EZ line failure

[cduckworth]

I’ve used a combination of EZ Line with other methods for the past 30 years and recently found all the EZ Line had broken down at the attachment points.  I’m certainly not looking forward to re-rigging my older models but certainly giving up using this product on any future builds.  

[redcap]

Thanks for raising this matter.

 

Yes, this has happened on some of my builds as well including a couple of WNW kits I rigged. For some reason, the line has lightened and turned like a pale grey from the original black. The models are in closed cabinets, not in any direct light and the 'stretch' on the lines was literally, just beyond the extension length so there was no excessive 'stretching' of the line either. Connection points were with thin super glue which have held but the line seems to be 'ghosting' along the length of the line.

 

This is concerning but oddly reassuring it isn't something I 'have done' if you are having the same problems. The models are only about 3 years old as well so this does not bode well for some of my other builds since using this stuff either.

 

Have any others had any like issues with E-Z line or the similar 'Ushi' stuff which I have but still haven;t tried yet..? My E-Z line BTW was bought directly from WNW before they closed/went into suspended animation (as applicable) so I know I did not buy any copied or sub standard stuff.

 

Any ideas please?

Gary

[ckw]

Yes I've had a couple of antenna wires fail at the attachment point after a fairly short period (maybe a year and a half). Models kept out of direct light. I used cheap Poundland superglue .... maybe that was the problem as I have since discovered not all superglues are the same!

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[JackG]

I don't know if super glue formulas have changed over the decades, but given the variety of brands and specified applications, there must be some better than others - or is it just all a marketing ploy?

 

My oldest build is an Eduard Albatros, though may not be quite 30 yrs old.   It also does not have EZ Line, but stainless steel wires glued for the rigging.   Of the 22 wires applied, nine are missing and two are only attached at one end.   So not 100% failure. 

 

Looking at my other models with the elastic line, the only 100% failure is a few of the older builds, but these are just single line uses for the antenna wire running to the rear (109E and Spitfire).   These are directly glued to the surface of the model.   In the last decade or so, I've employed the method for attaching rigging wires on biplanes with a slight hole drilled in the surface so there is a sort of pocket to hold more glue.

 

A decade old Spitfire and the antenna wire is still fully attached.  

Of five 1/72 biplanes built in the last ten years, three of them have a single wire has come lose on one end.  

Another 1/48 Albatros build from a dozen years ago, only two wires have come undone, but I'm certain this was a from a plastic statue falling on it.  Otherwise the other wires are still quite strong and are able to handle poking with a finger.

 

So my results are inconclusive, but maybe in another ten years they will be more telling ...

 

 

regards,

Jack

 

 

[ckw]

19 minutes ago, JackG said:

but given the variety of brands and specified applications, there must be some better than others

I certainly hope so! You can pay £6 for a single bottle of 'good stuff' or get 10 tubes of store brand for £1 in discount stores.

 

One difference I have found is that if mixing with talc to make filler, the pricier glues give you a practical working time before going hard. The cheap stuff goes solid the moment you add the talc. 

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[dov]

Yes, after a long periode you find out what happens. 

Superglue reacts with oxygen. Depending on the gloss fully covering vernish. Rigging is different. So that harms.

Making it by hand with a knot is one safe solution, but ot looks not good.

Happy modelling 

[Paul J]

I've  not used this material for rigging but have used the Aeroclub stretchy  material. All but one of the models I have rigged using this has failed and that one was only about 4 years old. Not sure why but like all the others, the model was stored out of daylight.  Hooe this helps.

[Seawinder]

I continue to use nylon monofilament for all my rigging, especially antennas. I've used a variety of CA brands; AFAIK, not one has failed even after ten years or more.

[RichieW]

I used EZ line on a Wingnut Wings Sopwith Tripe only 3 years ago. Quite a few of the lines have become detached already. Not sure if it's the line or the glue failing but I am sure that it is very annoying!

 

My last biplane (scratch built 1/32 Bristol Scout) was completed 2 years ago and rigged with fishing line. All of the lines remain intact

 

I will be using fishing line on my next build...I think.

 

Richie

[cduckworth]

I'm also going back to fishing line.  

[Brandy]

Isn't EZ line just elastic? It will do what elastic always does, harden up and break. That is exactly why I always use monofilament. It still has stretch but won't deteriorate.

[Harold55]

This is very interesting and I am very glad this was brought up.  I have quite a few kits but use almost exclusively Uschi van der Rosten rigging thread and have for many years. I have not seen this issue.  My kits are not in direct sunlight.  I use a variety of superglue, no brand in particular.  I have also used nylon line and that also holds up well but the cut wire is too fragile.

[Paul Thompson]

Aeroclub rigging thread - the thicker variety has gone 100% failure, to quote a certain ficticious computer. The thinner stuff, about one in 5 lines per model, so I think it depends both on CA used and the amount of tension as well as the chemical nature of the material. EZ line, never ever had a failure except for those I had split into thinner strands to use for control line rigging. I have noticed that it (both the charcoal and blue stuff) can go grey at the time of application if using thin rather than gel CA. I rarely use kicker because it's nasty and with a little patience you can usually avoid it. This goes back to whenever EZline first became available. Anyway, not all stretchy threads are equal. In the late 80s and 90s several aftermarket guys independantly came up with rubber based rigging. Unsuprisingly it perished. The Aeroclub stuff is obviously two formulations (but not rubber based) because it reacts differently to liberal applications of the passage of time.

 

BTW, talcum powder and CA used to be a big no-no, I forget why. Same as using plasticine for ballast, one of those things the afflicted warned of and people forget (plasticine will very pften eat plastic from the inside out over time).

 

Over the decades I've used different brands of CA dependent on what was available where I lived when I needed it, so can't draw any conclusions about how that affects the issue.

 

I await the eventually demise of my Uschi, EZline, general purpose lycra, and knitting in elastic rigging with joy and anticipation.

 

Paul.

[Paul Thompson]

I just had a thought. Perhaps it's the weight of accumulated  dust pulling the rigging apart...................

 

Paul.

[Bangseat]

If I wore a pair of underpants constantly for 4 years I would expect the elastic to give eventually. 

 

There are surviving 17th/18th century ship models with original rigging, I wonder if there are any lessons the old masters could teach us?

[Des]

Last used EZ Line around 4 years ago and just checked those models and they are fine.

 

Stored in tray type soft fruit boxes on a shelf in a depending on season heated/ventilated room so there is some light exposure as well as variable temperatures.

 

Use whatever CA Glue is to hand so quite often cheap 'Poundland' tubes or equivalent but I use a very thin line so that I can give it a coating of thinned acrylic black and then matt finish with a mix of Klear and Tamiya Matt Coat which might/might not make a difference.

[bentwaters81tfw]

I use the Aeroclub stuff, and cheap Poundland superglue. So far no problems, but all my stuff is boxed and stored out of the light. I did discover that spray varnish on the product results in loss of elasticity immediately.

[Bozothenutter]

I think this would eventually be a problem for all of the stretchy stuff, as I would imagine the plasticisers leeching out or something.