Rigging bi-planes! Advice sought...

[fightersweep]

I know, I know...this old chestnut again!

 

I have a stash of Silver Wings kits and my first Wing Nuts kit on route to me. I haven't started any of them yet, because quite frankly, I'm a bit scared. There! I said it!

 

Problem is, is that I can't decide what to use as far as the rigging is concerned. I think I have a handle on how to do it, but I'm not sure what the best medium is to use.

 

I've used ezline on a couple of 1/72 builds...and it worked just fine. But I feel 1/32 requires something more. I haven't tried fishing line, and I'm really not sure about the steel stuff and all of those PE fittings. And then there's all of the differences between eras and types of wires....streamlined, cables etc. I wouldn't normally worry, but in 1/32 scale, this stuff matters as it shows in the finished model. And then there is the colours. Ezline is black of course....how easy does it take paint?

 

And then there's the assembly! Do I build and paint in sections and then assemble and then add the rigging, or as I have seen others do....assemble completely with rigging and then paint. How is that done? How is it possible to complete a complex paint job on a bi-plane when the model is completely assembled??

 

So many questions I know...but there is so much information out there that I feel dizzy, so I thought I would ask the question here. I value your opinion guys!

 

Regards;

Steve

 

 

[DrDave]

Hi Steve

Don't be afraid!

For Raf builds you could try gold zack elastic thread which looks like raf wires. I use that and ez line for control wires. On German kits I use ez line alone

Monofilament 2 lb fishing line is quick and easy to thread but is not forgiving to clumsiness. Try it though.

I use bobs buckles dipped in CA then pushed into pre drilled rigging holes in wings etc. the lower attachment is more visible. The buckles are fine, fastened with zap a gap ca glue then a brush of silver to finish.

 

I did my Pfalz in 2 hours.

 

If you like you can stain the line with a permanent marker pen.

 

Modular construction depends on the kit. The wnw albatross works as fuselage and tail, lower wing and then upper wing. I rig from middle out and do each side in turn.

Edited February 12, 2013 by DrDave

[SinuheH]

There is a handy video on YouTube - seems to work fine - provided you can hold your breath

 

[DrDave]

Ahh the master at work! I fawn in his general direction.....

[fightersweep]

Thank you for the helpful advice so far. Gold zack elastic thread? I hadn't heard of that one, so must check it out. Of course, some of my builds will be 30's RAF bi-planes, so am I right in thinking that the wires went into the wings as opposed to all of the eyes and turn buckles etc, or is it that these details are just hidden?

 

Also, are the wires usually a steel/silver colour?

 

That video is very helpful...but gosh! It looks very, very fiddly!

 

I think an old kit plus some practice is going to be needed!

 

Regards;

Steve

[radial]

Since most interwar rigging was adjusted inside the wing thru access panels, no adjustment hardware is visible. My preferred method pre drilling all rigging holes at the beginning of the build. All wires are installed on the completed model. About the last thing I do. I use .015 steel wire that I flatten on grinder. The wire is fairly stiff and CA'd it is structural. See the thread I did in the tips section "Rigging Biplanes".

[Tnarg]

Gaspatch turnbuckles look pretty fine. Their anemometer is just amazing. I believe they are 3D printed. I found that the ends of the eyes often had a piece of the material blocking the opening from full diameter. They can be drilled out if you are careful, but I did break a drill bit as they are hard and the bits are small.

 

http://www.gaspatchmodels.com/

 

I am still learning, and just last week used the Gaspatch versions with mono line (1 to 3 pound leader). I would suggest trying the small tubing anchoring method versus knots (but still have to try this), since when I tried tying the line through the eyes it didn't look so great. It looks easier in the videos than in practice, and I did the assembly of the line to the turnbuckles under a magnifier. Older eyes and rigging are not that compatible, but the WWI and 1930's kits are my favorite subjects.

 

Tnarg

[Cees Broere]

Thanks for the tips, very useful, I feel better now.

Cees

[krow113]

http://ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.html

All good info .

Edited February 12, 2013 by krow113

[Out2gtcha]

Id agree with the inter-war years bipes and rigging. No need for the use of any turnbuckes or tubes or the like. Id also agree with the Gold Zach thread.

 

Its also known by its manufacturers name, "Prym". Its actually what is recommended by WnW, to replicate RFC flat wiring.

