How to make ?...insulators...? on radio wires?

[Murewa]

Hiya

 

Question... 

 

I see a few modellers adding 'insulators' to their radio-wires. Below are some little snips from other's build I've saved as examples. I'm assuming these are insulators? 

 

 

Were these ubiquitous on the radio wires of the time? What do people do to achieve these? I've seen talk of pva blobs and paint or tubing ... I'm using fine 1/48 0.82 EZline, what's the best way to construct these?

I'm about to finish an MC 205 Veltro and if it's appropriate would like to try them. I haven't seen a particular reference photo of a 205 with them on yet ... if anyone knew of one ... 

 

If there is an existing tips/method thread I've missed please link me in, I tried to search for one but didn't find one.

 

Thanks

[Alan P]

Hi!

 

I used a very simple way of representing the insulator/tensioner for a B-29 which is found in this post:

Not as nice as the ones you've pictured, but it's a start!

 

Alan

[Ossington 2]

Dabs of gloss black paint. Try a little talc in the mix if too runny.

[ckw]

I used black paint  (Tamiya acrylic) over PVA blobs on EZ Line antennas. A few weeks later, I found the EZ line has broken at the point I put the insulator. This is the first time I've had EZ-line let go. Now it could be I overstretched the line, or some other issue but I did wonder if there was some interaction between the paint and the line.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Toryu]

I use white glue (e.g. Ponal for wood), add a drop with a pencil brush, shape it a little bit with pincers while it's settling, add a small touch of superglue all around, and paint it when completely dry. See here and here.

[Mike]

Dots of CA.  You can add more if the dot isn't big enough.  Then paint it whatever colour you like after

[Murewa]

1 hour ago, Alan P said:

Hi!

 

I used a very simple way of representing the insulator/tensioner for a B-29 which is found in this post:

Not as nice as the ones you've pictured, but it's a start!

 

Alan

Cool thanks, those 'springs' looks awesome. 

 

53 minutes ago, Toryu said:

I use white glue (e.g. Ponal for wood), add a drop with a pencil brush, shape it a little bit with pincers while it's settling, add a small touch of superglue all around, and paint it when completely dry. See here and here.

That's the look I'm kind of going for, thanks! 

 

1 hour ago, Ossington said:

Dabs of gloss black paint. Try a little talc in the mix if too runny.

Ah, talc for a thickener, that's an interesting idea. 

 

53 minutes ago, Mike said:

Dots of CA.  You can add more if the dot isn't big enough.  Then paint it whatever colour you like after

Is CA the cyanoacrylate superglue?

 

 

Cool, so general idea seems to be glue blobbing and a pit of painting 👍. That's great! I'll give it a go! 

As for colour ... best guesses are generally what people go for? And they are just generally insulators or attachments right? I remember seeing big-bottom blobby ones on the middles of wires of the He111s in the Battle of Britain Film. 

[Work In Progress]

1 hour ago, ckw said:

I did wonder if there was some interaction between the paint and the line

With Tamiya acrylics, which are full of hottish solvents, absolutely, yes

[Murewa]

That's useful to know as I usually use Tamiya acrylics. Maybe I'll be dipping into my daughters craft box for some simpler paints. 

Just now, Work In Progress said:

With Tamiya acrylics, which are full of hottish solvents, absolutely, yes

 

[Work In Progress]

3 minutes ago, Murewa said:

I remember seeing big-bottom blobby ones on the middles of wires of the He111s in the Battle of Britain Film. 

I think you remember seeing big blobby ones very close to the masts rather than in the middle of the wires. I believe those are the connectors between the mast lead-outs and the actual antenna wires

[Mike]

6 minutes ago, Murewa said:

Is CA the cyanoacrylate superglue?

Yes - meant to mention the mainstream name of it in brackets, but totally forgot

 

[Work In Progress]

With any adhesive you use for this sort of thing, best to built up layers rather than try to do it all in one blobby go. It will have much less chance to sag out of shape, and you will get a much better looking result. Almost all adhesives you might use, CA or various forms of white glue, yellow wood adhesive etc, shrink as they cure. So it is best to build up a nice shape with a number of thin layers whereas a big blob will tend to end up like a tiny wrinkled raisin.

 

Some kind of inert filler is also a good idea: I prefer the talc Ossington mentioned to anything else in these very small sizes. I have in a pinch used baking powder but it tends to weep brown after a few years.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Work In Progress

[Murewa]

9 minutes ago, Work In Progress said:

With any adhesive you use for this sort of thing, best to built up layers rather than try to do it all in one blobby go. It will have much less chance to sag out of shape, and you will get a much better looking result. Almost all adhesives you might use, CA or various forms of white glue, yellow wood adhesive etc, shrink as they cure. So it is best to build up a nice shape with a number of thin layers whereas a big blob will tend to end up like a tiny wrinkled raisin.

 

Some kind of inert filler is also a good idea: I prefer the talc Ossington mentioned to anything else in these very small sizes. I have in a pinch used baking powder but it tends to weep brown after a few years.

Thanks, that's a good tip, I'll do it over a few evenings once the rest of the model is done. 

Would you add talc to the pva a little then to make it that tad thicker and tackier? 

