Soft Metal Wire Set Thin

Wire that bends and stays

Plumbing tends to be what sets a nicely built model apart from a model someone stops at. Ignition cables running to the plugs, brake hoses along the suspension arms, fuel lines around the carburetors or the throttle cable on the handlebars of a motorcycle are exactly the details the eye looks for first and whose absence even a layman notices.

The set on offer holds soft metal wire in a thin gauge. Its advantage over plastic rod or ordinary copper wire lies in how it behaves when bent: it can be led into a curve with the fingers, it does not spring back and it holds in a bend without anything having to hold it. It does not twist even when drawn through a narrow hole, and the surface stands up to painting, so it can be matched to its surroundings afterwards.

The second advantage is that soft metal stands up to repeated adjustment. When a run does not fit the first time, the curve can be opened out and drawn in again without the material cracking at the bend. With stiff wires a second attempt is usually the last.

Working with the material: the wire is cut at an angle with nippers, the end is leveled with a file and it is glued into a pre-drilled hole in the part. Longer runs are better pre-bent to the real route and only then shortened to size. A mounting point can be suggested with a thin strip of foil or a drop of thicker glue.

The material is not tied to one scale; it comes into its own anywhere a thin flexible run is needed. It pays to put the remainder of the set aside, because sooner or later it will come in handy on another build.