Aerial wires using UNI-Caenis

[JamesPerrin]

I came across the use of UNI-Caenis in a very good book on building model warships for adding the mast wires. It is a product made for tying fishing flies is approximately the thickness of human hair, black or white and has some elasticity. I got it online from http://fishingmegastore.com; for £1.25 though the white was out of stock when I got mine. postage is ~£3 so look around for other bits and pieces.

I think it's too fine for rigging bi-planes (unless your doing one in 1/144!) but suitable for control cables and aerial wires. I used it on my Argosy and have gone back and replaced the 'Aeroclub' rigging elastic that I used previously on my Amodel 1/144 Canberra. I've taken another picture for caparison.



and it's replacement



As it it very fine it is a bit tricky to handle. Taping one end down so you can apply tension over the point you wish to locate it help a lot. The result is very good, giving you something there but not distracting from the model. I plan to use try it as control cables on the next 1/72 bi-plane I do, it will at least give me some variation in thickness of the wire for differing purposes.

[Snorry]

Now I got UNI Caenis too, and also another UNI product - UNI-Thread. This later is thicker, mine is 8/0 (I don't know what it means, but diameter of this thread is about 0.08 mm, Caenis is 0.04 mm)) There are also 12/0 and 17/0 threads - they are somewhere between.
As for rigging of bi-plane,there are different braces and wires of different diameters used on different a/c. So, some pre-WWI and WWI aircraft were rigged out by 3 mm steel wire - in 1/72 it is around 0.04 mm, exact as Caenis thread.
Here is test of UNI-Thread (colour is grey, later painted black) - looks like thin fishing line, but bit softer