[Work In Progress]

Yep. Both talc and PVA are effectively free in 1/72 modelling quantities so stir up a little batch for every session. Have a few goes on a piece of scrap line under tension before you try it on the actual model. A final coat of water-thinned pure PVA, or the varnish of your choice, will ensure it's all nicely smooth and sealed in at the end

[Murewa]

7 minutes ago, Work In Progress said:

Yep. Both talc and PVA are effectively free in 1/72 modelling quantities so stir up a little batch for every session. Have a few goes on a piece of scrap line under tension before you try it on the actual model. A final coat of water-thinned pure PVA, or the varnish of your choice, will ensure it's all nicely smooth and sealed in at the end

I'll hook up some line on one of my mules and give it a go first. 

[Jackson Duvalier]

I'll suggest a different method.  The plastic shaft you sometimes see on cotton buds can be heated and stretched like sprue.  You can cut little segments and slide them over whatever your using for the aerial line.

[Work In Progress]

That's good too but I prefer it in larger scales like 1/32 or 1/24. Also, the only ones I have are baby-pink and actually not that easy to paint due to the composution of the plastic.

[Murewa]

2 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

I'll suggest a different method.  The plastic shaft you sometimes see on cotton buds can be heated and stretched like sprue.  You can cut little segments and slide them over whatever your using for the aerial line.

Interesting.

Funnily enough, I can't remember the last time I had cotton buds with plastic shafts, they're all condensed paper these days ... which is probably a good thing.

[fubar57]

I've used empty Bic pen ink tubes stretched out to make the clear area on the Bf 109 fuel line that runs through the cockpit. I'll try this instead of the of the Q-Tip tip. Thanks for that

[Jackson Duvalier]

On 2/2/2021 at 3:44 PM, Work In Progress said:

That's good too but I prefer it in larger scales like 1/32 or 1/24. Also, the only ones I have are baby-pink and actually not that easy to paint due to the composution of the plastic.

 

I do it in 1/72.  😗  But I have altogether weird tendencies.  It's fiddly, no doubt about that.

 

I scored white plastic buds, so no painting at all, no headaches covering baby pink.  I copped the technique from Libor Jekl's book where he uses it for turnbuckles on 1/72 biplane rigging (i.e., one per end per wire-- do those maths real quick 😬); IIRC he paints them with acrylic, in situ, after installation.  Craptastic poly plastic* won't hold on to paint well but in a low-stress application after all else is completed I suppose it's good enough.  That's a level of masochism I only aspire to at the mo.

 

You can see a cotton bud insulator here at the top of the fin on my F4U-2:

 

 

 

On 2/2/2021 at 4:18 PM, Murewa said:

I can't remember the last time I had cotton buds with plastic shafts, they're all condensed paper these days ... which is probably a good thing.

 

 

For the environment certainly.  We've always used the fiber ones at my house, I had to bum the plastic ones from a mate.  My friends are (slowly) getting used to strange requests.

 

 

*  Would "Craptastic Poly Plastic" be best utilised as a band name, album title, or hit single?

[Murewa]

9 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

 

I do it in 1/72.  😗  But I have altogether weird tendencies.  It's fiddly, no doubt about that.

 

I scored white plastic buds, so no painting at all, no headaches covering baby pink.  I copped the technique from Libor Jekl's book where he uses it for turnbuckles on 1/72 biplane rigging (i.e., one per end per wire-- do those maths real quick 😬); IIRC he paints them with acrylic, in situ, after installation.  Craptastic poly plastic* won't hold on to paint well but in a low-stress application after all else is completed I suppose it's good enough.  That's a level of masochism I only aspire to at the mo.

 

You can see a cotton bud insulator here at the top of the fin on my F4U-2:

 

...

For the environment certainly.  We've always used the fiber ones at my house, I had to bum the plastic ones from a mate.  My friends are (slowly) getting used to strange requests.

 

 

*  Would "Craptastic Poly Plastic" be best utilised as a band name, album title, or hit single?

Certainly does look good, and may well be an easier application. Maybe I'll see if the in-laws have some and have a muck around with it too. Do you just use a tea light to stretch like sprue stretching?

 

[Work In Progress]

Yes, it's easy to do

[Ray_W]

I model in 1/48 and use all the techniques depending on what I want to portray - PVA, CA, CA/Talc, stretched Q-tip plastic tube, or anything else I can get my hands on that I can stretch over a candle to make small sleeves. I also sometimes cut the end off where the taper commences to make a streamline cone like so on my Bf-110. It also shows a small CA insulator painted with either Tamiya Deck Tan or Gunze Sail. 

 

 

 

 Ray.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Ray_W
typo

[Murewa]

Found some plastic cue-tips and give that method a try. For a first attempt I'm happy with it, though they're a bit large. I'd broken about 5 before I got one reasonably thin enough and have a limited supply as plastic ones are banned in the UK, so I went ahead with what I had. Like I say, I'm happy enough with the result, even if they're a bit overscale. 

I'll have a go with the PVA method on one of my mules now that I'm mostly finished with this one  (though I'll have to find some stand in wire masts as neither of my mules retained theirs ... I often let the three year old play with them) . Maybe I'll try practising stretching one or two more a bit thinner. I'm sure I'll do better next time. 

 

Thanks everyone!