Uilleann Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Is anyone familiar with good online resources for tip and tricks to outfit the bland kit offerings we see all too often, and achieve a more prototypical appearance? I know I've seen the odd build thread here and there showing parts already assembled, but very very little seems to be readily available online when performing the usual searches via Google. One particular question I had is what do you guys use for the tension springs on 32nd and 48th scale kits? For example, turning this: Into this: To say nothing of course, of the coolness of the retaining straps shown above as well - brilliant work...very convincing! TIA Brian~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Brian, for certain applications requiring a spring-like effect, you can get away with using heavy gauge wound guitar strings. Another approach is to take a piece of thin metal rod or stiff wire, and wrap it with even thinner electrical wire. Some experimentation will be called for though! Kev Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 Brian, for certain applications requiring a spring-like effect, you can get away with using heavy gauge wound guitar strings. Another approach is to take a piece of thin metal rod or stiff wire, and wrap it with even thinner electrical wire. Some experimentation will be called for though! Kev Hi Kev, I thought about the musical instrument thing - but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find wound strings small enough to suit my needs. I have some fiddle and banjo players I may hit up and see what I can find. See - there are some advantages to being a piper with fellow musical nerd friends! I have also thought about the winding method...but as with the music wire, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find core wire and wrap small enough to scale properly. With that said, I still have no idea how to construct the ends properly. Any thoughts there? Thanks!! B~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcb10 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 As you can see in this picture, although not as clear as I wanted to get you will get the idea. I took a piece of solder wire and held it between 2 gator clips (tightly). Then I took a strand of wire from a piece of cable 7/0.2 so the strand was 0.2mm and carefully wound it around the solder. I then carefully removed it and gave it a coat of clear varnish so it held its shape and can be easily handled. The good part about this method is you can cut to length and use the ends to bend into hooks etc to attach to whatever you need. I use it for aerial connectors, undercarriage springs etc but I am sure it will have other uses. Hope this helps. Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 As you can see in this picture, although not as clear as I wanted to get you will get the idea. I took a piece of solder wire and held it between 2 gator clips (tightly). Then I took a strand of wire from a piece of cable 7/0.2 so the strand was 0.2mm and carefully wound it around the solder. I then carefully removed it and gave it a coat of clear varnish so it held its shape and can be easily handled. The good part about this method is you can cut to length and use the ends to bend into hooks etc to attach to whatever you need. I use it for aerial connectors, undercarriage springs etc but I am sure it will have other uses. Hope this helps. This is actually almost the exact same method I ended up working out myself. I took a thin brass wire (I forget the exact size, maybe a .010 - .015 or so?) Anyway, I annealed it quickly over the gas stove burner, and quenched. Then wrapped tightly with .015 silver solder wire over the brass core. From there, I pre-painted the piece in olive drab for the oxygen hoses I was working on, and left them bare silver metal for the landing gear springs. The one thing I didn't do was coat the O2 hoses with superglue or similar to bond everything together tightly before bending. There was a little separation at the curvy parts, but nothing terrible. I haven't decided if it's worth going back in and re-working to correct it as yet. I may just leave well enough alone. New hoses in the 'pit: And the nose gear 'springs': amcb10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcb10 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Seems it is almost identical, the only difference is I remove the internal wire which is why I coat with varnish to give it some rigidity and also so the spring takes on the stretched look. Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Seems it is almost identical, the only difference is I remove the internal wire which is why I coat with varnish to give it some rigidity and also so the spring takes on the stretched look. I think you're absolutely right. I chose to leave the core wire in place to give a little more strength and rigidity, and it also allows a nice attachment point if needed. Although, as mentioned above, i did anneal the brass core wire. Without that step, it would have been far too springy to work well. The annealing process softens it enough that it takes bends very well, but still offers enough rigidity to help keep the shape. In my case, I needed both "springs" to keep their tightly wrapped appearance, with no space. I'm not sure if I need the 'open' look anywhere in my current build, but your method would pull it off brilliantly. Cheers! Brian~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amcb10 Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 (edited) Hi Brian Until I saw your post, it never occurred to me to leave the core in place but in doing so gives the method a lot more scope and I will be using it in the near future so thanks for sharing. I also forgot to mention, for the retaining straps and jubilee clips, I have bought some of the plumbers aluminium tape which has a good shine to it and a good sticky back. As it is Aluminium based, it is easy to tarnish with various household cleaners and also accepts paint easily too (rub with alcohol first). Just cut into thin strips and you have instant Jubilee Clips, Retaining Straps, Oil connectors etc. I have also tried using it to BMF a test kit I have, and although it is slightly thicker than using foil, I think it will work for limited pieces that require a shine to the part. Hope this helps. Andy Edited October 1, 2013 by amcb10 Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I use the same technique to make springs, oxygen hose, or armored hose or wire. I take a copper wire (stronger than lead wire), and i wrap another wire (lead wire, as it is more flexible, and easyier to work) around it. To make a spring, you only have to make the turns less tightly. In order to make big springs, you can wrap heavier wire around any round rod, cotton bud, paintbrush handle, and so on... Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icarus529 Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I use a filament from an incandesant light bulb. Put a rod in the core for rigidity. For the tip, mask w tape. Drop some CA down the hole then hit it with accelerator. The maskin tape will make the CA conform and the rod in the core wont let it seep through down the spring. I use medium thikness CA in order to avoid capilary action. Then paint as desired Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I use a filament from an incandescent light bulb. Thats what I use on a consistent basis. Although I dont normally use a core, but sometimes it could have been handy. Used this method on my SPAD antennae: Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thanks guys for the tips and ideas. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krow113 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Heres a good tool for the coil winding: http://www.micromark.com/coil-mandrel-set-package-of-8,9559.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I'd like to hear more about how you guys deal with the bulb filaments. I've tried this approach before, but the filaments are too fragile and just crumble away. How do you do it? Kev Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 I'd like to hear more about how you guys deal with the bulb filaments. I've tried this approach before, but the filaments are too fragile and just crumble away. How do you do it? Kev Hey Kev, One of the solutions I found for this is the ultra super tiny small 0.2mm lead wire from UMM here. Wind this around any suitable solid wire core, and I think you'll have an end result very close to the bulb filament - though perhaps very slightly stronger. I tried this for the tension springs on the gear legs of my F-117A project, and actually found it wound a bit too small to be clearly visible in that application. I ended up going back to my .025mm line instead. I think as a tension spring on an aerial wire as pictured above, it could be perfect. Might try that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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