RAF biplane strut wires

[Lord Riot]

I’m thinking of making a start on one of these. 
 

 

I have some 0.7mm wire, but would that be too thick for the wires between the wings? What is the closest thickness in 1/72 scale, anyone know? Ideally I’d rather use wire not cotton or ez-line, it’s much simpler to keep wire straight.

 

Reference works at the ready too.

 

 

Sadly, I have no decals for the Gauntlet. Are there any aftermarket ones around? Especially those lovely 74 Sqn ones like on the book.

[Acky190]

Stretched sprue? 

[Paul Thompson]

I'd not use anything wider than 0.2mm, prefarably thinner, even for RAFwires. EZline is far too thick for 1/72nd, and IMO would need painting steel or silver as well. If you prefer wire and don't have a spool of old, weathered armature wire, which is what I use (it goes a steel-grey with age) you might consider Albion Alloys 0.1 or 0.2 wire.

 

I think there used to be the odd Gauntlet in some of the Xtradecal  squadron history sets. Off hand I can't recall which, but individual subjects are listed in the info pages for the sets on the Hannants site. Also in the Wings of Silver Model Alliance sets if you can find one.

 

 

Paul.

[Sabrejet]

Uschi van der Rosten! Always. You'll never use anything else and various thicknesses are available.

[Paul Thompson]

Actually, further to my previous post, just stick Xtradecal and Gauntlet into Google and it picks out the relevant sets for you, taken from Hannants site.

 

Paul.

[DaddyO]

That'll make a lovely collection when all together.

 

What about good old monofilament for the lines? I'm a relative novice at this sort of things, but here's a 72nd model rigged using mono (I chose the one with silver wings especially) 🙂

 

Paul

 

 

Paul

[Paul Thompson]

9 minutes ago, DaddyO said:

That'll make a lovely collection when all together.

 

What about good old monofilament for the lines? I'm a relative novice at this sort of things, but here's a 72nd model rigged using mono (I chose the one with silver wings especially) 🙂

 

Paul

 

 

 

Paul

Very nice.

 

Ideally, that's the best option to my mind, but not if you want ease or are inexperienced at rigging - the holes need to be angled right and tensioning monofilament while the glue goes off may not be what the OP is after.  (BTW, looking at the original question, cotton was mentioned and is an enormous no-go. Used pre-sixties when there was little alternative and people expected less. Too thick and even when slicked down, too hairy).

 

Uschi stuff is okay but personally I don't like it being black. Wires were silvery. Plus I find it too fiddly. I need magnification for everything these days and poking floppy bits of near-invisible thread about while searching for a hole that's beyond your focus is just too much fun, although I realise many people get on with it okay. 

 

But for ease of use, a stiff wire or stretched sprue secured with white glue, not even needing holes to be drilled, is as good as it gets, and looks just fine if done right (see almost anything built by Harry Woodman). If you make a mistake or break something it can be pulled off without damaging anything. And sprue is cheap, it just costs the use of a candle.

 

Paul.

[Work In Progress]

You can buy copper wire down to 0.025 mm , which should be fine enough for anyone. Even in 1/144 scale that is only 3.6mm scaled

https://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/Thinner_than_0.032mm.html

[galgos]

I use an elastic thread called Prym, sold as knitting in elastic. It’s white but can be coloured with a pen. To date I’ve only used it on 1/32 scale biplanes but I can’t see any reason why it couldn’t work on smaller scales. 

[Putty Animal]

On 29/12/2022 at 00:42, Lord Riot said:

Ideally I’d rather use wire

 

I would recommend the pre-straightened nickel silver wire available from the UK company, Albion Alloys.  Their 0.10mm wire would be the ideal, but they have 0.2mm as well if you preferred something a little thicker.  I use them all the time and find them easy to cut to length and position with your favourite PVA or UV setting glue.  The great advantage of the straight wire is that there is no tension pulling on it, so less glue is needed.  A hot tip when test fitting the lengths: put a dab of water at the base of each strut so capillary action temporarily holds the wire there while you check the fit.

 

[Lord Riot]

Some excellent advice gents, thanks! I’ll certainly be looking to buy some thinner wires, that Albion Alloys wire looks perfect for the next few biplanes.

[Bob C.]

My Dear Lord,* 

(Sorry, I've been listening again to "All Things Must Pass".  What a phenomenal album!)

Anyway, AZ made a  Gauntlet in a couple different boxings, one of which had 74 Sqdn markings.

But I also used the horiz tail pieces from the Pegasus kit.  No, wait, I think it was the Aeroclub kit.  They were considerably thinner than the AZ.

All your choices are excellent.  Can't wait for pictures.  Good luck.

Bob C

*Yes, I know, it's "My Sweet Lord".  I think I was going for the classic British salutation, with a bit of George H thrown (throne?😄) in.  Sort of mixing my metaphors.  Sort of.  Never mind.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Bob C.

[Brandy]

To be correct in scale in 1:72 you need 0.06mm monofilament fishing line.

 

Ian

[ckw]

I use the wire used for heating vapes - e.g https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-Nichrome-0-1mm-Gauge-Resistance/dp/B015WE0256/ref=sr_1_22_sspa?keywords=crazy+wire+company&qid=1679389881&sr=8-22-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1&smid=AIF4G7PLKBOZY

 

To get it straight, cut off a slightly longer section than required and roll it between a steel ruler and a hard surface. A lot cheaper than the Albion Alloys stuff (though I do like and use their products).

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[JWM]

I love the EZ. I was trying stretched sprue, thin metal cable (the mos fine guitar string) but since I found the EZ I became a big fan of it. Mostly from practical reasons. It is elastic, so no need to be very careful with it. 

Some example:

Regards

J-W

[TheKinksFan]

On 28/12/2022 at 17:08, Paul Thompson said:

I need magnification for everything these days and poking floppy bits of near-invisible thread about while searching for a hole that's beyond your focus is just too much fun, although I realise many people get on with it okay. 

Swearing profusely has helped me every time.