

I use very fine fishing line which finer than invisible thread but can be fanifickanarious to fit because you can hardly see it , The trouble is that it looks realistic.

[Seawinder]

Unless you're building in a very small scale, I don't see why you'd need anything thinner than invisible thread, but perhaps we're not talking about the same item. The smallest size tippet line (fishing) I find online is 8X, or 1.25 lb. test at .003" diameter. The invisible thread I've got is definitely thinner than that. In 1/48 I only use it for antenna wires and control lines. My go-to tippet line sizes for biplane rigging are 7X (.004") and 5X (.006").

[KITCAT]

For the record I use Bayer ultima 0.06 mm (10 oz) fishing line which is thinner than the invisible thread I used in the last century for 1/72 builds.

[Britman]

I do like a bit of rigging but recently all the super glues that I have used over the years have lost that instant stick thus making the job a chaw and not not a rewarding pleasure. Any recommendations?

 

Keith.

[Seawinder]

11 hours ago, KITCAT said:

For the record I use Bayer ultima 0.06 mm (10 oz) fishing line which is thinner than the invisible thread I used in the last century for 1/72 builds.

As I thought, we're comparing different items. The invisible thread I've got is called Smoke Wonder, purchased at a Ralph Jordan store here in the USA and listed as .004 mm. It's smoke colored on the spool, which makes it marginally easier to see.

[europapete]

Hi Keith, what I do is put the superglue in the locating hole and a dab of accelerator on the end of the thread, then connect the two. The snag is that you have to get the position right the first time. Regards, Pete in RI

Edited September 11, 2020 by europapete
spelling

[Seawinder]

I use a trick I learned about at one of the WW1 web sites: once the "wire" has been secured in the top wing partial hole and has been strung through the bottom wing full hole, I clip a common wooden clothespin to the "wire" and let it dangle. The clothespin adds just the right amount of tension and holds everything in place while I apply the CA and let it begin to set up.

[Britman]

Need to get some accelerator!

 

Keith

[Brandy]

On 9/11/2020 at 12:08 AM, Seawinder said:

As I thought, we're comparing different items. The invisible thread I've got is called Smoke Wonder, purchased at a Ralph Jordan store here in the USA and listed as .004 mm. It's smoke colored on the spool, which makes it marginally easier to see.

Surely you mean .004" not mm!

I use .06mm fishing line, (Gamakatsu monofilament at 1.25lb test) which is 0.002" and scale for 1:72.

 

Ian

[Seawinder]

9 minutes ago, Brandy said:

Surely you mean .004" not mm!

I use .06mm fishing line, (Gamakatsu monofilament at 1.25lb test) which is 0.002" and scale for 1:72.

 

Ian

I just went with what I saw online at a couple of retail sites. For example:

https://www.connectingthreads.com/smoke-wonder-invisible-monofilament-thread-1500-yds-004-mm/p/21184

 

However, it does appear that measurement is totally off. Comparing my Smoke Wonder visually with some 2.2 lb. (.004" diameter) tippet line, it appears to be just about half as thick, which I think would put it close to the .06mm line from Gamakatsu. Sorry for the confusion.