Working with "snaking" tiny wire or styrene detail

Dukat, S.G. · Post by **Dukat, S.G.** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:00 pm

Gents,

While I'm not yet to this stage with one of my BoPs, I eventually want to convert a pair of old disruptor pylons into these guns, from Trek V:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3826/8941 ... c70a_o.jpg

Do you see all of the hoses and wires in the pic?

Imagine putting those on the 10" long AMT/R2 KBoP kit. The BoP has little curvy wire detail all over, and I feel like I'm missing something obvious when it comes to applying said detail. I've tried plastic cement and teeny-tiny Evergreen rods; that rarely works out very well. Very thin brass wires seem to adhere alright to plastic with CA, but getting it in the wavy shapes I need can be a real pain.

Is there a "trick" to this? Apart from talking to the ball and chain and watching last night's Game of Thrones, I fiddled around all bloody day trying to duplicate something much more simple than what you see in the image above.

Any/all help's appreciated!

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:20 pm

Fine solder is perfect for detail like this where you want it to conform to the surface.

Radio Shack sells it in the stores, I have 3 rolls in various sizes starting at around .010"

Ken

Kekker · Post by **Kekker** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 6:28 pm

Another good source for fine wire is a fishing place, like Bass Pro Shops. In the fly-tying section they sell a container with six spools of lead wire from 0.010 to 0.035 in 0.005 increments. Reasonably cheap, and you get quite a bit.

Another option is taking apart wiring for the copper wire - heat it to red to anneal it and it will be much more flexible.

Kev

Bellerophon · Post by **Bellerophon** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:02 pm

Those cables probably are solder. They're smooth.

If you want a texture like braided hose, you can take fine twisted wire (don't throw away those old earbuds!) and wet it with superglue. It stiffens it enough that you can form it something like solder.

On another note, there was only the one filming model of the complete ship, right? So did they rework it for STV and change it back afterwards?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:30 pm

As much as I love solder there is a problem with it and CA. Over time it'll crystallize and grow.

Which means I'll have to switch over to lead free solder and what not. In the meantime... I use piano wire or carbon fiber rod for long straight sections. The piano wire can be bent if need be for simple tight curves. You've got to anneal it if you want gentle curves.

For other wire work I use copper or aluminum wire, aka "craft wire" which takes shapes quite nicely and can be worked straight.

The other trick for looping cables are springs. Tightly spun soft springs. You can also use guitar strings. Wave & Kotobukiya make the springs, available in tiny sizes, with the Wave ones being softer.

Ziz · Post by **Ziz** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:30 pm

4/6/8 conductor solid telephone wire is another good choice. Each conductor is about .020 thick stripped, .030 sheathed.

Joseph C. Brown · Post by **Joseph C. Brown** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:11 am

...and if you use Aves or Magicsculpt, take a small amount, roughly green-pea-sized, and start gently rolling it out into a rope. It's surprisingly easy to control the overall diameter to a thickness that you prefer, down to really, really thin threads. Either of those putty's give you gobs of work-time, allowing textured features and placement of twists and bends.

At the 2005 IPMS Nats, I watched a demo where a gent made an entire 1/32 scale landing gear bay piping & wiring harness's for a F-4 Phantom in this fashion. Yes, it's a bit laborious, but the results were absolutely mind-blowing!

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:45 am

Kylwell wrote:...You can also use guitar strings...

If you heat them red-hot, then let them cool slowly, it anneals the steel, and they're easier to bend.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:18 am

Joseph C. Brown wrote:...and if you use Aves or Magicsculpt, take a small amount, roughly green-pea-sized, and start gently rolling it out into a rope. It's surprisingly easy to control the overall diameter to a thickness that you prefer, down to really, really thin threads. Either of those putty's give you gobs of work-time, allowing textured features and placement of twists and bends.

At the 2005 IPMS Nats, I watched a demo where a gent made an entire 1/32 scale landing gear bay piping & wiring harness's for a F-4 Phantom in this fashion. Yes, it's a bit laborious, but the results were absolutely mind-blowing!

I've found with real thin cable, it's best to wait about 1/2 an hour before rolling the rope out. You can set guides up to consistently roll the same diameter also.

Mark Yungblut · Post by **Mark Yungblut** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:13 pm

This stuff is the way to go:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lead-Wire/741425.uts

Yeah it's lead but if it is sealed with primer your fine. if your worried about handling it then use gloves. It comes in various widths and bends very easily. You can also flatten out short sections to make flexible strapping. I smash small section flat in my machinists vise as it is easier to keep it straight.