The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

When I was young and daft enough to try it, I rigged biplane models with a sort of stretchy latex thread that was slightly less frustrating to use than any other method of rigging biplanes. Does anyone know if this wonder material is still available?

Spaceowl,
Try invisible thread, it is available in clear and smokey has enough stretch in it to keep the rigging in light tension and responds well to cyno glue. I've not had cause to try, but if the rigging subsequently sags, I believe heat near the thread causes it to shrink and retension. HobbyCraft or any sewing shop will have the thread and it is certainly fine enough for 1/72.

Take a look at:

http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=358&t=14434&start=15;

Thanks TeeELL, suddenly I've gone off biplanes again . I've still got some invisible thread of that sort, I was trying to think of the latex based product that Aeroclub used to sell. It probably vanished with them along with dozens of other useful things. It was a bit more user friendly to people with more than the average number of thumbs.

I don't know if Aeroclub elastic thread is still available but EZ Line certainly is:

http://berkshirejunction.com/subdirectory/ez-line/;

I personally have gone back to using invisible thread over EZ line, but it generally requires you to drill through holes. EZ line is what you're after.

I have used E-Z line but it seems to be flat like ribbon. Be careful not to twist it. Had good luck rigging a Swordfish with it.

Spaceowl wrote:Thanks TeeELL, suddenly I've gone off biplanes again . I've still got some invisible thread of that sort, I was trying to think of the latex based product that Aeroclub used to sell. It probably vanished with them along with dozens of other useful things. It was a bit more user friendly to people with more than the average number of thumbs.

Try the brand named Knitting-in-Elastic, it is the same as Aeroclub thread. Available at all sorts of craft and fabric shops.

jRatz wrote:

Spaceowl wrote:Thanks TeeELL, suddenly I've gone off biplanes again . I've still got some invisible thread of that sort, I was trying to think of the latex based product that Aeroclub used to sell. It probably vanished with them along with dozens of other useful things. It was a bit more user friendly to people with more than the average number of thumbs.

Try the brand named Knitting-in-Elastic, it is the same as Aeroclub thread. Available at all sorts of craft and fabric shops.

Plus one to John's advice. Knitting-in elastic is cheap too; about 15 miles for a pound (ok I might have stretched the truth a bit there..... ) and easy to work with. Colour the first half inch with black marker pen to make it easier to thread through holes......

Thanks chaps. I'll give those a go.

I just bought some Uschi Van Der Rosten elastic thread from the UK. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it comes highly recommended on several sites. Downside is it's not nearly as cheap as some of the other suggestions. If you google the name, you will come up with a couple of suppliers in the UK.

Howard

I use my mother in laws old tights (stop laughing!). She gave my some black and some silvery grey ones. I put a cut in them and pull a thread out, great stuff for 1/72 biplanes.

So far I've not advanced beyond old skool stretched sprue on 1/72nd models or wire and/or steel guitar string on 1/48th or above. I don't build many bipes though.

Likewise - I'm stuck in the 'old skool' stretched sprue days, with occasional ventures into florists' wire for larger models that need to be rigged. I always look in admiration at models rigged with different types of nylon thread and ask myself what is stopping me from doing the same. It might be the prospect of drilling all those holes, filling in ends, the sequence of painting etc. Perhaps I just enjoy stretching sprue. I really should make more of an effort to try out 'new' things.

Since I build primarily for fun, I try to rig my bi-planes in the easiest, most labor-free way possible. I do use EZ Line, but I prefer 0.015 modeling wire cut to size and glued in place. It's more durable than stretched sprue, especially on those rare occasions when I need to dust. While not to IPMS show standards, my builds look good enough to display alongside my die-cast planes.

pmmaker

I'm a big fan of the elasticated rigging materials. I find them easier to use, plus they're much more durable if you happen to accidentally touch one of the wires. I've recently been experimenting with Uschi van der Rosten's rigging material, which is much finer than EZ Line and more circular in cross-section, but it's also quite expensive.

Nice job on the Avro 504, PMM (and welcome to the forum!).

I am in the prosses of building the 'cats cradle' of rigging - a 1/72 Airco DH2! I am on the lookout for some very fine knitting needles. The model is the old Revell version and needs quite a significant amount of work to correct it even before the 'rigging' stage! As yet, I've not decided whether to use EZ line or my usual invisible sewing thread?