I’m actually not sure if its hydraulic or not, but I’d like to replicate the brake tubing shown in that picture on my landing gear struts. I could use black thread, but I’d like it to look smoother. Have people attempted this before, and if so, what did you use? The P-51D is 1/48 scale, and from the picture, I’d guesstimate about 0.5 inch cabling.
0.5/48 = x/1
48x = 0.5
x = 0.01 inches, or 0.264 millimeters. [:0]
Use fine copper wire for the brake lines on your model P-51it would look much better than sewing thread.
Rob.
That’s just the right thing! Thank you very much. Do Tamiya acrylics stick well to copper wiring?
Yep, they’re brake lines and yep they’re hydraulic. The suggestion that you use copper wire is excellent but I’ve discovered that solder is easier to work with and you can find it down to .005" diameter. You might also consider using stretched sprue (it’s really handy and free)
Hydraulic tubing is made from aluminium tubing, so white metal wire, as in electrical flex, would be easier to use than painting copper. When you get to the flexible portion of the pipe, in this scale, simply paint the wire black. Or, if you can find wire of the right size, use the flexible plastic covering & paint/marker pen it black.
Pete
Radio Shack sells solder in very fine rolls. It will probably last 100 years.
Thanks for the advice guys. It was an absolute nightmare to get the copper wire to work properly–Tamiya Acrylic Paints didn’t adhere very well, so I had to use Krylon spray paint. Even that would peel off if you touch it too much, so I had to be very careful. Glueing it on was even more frustrating…the glue would melt the already-painted gear struts, so I had to do a lot of retouching and some minor sanding, and it still looks pretty gooey. [:(]
Overall, I’m sort of pleased. Next time I’ll get to airbrush the gear struts, so I think the finish will look nicer.
I wouldn’t use black thread to emulate metal tubinig, but it can make really nicet lengths of rubber tubing. The trick is to do what generations of wooden ship modelers have done – get a small block of bee’s wax from the art supply store (two bucks) and draw the thread through it. It removes the fuzz and stiffens the thread. The added bonus is that if you twist the end it will go straight through tiny holes. For ships, black waxed thread is a dead ringer for the tar-covered rope used for the non-moving standing rigging (that is, the permanent rigging that held the masts and spars steady).
another option is the wires in a telephone cord. they should be just about the right size. if you have some old phone line cut the end and take the outer covering off. you will have a great deal of line to work with.
joe