0.8MM TRANSLUCENT TUBE

Top Studio 0.8 mm translucent tube

A translucent modeling tube 0.8 mm in diameter from the Japanese manufacturer Top Studio, a specialist in detail parts for models of motorcycles, cars and Formula cars. It is a detailing material, not a kit: you are buying the raw material from which you make the lines on a model yourself. Do not confuse it with the clear range: translucent means light-passing, not see-through. Light goes through it, but an image does not; it is milky and clouded, and for exactly that reason it resembles a real plastic or rubber hose more faithfully. The clear variant, by contrast, is glassily transparent and suits places where what is inside should be visible.

Use

• Fuel and brake lines, oil and coolant hoses: a replacement for the stiff plastic parts from a kit and an addition of lines a kit does not have.
• Thicker wiring and bundles of leads, cable conduits along the frame.
• Bowden cables for the throttle, the clutch and the brake in larger scales.
• Slipped over wire: the wire holds the bend, the tube supplies the surface, and the line then holds its shape where you want it.
• Offcuts as clamps, fittings and boots on joints.

Which diameter to choose

The diameter follows the scale of the model and the purpose. 0.8 mm is the universal middle: on a motorcycle in 1:12 you can make honest fuel and brake hoses from it, and on a car in 1:24 rather thicker wiring and main runs. For the finest wiring and thin Bowden cables reach for the translucent 0.6 mm; if instead you need a see-through line, the clear range exists in 0.8 and 1.0 mm. One model usually calls for several thicknesses at once, so it pays to keep a few diameters at home.

Who it is for

For modelers who take the super detailing route: this is the kind of part that makes the difference between a built kit and a competition model. It will be appreciated by builders of motorcycles, road and racing cars and Formula cars, and by anyone bothered by coarse plastic lines straight out of the mold.

This is not a kit, but a detailing material. Wire, glue and paints are not included in the package. Cut it square with a sharp scalpel, so that the end is not left pinched.