Hiya!
I posted a question a while ago concerning antenna wire. I received great suggestions. I decided to go with fishing line. How do you attach it. Do you Drill holes or glue it directly to the surface?
I drill first… then attach 2 lb. test mono-filament with cyno… attach other end when dry… I let it set up for a few hours.
Then I take a match and blow it out… I hold it under the line… and let the heat stretch it tight… then paint.
Practice a few times… then try on your model… practice makes it “almost” perfect.
Jim
Hello oddball ,I normally use thin super glue(cyano) to attach fishing line.
First make sure the line is longer than the length to be used by about 3 inches.
Place it on the antenna mast and add a drop of glue with a toothpick.
Let it dry for about 5 mins or use accelerator.
Then attach the other end the same way ,make sure to stretch and
hold the end of the line until it dries. Then trim the excess line.
Like Jim said, I drill a very small hole first with a pin vise and tiny drill bit. I have done this in the tail, wing and antenna mast succesfully, although the latter takes a lot of patience. You can easily break off the mast or drill into yout finger: a Dremel is definitely out, lol. After that, I superglue the line into the tail fin first, and let that dry. Then I pull it through the mast, making sure it’s just taught enough. Superglue, and then trim off the excess line. Hey presto: antenna wire.
I would add, that if you do have accelerator (like obiwan mentioned), I would use it. This is my preference because my shaky hand always seems to make the wire connect and disconnect with the glue. I apply the accelerator with a microbrush.
Leon
What color do you paint the antenna wire? I am doing a P-47 Thunderbolt.
Keep in mind that if the fuselage is metal, the antenna wire would not connect directly to it. Same thing for the rudder. It had to be insulated from the metal of the fuselage, and they typically did that with small ceramic standoffs. On the rudder there was typically a short length of wire with a spring assembly and a “Egg” insulator. This kept tension on the antenna wire and also insulated it from the metal of the rudder. If the rudder was canvas covered they frequently omitted the insulator and just put the spring tensioner in there.