I’m finishing up my 109 F and I need to put on the aerial wire. What should I use that would be of the appropriate scale? All I have at home is sewing thread, which would be way to thick.
Thanks
Rob
Hey Rob,
The best route would be making the antenna out of strectched sprue.
First, take a candle and lite it then place a cut piece of sprue and place it over the candle. Not to close though but once you see the sprue starting to soften, pull away the sprue and stretch it out as you pull away(all in the same motion)…
You may need to pratice this a few times to get the feel of stretching the sprue!! With this method, you can make any thickness of antenna you want which depends all on how far you stretch it out… if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Flaps up,
Mike
Rangers Lead The Way
Sprue is good, also, fine nylon sewing thread, or fine fishing line. I can’t remember the specs, but I have both at home, and can post the details later.
The nylon line and fishing line can be colored with a marker, too, like a Sharpie.
Thanks for the tips!
Rob
If there’s a fly-fishing shop in your area, check it out. I’ve gotten thread as skinny as .002" there, and it’s pretty cheap.
Kev
Has anyone ever used fine copper wire for the antennas?
The reason I ask is because I “recycle” computer monitors and there is a lot of copper in them. Pulling it taught would be a problem though.
I use Lycra sewing thread. You can get from aeroclub in the uk or im sure any clothing shop in the states.
Great stuff. One reel will last a lifetime.
…Guy
Precisely, I’ve never been able to use copper wire for this application, because of that, there’s always a kink in it, somewhere. Not to say that it doesn’t have a lot of use otherwise, in scratchbuilding.
OK, here’s what I have for the fishing line: It’s .008" diameter, 4 lb test clear blue line by Stren. You should be able to get it an any hardware or sporting goods store, but I think I actually bought this at Michael’s, the arts & crafts place.
The nylon thread I have is so old that there’s no meaningful mark on the spool. But it’s very close to the diameter of the fishing line.
Both are super-fine, and I use them in 1/48 and 1/72 for aerials. You can use CA glue to fix them in place, then put a blob of white glue close to the attachment point to represent insulators. As I said in the previous post, it’s easy enough to color them with a marker, like a black Sharpie.
Hope that helps!
Human hair also works. My won’t, because I keep my hair too short. But the wife’s hair works swell for it.
Great idea! Who’s gonna help me hold her down to cut her hair! Look what happened to Brittany Spears! and that was just doing the rigging on one biplane!
Ditto on the thread Guy suggested. An elastic repair kind. Stretchy stuff. Easy to pull taught but not tight enough to break parts and more forgiving to the accidental touches. It looks good and can be split as small as you like for any scale. Only issue I have had with it is it reacts harshly to CA and enamel paints. Still the easiest solution and most useful gift from an ENglish fellow I have ever received!
Hahahaha!! That’s pretty funny!! [(-D] Ambien works pretty darned good in situations like that!! [:D]
That wire is perfect for dressing up the plumbing on the landing gears, engines and compartments.
Craft stores sell a nylon thread that comes in .003 and .004 sizes and ‘smoke’ in color. It has no fuzz and looks pretty realistic. You can also dab on a tiny drop of white glue for the insulators.
thanks to all
I ended up going to Michaels and bought a really fine nylon thread. I’ll post the finished Me 109 in a day or so.
Rob
I do the hair thing m’self… Plenty of it (still), although the number of white ones is starting to alarm me…
Human hair is the way to go…
I used to use my own hair.
That’s me on the left.
But, I built waaaaaay too many planes with aerials!!!
I learned this one from FSM. Stretch sprue as thin as you can. Cut it and glue it slightly overlength. Light a match, blow it out, hold the still warm match under the slack wire and it will pull it tight.
Regards, Mac