We continued our discussion of rigging in my never ending quest to find wire that faithfully reproduces the natural sag of a long rope or cable. We looked at two different materials, Tungsten Wire and Ceramic Wire.
The Tungsten Wire I brought to the meeting was from a company called Electronic Tube Store found online at the following site:
https://electrontubestore.com
The reason I bought this particular wire was because it was straightened and annealed. The articles I read indicated this was the preferred material. I used CA and GatorsGrip PVA glue. I struggled with both glues. There is clearly a learning curve with adhesives. Today I used Insta-Cure+ that I picked up from Colpar. This is the Gap Filling Medium glue that cures in 5-10 seconds. It did a nice job holding on to the wire.
The wire is straight in that there is no twisting or unacceptable curves. But it does retain a little bit of a curve coming off the real. I've written the manufacturer to find out if they have any suggestions for taking some of that reel curve out of the wire. I'll let you know what I find out.
I experimented with it on my test bed, the USS Pine and I'm pretty pleased with the results. Not bad for 23:00 on a Friday night! I think you can see what I mean about taking some of the sag out. This is the wire with no tension. I think with the CA I used today I can pull it taught and take out some of the "sag".
What's nice about this wire is that it comes in many sizes. What I have in this picture is .002 inches which is the equivalent of 1.5 inches in 1/700 scale and .75 inches in 1/350. It's tough stuff although I have no trouble cutting this with a small pair of crafting scissors.
Modelers who use this say to cut it to length. I did find that if you cut it long and hang it over your glue points it tends to rock a little and move on you. I suggest gluing one end and let dry a bit. Then glue the other end in place.
I learned about Ceramic Wire from some of the WWI biplane modelers. This is amazing stuff. It came coiled up but it wants to be dead straight. You'll break it before you'll bend it making it ideal for flying wires on a biplane. That said I learned that some modelers are using this for ship's rigging. It only comes in one size which is .005 inches. It will work as a heavy cable/rope in 1/350 scale or easily in 1/200 scale. Like the Tungsten the key is to secure one end first and then after it dries secure the other end with CA. The middle wire on the USS Rabbet is the Ceramic Wire showing some sag. It will hold up as long as the glue holds up. When it releases it will go dead straight again.
There are other good uses for this wire. Whip antennas for ships, etc.
The Ceramic Wire came from the company listed below. They are the only place I've found that carries this material. To buy it you need to call them by phone after 17:00. They have no web site and I've never seen them advertised anywhere. It's not expensive. Each package has enough to rig two airplanes.
Precision Enterprises
P.O. Box 97F
Springfield, VT 05156
Phone 802-885-3094
In conclusion I like the Tungsten wire for scale effect. Although the Ceramic would work great in 1/200 scale and some subjects in 1/350. I'm liking the CA glue I mentioned for securing the wire. I do not recommend accelerator as it tends to hurt the finish. Although some modelers actually right their ships with this stuff and paint it on the ship. In which case the paint becomes a non issue.
My intention is to use the Tungsten wire on an actual ship model and I'm looking forward to giving you all an update on how I got on with it.
Next up Jerry Beasley is back from surgery and brought a very nice paint rack that he got from a company called "Back 2 Base-Ix". They are an Australian company and you can buy their products on eBay or directly from them. Here's their web site. http://www.back2base-ix.com
This stand is designed for Vallejo type paint bottles. What's unique about this stand is that it allows you to store your bottles right side up or upside down as Jerry demonstrated below. There is a lot of discussion about storing these bottles upside down. But if you don't want them upside down, no problem. They make these stands in a variety of shapes and sizes. It also comes in laser cut MDF or acrylic as shown below. Check out their web site.
I didn't bring it to the meeting but I picked up a nice companion piece from Free Time Hobbies. It's made by Hobby Zone. I've never been happy with how I've stored my brushes so I thought I would give this a try. It's made of laser cut MDF and was very easy to glue together. It has different sized openings for my brush handles. There were only two really large handles I could not put in it. I'm not using it for anything other than brushes but their add shows a variety of items you can store in it.
This company makes paint racks as well along with other types of organizers. Check it out at Free Time Hobbies.
Jerry also brought some Albion Metals slide tubing and also their Connecto product which is demonstrated in the below video. You can make all kinds of complex shapes with this stuff. It can be soldered or glued. Really an amazing product. Watch the video and see what you can imagine.
We also discussed our individual projects for the Pearl Harbor anniversary build. Some really good ideas are in the works.
- Hugh is considering a nest of submarines from the sub based left untouched during the raid.
- Roger and Gerald are kicking around the idea of a nest of destroyers.
- Blake is thinking about building his old Revell Arizona.
- Victor is considering the beginning and end with his Arizona and USS Missouri, both of which are at Pearl Harbor today.
- I'm thinking about the USS Ward and a midget submarine.
Speaking of Pearl Harbor, I did bring my Chibi Maru Akagi Eggcraft Carrier. But it was not complete as I hoped, and unfortunately I did not make the build deadline of Sunday night either. Oh well. I did complete my F4U Egg Plane but still need to finish the base. I'll bring both to the next meeting but will do a more in depth discussion on the Akagi since it really incorporated everything you can imagine.
If anyone has anything they would like to present at the next meeting let me know. I hope to be working with Roger on a presentation of his trip to the Alabama, USS Kidd, and hopefully some of the other wonderful places he and Peg went to.
Last, the shirt orders are approved and on the way to production. I was hoping to show you an example of the finished proof but unfortunately I can't get back to it after it was approved. I hope we have our new shirts by next meeting!
See you next time.
