Recommendations for rigging

[Flamingo]

 In the past I used 0.1 mm copper wire, rolled flat with a metal ruler on a clean cutting mat, cut to length with the help of dividers

and applied with white glue.

 

 

The wires should be pushed into the glue drops, if they just touch the outside they might go off later.

As copper is very soft and has a not so nice colour I now will use harder silver wire found in monitor or printer cables.

 

Joachim

Edited June 5 by Flamingo

[Flamingo]

 

Edited June 11 by Flamingo

[ssherman]

22 hours ago, Ger Darkly said:

I've used Maxima Chameleon monofilament. It's claimed to be invisible in water, but appears dark reddish brown on the reel. Not prototypically correct for most bracing wires I imagine (maybe ok for antenna wires), but helps with visibility on the completed model - at least against light backgrounds and out of water!

 

It's apparently manufactured from 0.08mm diameter (1lb) upwards, but the image shows 0.15mm/3lb line on a 1/72 model (Matchbox Fury), as that's the smallest I could get at the time.

 

 

 

I will add your suggestion to my list. I've compiled the various suggestions from this thread and plan on trying a number of them. AK is driving me crazy so I am looking for alternatives. I like that plane.

 

 

[ssherman]

12 hours ago, Flamingo said:

 

 

My former picture hoster is going down end of june, so I have to learn how to use the new one.

Thanks. I hadn't even thought of using wire salvaged from electronics. I like that idea. I have box full of old cables that I keep around on the off-chance I find a use for them. Now I do. 

[Big Dave S]

Excellent thread (excuse the pun).

Very useful information. 

[ssherman]

Below I've summarized the suggestions and recommendation above. I may gather up some or all of the rigging line suggestions and try them out. 

 

Rigging Materials:

·         0.3mm (0.0118” diam.) nylon monofilament

·         EZ Line

·         Uschis Elastic Fine Rigging 0.03mm

·         Invisible mending thread

·         0.06mm Gamakatsu monofilament fishing line

·         Nichrome wire (18 gauge = 0.04” diameter, 16 gauge= 0.051”) rolled flat

·         Super G-line ( 0.06mm diameter. 0.0024”)

·         Maxima Chameleon (fishing line)

·         0.1 mm copper wire, salvaged from old electronics, rolled flat with a metal ruler on a clean cutting mat.

·        AK rigging

Rigging Tool and Jigs:

·         Micro drills or PCB drills (0.3mm holes drilled before construction)

·         Circuit board drills in boxes of 10

·         Foam board for jig

·         Legos for jig ( I like this one)

·         Stretched sprue applicator

·         Glue loop applicator made of wire in an old paint brush handle

·        I use dental hooks as applicators in many situations. Or pins/needles

Methods:

·         Drill through wings/structure

·         Or drill part way through the wind or structure

·         Drill at an angle to avoid kinking

Edited June 6 by ssherman

[ckw]

As i found last night, magnifying glass with built in LEDs is a real boon. It seems no matter how good your workshop lighting, the  place where you want to apply that precise drop of glue will inevitably be in shadow.

 

As for materials, I like the look of real wire (I use a range of gauges depending on the aircraft - sometimes multiple gauges on the same aircraft) attached with PVA. Not as strong as superglue, but it lends itself to trial and error when fitting as PVA is easily removed without damage.

 

One issue I've found with wire working in 1/72 is that anything scale is going to be very thin, and if long lengths are required, it may sag a little in the middle. In that situation I would opt for EZ-Line which can easily be tensioned.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Putty Animal]

On 07/06/2024 at 00:45, ckw said:

As i found last night, magnifying glass with built in LEDs is a real boon.

 

I think this is the real advantage for any method of rigging and other finescale work. If you can give yourself the equivalent of bionic vision, the hands will quickly follow.

[Space Ranger]

A Japanese firm known as Epic Hobby sells 5 meter lengths of “ultra flex metal wire” in diameters ranging from 0.028mm  (0.001 in) to 0.15mm (0.006 in), the equivalents in 1/72 scale of 0.072 in to 0.432 in. They appear to be sold primarily by retailers specializing in ship models. Prices range from $19 to $22 (U.S.) per package of one length. I’ve not had a chance to try them so cannot report on ease of use.

 

And I just noticed that SBS has released a photoetch set of generic flat wires in various lengths. These should be useful as well. Another inexpensive  source of flat wire is that used for repair of “vaping” devices. (I have no experience with the latter either and do not intend to start!)

[Listel]

Hi,

I always used stretched sprue to rig my biplanes. Easy, cheap, cut at length and glued with a droplet of super glue. It can also, if needed, be straightened by approaching a flame-heated cutter blade 1-2mm from the tread.

 

   

 

Cheers,

François

Edited June 16 by Listel

[Icedtea]

On 6/4/2024 at 1:26 AM, Black Knight said:

Its the Airfix 1/72 version

 

I prefer to use a 'glue loop' made of wire in an old paint brush handle

 

The burnt look is from burning off excess superglue

I have several glue loops made up and ready

I use the 'blind' hole method in the upper wing with a straight through hole on the lower all drilled prior to assembly. I use a sewing needle as a cyano applicator. Using a pair of snips or wirecutters I cut the "eye'of the needle in half thus leaving a fine 'fork' to hold the glus. I use a spare knife blade handle with the right small fittings to hold the needle...dip lightly in the glue and add a drop in the hole...add rigging and set up to suit, it can get messy and in a modellers life it will do so in the most visible spot....  dried glue needs to be removed at regular intervals usually using a cigarette lighter....  HTH JH

[ssherman]

2 hours ago, Icedtea said:

I use the 'blind' hole method in the upper wing with a straight through hole on the lower all drilled prior to assembly. I use a sewing needle as a cyano applicator. Using a pair of snips or wirecutters I cut the "eye'of the needle in half thus leaving a fine 'fork' to hold the glus. I use a spare knife blade handle with the right small fittings to hold the needle...dip lightly in the glue and add a drop in the hole...add rigging and set up to suit, it can get messy and in a modellers life it will do so in the most visible spot....  dried glue needs to be removed at regular intervals usually using a cigarette lighter....  HTH JH

I am going to try your needle eye suggestion. I often make a mess with the glue. I use the tip of a piece of wire or the end of a dentist's pick. But often end up with too much glue. 

