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Could depend on what scale you're working in. Lengths of stretched sprue, attached with white glue, works pretty well for 1/72. For larger scales nylon thread (or fishing line), or a stretchable product called EZ Line, seem to be the popular choices. Both of the latter are usually attached with super-type glues.
Good luck.
Greg
George Lewis:
Just be sure you color it properly. Flying wires should be a medium gray, not a stark white nor black. Many threads, including monofilament nylon, can be colored by markers.
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
Don Stauffer Just be sure you color it properly. Flying wires should be a medium gray, not a stark white nor black. Many threads, including monofilament nylon, can be colored by markers.
Just the flying wires? Not the landing wires?
But silver sprue works great. A two-inch piece can yield 3 feet of rigging/antenna wire goodness! But the benefit of EZ line is if you bump it, it will stretch a little. The stretch sprue will break.
Along with the scale, it depends on the particular subject. If your aircraft was rigged with the flat steel "RAF" wires, then you might also use the finer sizes of Evergreen strip, especially for 1/48 or 1/32 scale. That dawned on me, when I first saw Accurate Miniatures' F3F kits. The F3F had RAF wires, and AM supplied photo-etched parts for the rigging. I realized that the thinnest strip stock that I had would look good as that wire stock, too.
The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen.
The scale size of bracing wires need to be so small that it is hard to find anything the right size in flat or airfoil shaped materials. However, I believe the scale wire would be below the resolution limit of the eye at reasonable viewing distance, so I don't think the shape is so critical. Most of the attempts I have seen at using real wire, PE, or styrene has looked well oversize.
To me, as I remember bracing wires, it is about .125 or smaller, except for the single strand forged stuff that seems to be up to about .250 in the biggest direction. So for, say, 1:48 scale, that is about three mil and about six mil. Those are pretty small dimensions.
Don Stauffer Most of the attempts I have seen at using real wire, PE, or styrene has looked well oversize.
Most of the attempts I have seen at using real wire, PE, or styrene has looked well oversize.
You can stretch sprue until it's the diameter of a fiber from a T-shirt. Just have to get the technique down.
Search out the FSM World War 1 Aeroplane GB on this site. Some really good modelers who used the whole gamut of products.
About the only constant- you shouldn't use sewing thread.
Modeling is an excuse to buy books.
GMorrison Don Stauffer Just be sure you color it properly. Flying wires should be a medium gray, not a stark white nor black. Many threads, including monofilament nylon, can be colored by markers. And flight line?
stained concrete gray............But I need about 30 yards of flight line to complete the diorama.
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