Its easy to work with, strong, VERY stretchy and takes to dyes and marker both, but I found it takes to dying better and more consistently than marker actually:

 

 

 

 

Yikes. That was substantially larger than I expected....................

 

Heres the packaging that I received. I could only find the stuff in the UK myself as the closest source.

 

This stuff is actually called Prym (Gold Zac is just a different name for the same stuff made by the same company) 977 770 elastic Knitting-in thread :

 

As to the building sequence, I was a WWI virgin, and the build order threw me. Get all your assembly and paint done, then rigging, depending on the method you choose to rig.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Out2gtcha

[fightersweep]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful advice, hints, tips and links. My confidence factor has increased considerably! I actually want to build one of these beasts now! I'm leaning towards the Heinkel He-51 or the WNW Snipe when it arrives.

 

I do think that I will be investing in some Prym elastic thread and some of Bob's buckles, and those turnbuckles from Gas Patch Models look superb. I also get the impression that painting and building in sub assemblies is the way to go. Trouble is, is that if I crack this, then I'm going to want to buy the WNW's back catalogue!!

 

I don't feel that scared anymore!

 

Thanks guys for your counselling!

 

Regards;

Steve

[gcn]

It's pretty straightforward once you get started. Have a look over at ww1aircraftmodels there's tutorials there for rigging and making the eyelets.

 

 

Id go with eyelets, 0.5mm brass tube and you can use either 2lb fishing line, thin ez line or prym knit in elastic. To start I'd use ez line as its the easiest to work with and will loop through a 0.3mm ID tube easier than knit in elastic.

 

 

Before installing top wing:

Drill out the rigging holes with a 0.4mm drill

Fix eyelets with thick super glue

Loop long length of ez line through tube, eyelet and back again through tube

Glue with extra thin super glue applied at the tube end pointing away from the top wing

Trim ez line

Install top wing

Loop other end of ez line through tube and eyelet (once this time)

Glue with extra thin superglue at the top of the tube so the glue runs through it and at the eyelet to ensure its fixed to the eyelet and your not looping it this time.

Trim line

 

And repeat and repeat and repeat and..............

 

That's IMO the easiest way although we all have our favourite methods of rigging and I seem to use a different method each time. My last model a WNW Bristol was done with ez line whereas the DH2 I'm finishing up now is a combination of prym and ez line.

 

Time consuming, frustrating and ultimately rewarding.

Edited February 12, 2013 by gcn

[AndrewE]

I prefer to using fishing line for the structural rigging due to the additional strength it gives the final model. This is particularly noticeable with the undercarriage where its strenght can help to level out the wings as well if necessary. After installing it I paint it with Mr Metal colour stainless. I use 0.5mm brass tube drilled out to 0.4mm to make the brass sleeves to attach the line to the turnbuckles. It can be time consuming but worth the effort. The compromise of course is that for RFC aircraft I do not have flat rigging wire.

The biggest leson foir me when I made my first WNW kit was that the rigging turned out to be much easier than I anticipated once I actually started it.

 

Andrew

[AndrewE]

Everybody here seems to know that I prefer mono line. And it's for the reason you mentioned: strength.

Now, that being said, I am VERY careful to not over tension my lines and distort the model. I, too, use Bob's Buckles, and specially bought 1 lb Maxima line.

My first rigging job was on a WnW Albatros, and I used 2 lb line, which looked ok until I started seeing others and doing a few more with the smaller Maxima stuff, now it looks hideous to my eyes!

There is a picture of my first Albatros in the finished section of this forum, and you can see what I mean. That one had no Buckles, just straight pull through 2 lb line.

 

I'm not really a Brit plane builder so I haven't really explored the flat line situation, but I'll probably go p.e.

 

German planes are just so much easier to rig!

 

There must be some varuation in strength/thickness between different makes of fishing line. I use Maxima 2.5lb thread for 1/32 which with a diameter of 0.14mm is almost spot on the thickness specified in the instructions of the WnW Albatros of 0.15mm. The 2lb Maxima thread I have is 0.12mm in diameter and would therefore be suitable for 1/48th.

For 1/72 I have some Silstar line which is 0.1mm diameter but has a strength of 2.6lb.

 

 

Andrew

[Guest Dekenba]

Www.ww1aircraftmodels.com

 

Go there, look at the how-to's and join the forum.

 

Des's DH.2 build - the slightly dodgy Roden kit - is still my favourite build log, the man's a genius!