[Sabrejet]

Uschi Van Der Rosten's thread plus Bob's Buckles ferrules and eye ends every time for me. It's an awesome system and VERY therapeutic to install. It always amazes me when I see folks creating ever more complex and risky ways of rigging when there is such a straightforward and near-foolproof method of doing it.  

 

It can also be scaled down easily by just using the loops and threads in smaller scales (or abilities) where the detail parts are less crucial.

[nheather]

I could do with some advice.  Never rigged any model before and I have two needs.

• WWII 1:72 aircraft, like the Gladiator or the Swordfish
• Napoleonic 1:700 wargaming ships

I think I want to try the elastic stuff, but when I have looked at modelling products I’m not able to work out how thick they are (not that I really know what I need), they either don’t say, or they suggest scales or they used odd units like denier.

 

So I need a suggestion for 1:72 rigging, I’m not that anal about being exact, just something that looks about right.

 

For the ships it is a little different, they are wargame models, so meant to be handled, and they have simplified details, often overscale to convey the idea rather than being perfect.  They come with little reels of black nylon thread, but it is difficult to add this without it drooping.  The thread is about about 0.1mm in diameter.

The be honest I’d be tempted to leave the rigging off the ships but I do need something at the front because the triangular sails hang of it - I’ve considered using stiff wire instead.

 

Also when you say that you prefer the ‘drilled through’ wings, do you mean completely drilling through the wing or just partially to make a dent to glue the thread into?

 

Would appreciate any advice or guidance you can offer.

[Black Knight]

Yes, I drill completely through both wings. When I superglue the nylon mono-filament fishing line in place the superglue mostly fills the hole and only a little bit of tidying up is needed

On your ships, if it is nylon line, take a cocktail stick, set light to one end, blow out the flame and quickly wave it under the line and it will be pulled taut 

[Paul Thompson]

1 hour ago, nheather said:

I could do with some advice.  Never rigged any model before and I have two needs.

• WWII 1:72 aircraft, like the Gladiator or the Swordfish
• Napoleonic 1:700 wargaming ships

I think I want to try the elastic stuff, but when I have looked at modelling products I’m not able to work out how thick they are (not that I really know what I need), they either don’t say, or they suggest scales or they used odd units like denier.

 

So I need a suggestion for 1:72 rigging, I’m not that anal about being exact, just something that looks about right.

 

Whatever you eventually go with, No. Turnbuckles.(Specifically, for RAF WWI, and most post 1916 RFC/RAF).

 

 

 

 

 

Also when you say that you prefer the ‘drilled through’ wings, do you mean completely drilling through the wing or just partially to make a dent to glue the thread into?

 

It's always easier if you go all the way through on one end of the run because once poked through you can then hang a peg or self-locking tweezers off the end while the glue dries, and if using non-elastic thread then it's about the only way to do it. You could drill through both ends for a more secure fixing, but not essential and twice the cleanup work.

 

Paul.

 

[Paul Thompson]

Sorry about the formatting failure above - tried to quote and answer specific points but only ended up putting my replies within the quotes, making it harder to read.

 

Paul.

[nheather]

What diameter thread should I use for 1:72 thread for WWII aircraft?

 

Two parts to this question

 

• What would the scale diameter be, appreciate that it might vary by function and plane type, but if you are to pick a compromise, one size for all, what would it be
• Do you go for actual scale, or do you go over-scale to make it more prominent/visible.

 

Also, would the same thread be okay to use for radio antenna wires?

 

I should add that I am not too bothered with absolute accuracy, just something that looks the part.

 

 

Chee

[Ger Darkly]

These pages give dimensions for a variety of wires, both circular cross-section wires and the flat wires common on British aircraft:

 

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4632.0

https://web.archive.org/web/20140511143104/http://www.streamlinewires.com/standards.htm

https://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/136317.aspx

 

Taking a nominal diameter of 4mm full size gives 0.056mm at 1/72 scale. 

 

An earlier post in this thread by @Brandy shows 0.06mm Gamakatsu monofilament fishing line on a 1/72 model, which would be very close to scale for a nominal 4mm actual diameter, and looks very convincing.

 

My post on the previous page shows 0.15mm (3lb) Maxima Chameleon monofilament fishing line on a 1/72 model. It's significantly overscale, but then so are the struts on that particular model, so it doesn't look out of place. The dark colour helps visibility, even if it's inaccurate. I've used the same thing for antenna wires, but it's likely even more overscale for those, although the colour might be more suitable. I intend to try a lighter line at some point, perhaps 0.08mm (1lb).

 

For the elastic thread options, the dimensions of a variety of products from Uschi, EZ Line and Infini are given here:

 

 

I like the idea of using monofilament for rigging/bracing wires because it adds strength to the model, though I have to admit the reported ease of use of elastic thread is enticing, particular for antenna wires where the drill-through or blind hole methods aren't applicable.