Mosazné trubičky 6

Metal Where Plastic Falls Short

A brass tube solves situations where a stretched plastic sprue or a wrapped wire looks coarse. A thin wall and a precise round cross-section give a gun muzzle an opening that actually looks like an opening on a model. Likewise, an exhaust, landing gear hydraulic lines, a mast, or a tubular railing gain a depth that painted plastic never has.

What the number in the name means

The manufacturer offers six numbered packages, and the individual numbers differ in the diameters of the tubes included. This is the sixth of them. Before ordering, it is worth checking whether the diameter you need falls within this one, since one package covers only part of the full range.

Cutting and shaping

Brass must not be cut with pliers, as they squeeze the profile into an oval and the tube becomes unusable. It is cut properly with a fine modeling saw while slowly rotating the material, or with a cutting disc. Deburr with a countersink bit turned between your fingers, and the inner edge with a needle file. A short piece can be bent over a cylinder, but the wall kinks on a sharp curve.

Painting and gluing

Brass is already greasy straight from manufacturing, so degrease the surface first and use a primer designed for metals. Without it, the paint will flake off during handling. Cyanoacrylate or two-part epoxy is used to join it to a plastic part; solvent cement for styrene does not bond to metal at all. It works well to drill a hole in the plastic part the size of the tube and insert it, since the glued joint then also has a mechanical lock and won't break on first handling. Save the offcuts — very short pieces work well as tube fittings and grommets.