I am about to start an Eduard 1/72 Fokker EIII as a rigging exercise before attempting one of their 1/48 Sopwith Camels. I have acquired a No.80 drill bit but would like to know whether people pre drill at the required locations before assembly/painting or only once the model is together. It looks like it will be fragile when assembled and I would like to pre drill if you think it will work.
A second query is do I need to make some attempt to angle the holes to line up with the wires or will drilling perpendicular to each surface work?
I’m working on a Glencoe Martin MB-2 biplane bomber (1/74 scale) right now.
I’m going to drill as soon as I finish decaling the wings, tail and fuselage. They’re painted now, and I’ve applied a coat of Future floor polish to make a nice glossy finish for the decals.
The reason I’m drilling the holes for rigging after decaling and before assembly is that some of the rigging needs to go through and over the decals.
The actual rigging will be applied after I’ve assembled the wings and fuselage.
I’m planning on drilling perpendicular to the surface, but that’s because I’m not sure I can sucessfully drill at an angle.
Regards,
Thankyou Drew - started separating the parts and cleaning them up last night, can now continue.
I’m about to begin a 1/72 RE8. What do you use for rigging?
Simon,
I’m still working out the bugs with a method that I’m using - but I can tell you this much -
I found that I had better results when I drilled the holes at an angle. It doesn’t have to be perfectly alligned in the direction of the rigging - but if you have a “wire” that’s supposed to be at a 45 degree angle, it’s better to have a hole at say 30 to 60 degrees than one that is perpendicular to the surface. I have used stretched sprue for rigging and when I drilled a perpedicular hole - you can see a noticable radius where the wire nears the wing surface. When I used a blunt instrument to try to bend the sprue tighter at the surface, it was very hard to do without breaking it.
Now, when I am actually drilling, I start the drill bit at a perpendicular and I drill just deep enough to make a dimple so that the bit won’t slide. Then I angle it and finish the hole.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Chris,
Do you think you’d have the same problem with monofilament or “invisible” sewing thread that you’ve had with stretched sprue?
Right now I’m rigging the cabane struts on my Martin MB-2, and I really had little choice about drilling the struts perpendicular to their broad side – they’re pretty small and thin at 1/74 scale. I’ve found that the invisible sewing thread I use make a nice 90 degree turn and look pretty good.
The invisible sewing thread – I use the smoke color – is pretty thin, but looks okay to me. I may try to drill at an angle for the rigging on the wings, but the wings are big and thick (this is a twin-engined bomber) so it may be difficult.
Regards,
Regards,
Drew,
Yeah - I think I want to try something else for the next rigged kit that I do. I might try invisible thread - or even some of the stretchy stuff I heard about in another post. The Sopwith Snipe that I’m working on is ~70 % rigged. I heated the sprue and it tightened right up - but now that some time has passed, it is beginning to relax and get a little slack. It kinda surprised me 'cuz this didn’t happen on the previous kit that I rigged. It’s about a year old and the rigging is still tight as ever.
The 30 % or so of the rigging that remains is really gonna be tough. There were a few lines that snapped while being handled, and then there’s these super short lines (<1/2" long) that are really tight inside between the cabane struts (those are the ones that go from the fuselage to the upper wing - right ?). Anyway - it’s really cramped in there.
Rigging has proved to be the most difficult thing I’ve had to deal with thus far. Maybe it is time to try a different method.
Do you know if there is much of a difference between invisible thread and 2 lb fishing line ? - and as long as I’m asking questions now - what do you use for adhesive ? Regular super glue ? the thicker stuff ? or something else ?
Thanks.
Chris
I never pre-drill. That is, I’ve used it on places where there is no small place to stick the rigging in to, like it’s coming out of a flat surface (take a peek at my Roland C.II).
For other riggin - like the ‘normal’ rigging between wingstruts - I don’t drill holes. First I build and paint the complete aircraft and apply all decals. Then, I make very thin stretched sprue (I’ve seen people at conventions in awe concerning the thin-ness of it). I glue it into place with white glue; if you make a mistake, you can easily clean up the mess.
I cut the rigging of slightly too long, then hold a warmed screwdriver near it, and voila: it shrinks into place.
I’m very happy with the result on my Airfix Sopwith 1,5 Strutter 1/72. Take a peek on my website http://m.1asphost.com/svankreijl/svankreijl under “built models”.
It’s a very easy and speedy process this way, the rigging. I’m eager on using it on my Eduard DH-2: with over a hundred peaces of rigging to be installed!
Sander,
Good for you that you can stretch the sprue so thinly. I’ve had trouble getting it thin and of a consistent size. Your Roland and Strutter look great!
I sometimes wonder if temperature and humidity variations don’t have more of an effect on our models than we think.
Yeah, the cabane struts go from the fuselage to the wings. I found out that “cabane” means “cabin” in French. Early planes used A-frame struts, like the Albatros D1, they look like a little cabin roof.
In any event, I’m riggin my cabane struts before putting the top wing on because I’m sure I won’t be able to do it afterwards.
I think the 2 lb fishing line is thicker, but not by too much. I’d suggest you get both and see which one looks better to you. The invisible sewing thread, in both clear and smoke colors, is available at fabric or craft stores.
I’m using Zap-a-gap super glue, which is supposed to be a bit thicker than regular super glue. But I’m having trouble closing my rigging holes. I think I’ll try white glue for that purpose.
Good luck!
Svankreijl,
Nice job on both of those biplanes. I really like the Roland.
I’ll give your method a try on the remaining pieces of rigging for my Snipe - since some of the holes have been closed up in places where the previously installed sprue broke off.
I have been using a blown out match to tighten the sprue - but there is a really short time window between “still too hot” and “too cold”. I burned through one piece of especially fine sprue. The screwdriver idea sounds like it might be more forgiving. Thanks !
Drew,
Is there any way to tighten the invisible thread once it is in place - or does all the tightening need to be done before the glue dries ? I think a white glue will take quite a bit longer to get stiff than a super glue.
Chris
Chris,
The invisible thread should tighten with heat. A hot screwdriver tip sounds like just the thing.
I anchor the thread with super glue, but I’m thinking of filling in the hole that is left (because the super glue doesn’t always fill it) with white glue. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Regards,
I use very fine wire and where possible use an angle to avoid the possibility of an unwanted curve at the end of my wire whre it meets the airplane. And I pre-drill only in those places where I’m pretty sure I can’t get the pin vise to when I’m done. I use one of the IPMS Stockholm technicques, the “anchor and stretch” method (look it up on that site and you’ll see what I’m talking about).
On my newest bipe build, which I’ve just started, I’ve gotten myself into a tussle with a real bear. It’s Eduard’s new Profipak Airco DH-2. On this strut-forest, I’ve decided to use the Eduard WW I accessory sets, which include all manner of turnbuckles and photoetched rigging anchors. I won’t be able to pull the wire as tightly on this as on a wire that’s simply anchored into a drilled-through hole in the wing, but it will cut down on all the holes in the plane and generally make a plane that is half struts and rigging more managable. In fact, I may use invisible thread on this one.
TOM
Tom,
I mentioned above that I’ve got the Eduard DH-2 as well. Could you explain what profipack you referring to? Please note the brand and exact pack you’re using.
I’ll still probably use stretched sprue, but due to the enormous amount of riggin, won’t paint it black. A shade of medium grey will probably suffice. Otherwise it will emphasize a rigging forest indeed.