Hi All,
I've been wondering what to use for the radio wires and such on my KGV.
A friend is into fly fishing and I've wondered if the thin silk thread used to make flys will work. I've used stretched sprue in the past and although happy with the results thought I might try something else if I can get some feedback.
TIA
Tom

Hi Tom!

I used to tie my own flies, mate, so I know what you're referring to as far as the silk thread...honestly, the thread will seperate eventually and fray and look really crappy...I think the best thread to use (especially for 1/350) rigging is Lycra thread, the kind that the wingnuts use for rigging their airplanes...I've seen it available at the larger craft shops and many on line hobby stores...it's easy to work with, and looks extremely realistic. Hope this helps ya some, Keep Modeling!
~Gunny

Regarding the lycra, how long will it retain its tension or does it not sag after awhile? If it does, what do you do to tighten it back up again?

Hey, Steve!
I pull it taught, glue it in place, and never had a sag yet, Bro...that's the beauty of the lycra...
~Gunny

I'm not sure exactly what the material the thread I used for my Missouri is, I'll have to check it when I get home. I don't believe it's Lycra, but it is some sort of artificial material. I went to the local sewing and fabric store and found it among the "specialty" threads. I also found some larger and buff colored thread I used for the signal halyards.

I DO remember that the guage is .004", so it is VERY thin, but it is quite strong. And because it's coating is very smooth, knots are easy to tie and move into position. Once I got the knot where I wanted, I used a small drop of CA to secure it in place.

I'm actually going back and touching it up with flat black paint, is I'm finding it's SO thin, it's actually hard to see!!

Tom

Don't you wish you could say this about everything? :-)

I'm going to ask for Lycra next I go to Hobby Lobby. I used thin wire on my Surcouf, which is the only ship I've tried to rig. This has got to work better than that.

Everytime I .....


Yes.

I've been using DaiRiki .002 and .003 monofilament, which I bought from Pacific Front Hobbies. I also use .004 nylon quilting thread, which is "smoke" colored, so it looks a little darker. Unfortunately, the DaiRiki doesn't come in smoke.

Here's a sample of how it looks on a model. The horizontal rigging is .004. The vertical rigging is .003, on this particular model, which is the 1/350 Minekaze kit of the Japanese heavy cruiser Tone. IIRC, I used .002 on the rigging for the aircraft crane.

And you're tying knots with this stuff? With what? Tweezers and a magnifying glass?

You stud! :-) :-)

I would be content just getting it glued in the right spot!

Aww man!!! :-)
You are soooo right, Rodge!!
~Gunny
#:-)

I've tried various things. Extra light gauge guitar wire (works great for 6-8 inch strips) which unfortuneately the way it is stored makes it sag because of bends. I have strips of it now taped to the side of a bookcase with weight taped to it. Been that way for around a year now trying to take the "roll" out of it. Last project used stretched sprue which I liked. Don't like string / thread because when multiple pieces are involved, when you tighten one the others get loose

Actually, yes! But it's really easier than you might think.

If you're tying off to something like a rail, you feed the end through, and then grab the end and make a single overhand knot. The trick is to make sure you have plenty of length to work with. You can make the knot as a big loop, quite some distance from where you want it to wind up and since the thread is fairly "slick" you can actually work the loop/knot into position by pulling on both ends. Once you get it fairly tight, a little dab of CA and a final tug secures it. When that's dry, I cut off one end at the knot with small scissors, leaving the other end with a whole lot more length than I need for whatever line I'm running.

As long as your "fixed" end that you started with is secure enough to take a little tension/pulling, and your thread is slick enough, you can repeat the process at the other end, and take out the slack in the line while you're closing the loop in the knot over whatever it is you're tying off to.

It takes a bit of practice, but as long as your thread is slick enough so that it doesn't "grab" too much it works great.

My practice is that if one end of a line is in the "open" with room to work, and the other is in "close quarters", I start with the close quarters one first. Once that is secure, you have an easier time getting the other end where you want it because you have more room to work.

The other thing I found is that this works well ONLY if the item you're tying off to doesn't want to move too much.

I really struggled to get the vertical lines on the antennas tied off to the horizontal ones, and finally gave up trying to use a knot. Instead I put a small dab of CA on the horizontal line (which was already in place) and with the lower end of the vertical line already secured where it needed to be, simply pulled up on that line and held it in place against the dab of CA on the horizontal line until it dried and then cut off the excess. If you have the room to work below the horizontal lines (I didn't) it might be better to reverse this and secure the two lines together first, and then tie off the lower end, but you really have to look at what you're working with.

Missouri had 5 horizontal lines with 8 vertical lines all coming up from the small area amidships between the 40mm mounts. I just thought it was a lot easier to get the lower ends fixed first.


Martin, how did you do it on the Minekaze?

Tom

And ya'll say I'm not right?!

Gator :-) :-)

Brushed on accelerator onto the area the rigging goes. Take the end of the rigging, dip it into a small puddle of super glue, and tack it in place with the tweezers. The accelerator should freeze the super glue and hold it in place.

Little harder when connecting one line to another. The Angry Ensign taught me this method...

When you rig your ships, do you cut the thread to length or cut it after you have glued it?

Gator

Sub Hunter that is a GREAT banner you have now. I love it.

Looks like the Mighty Hood if I'm not mistaken?

Thanks guys. And yes it is the Mighty Hood. She definately went into harms way.

Gator

Hey, Gator!
I can't speak for the other blokes, mate, but I cut it it long enough so that I can get a good fingerhold but not long enough to get in the way...then trim close after it's set...
~Gunny

I cut it longer than I need it, then trim the end that overlaps. Othewise, I usually find I've cut it too short!

Thanks guys.

Gator

For the Missouri I also did all the lines longer than needed, and trimmed off any excess length. WAY too hard to guess exactly how long to make a line before hand.

Tom

Amazing. Seriously Tom, I applaude you. I couldn't loop a knot that small if my life depended upon it.

Actually, with about 6 inches or so of excess line, it's really easy to form an overhand knot. It winds up being a big loop, but then you work one end of the loop over something fixed where you want to tie it off, and as you tug on one end, the loop keeps getting smaller untll it's tied off.

The trick is to make sure you use a type of thread that's "slick" so you can close the loop without the thread sticking to itself.

Tom

I got to tell you guys just reading this thread makes me want to run out an rig something.