I am looking for all the tricks to make antennas. Specifically on a M4A3E2. Everyone please.
John
Whole slug of different things you can use.
guitar string, fine wire, brass rod, whiskers from a vinyl paint brush
try to look for unused electrical cables…cut them out…and i sure u would be able to find one that fit well into your kit…
you could also heat a length of sprue till it softens, then pull, not TOO quickly, both ends and hold till it hardens and cut to size
I use 0.3mm X 0.8mm Styrene rounds by Plastruct (part #90711). These can be found in most hobby stores, by the sheet Styrene.
One package is about $3.00 and has 10 strips in it (enough to cut each in half and make 20 antennas)
What size guitar string? What guage of wire? What is the best way to heat sprue?
John
John,
can’t tell you on the wire.
if you know the actual antenna diameter, you can divide it by your scale (35?).
so 1/2" = .500 / 35 = about .014, etc
on the sprue, i do mine over a candle.
hold the sprue by both ends and turn it between your fingers.
when it gets shiny and a bit soft looking, pull the ends slowly apart.
practice and you will get the hang of it.
it is easier than it sounds.
and they give you plenty of extra in each kit! 
but you can’t do it twice!
once you stretch a piece, that’s it.
use it or throw it out, but you can’t ‘re-stretch’ it.
i tend to ‘eyeball’ the sprue diameters.
when i use styrene rod, i multiply its size by 35 to see if the size makes sense.
ed.
Wildwilliam, thanks for the education in sprue stretching. All I need now is the practice!
John
no problem, John.
and don’t get discouraged if the first few don’t amount to much.
you will get a feel for it.
at first all i used it for was 1/48 aircraft antenna, so when i went to make an
antenna for my 1/35 Panther, it was way too fine.
but you just pull slower, and eyeball it as you pull.
stop when it looks good.
it will create tapered ends which you can cut off or put to use.
the Panther antenna sits on a base on the hull, so i left a bit on that end of the antenna.
it gave me a bit more glue surface, and i liked the look.
if you want ‘straighter’ pieces, just move to the middle.
if you save some sprue from kits molded in dark colors, you don’t have to paint them
for black (if the plastic is already dark enough)
have fun.
ed.
Anybody know how long the antennas should be? By my thinking, all the antennas for a given radio network should bet the same length, no matter what they are on. For instance, the standard radio for German AFVs was the FU5 (I think) and that’s what most of their tanks used. So no matter if it’s a Panther, Tiger or PzII, the antennas should be the same length. I also assume that the same would hold true for Allid tanks. My LHS said for a German tank, it should be about 2 and 1/2 inches (1/35 scale), but I have no idea if that’s correct.
Also, does anyone know of a source of German star antennas? I saw a photo etched set of 5 or 6 of them once, but I don’t remember who made them, or if they were any good.
Thanks
I like using piano wire… If possible drill all the way through the base and into the hull. Let the bottom of the wire rest on the floor of the tank in a puddle of superglue… This makes for an un-breakable setup… no doubt…
Bill,
i will check when i get home.
either the instructions for my Panther, or the IV-D had a length, i think.
i seem to recall it is the IV-D instructions, as i have not put the antenna on that.
on the Panther, i just eyeballed it.
and tried to make it ‘too long’, as it would be simple to shorten it!
ed.
yep, always drill a hole for the antenna!!!
Thanks, Ed.
I bought some AM antennas that have the wire coiled at the bottom. I made a brass bracket from a fret, glued that to my PZ II, and then superglued the coil to the bracket. I’m sure it’s not close to prototype, but it doesn’t look bad, except for the 30 to 40 scale feet of it!!
Bill
Bill,
my pzkpfw IV-D instructions say the antenna should be 5cm.
so that would be 175cm for the 1:1 version.
you’ll have to see if that seems right.
ed.
i think eveyone has answered the question
Well I would use very thin wire to do all the teicks. It is sold in very small widths for about $.99 at my hobby shop!
German, American, can we cover anybody else while we are at it?
John
Yeah, I’d like some information on the antenna setups for modern German AFVs.
I’ve got a 1/35 TPz 1 Fuchs on the go and get get any clear ideas from pictures I’ve seen of them of how long the antennas should be in 1/35 scale.