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Making Barbed Wire

Well here it is, an article on making barbed wire  No the idea isn't mine.  I can't quite remember where I read about it first.  Perhaps it was a book or maybe a newsgroup.  Since I haven't seen it documented with pictures before, I've decided to write this short article.  Here are the steps I take to make barbed wire:
First off, I gather my tools.  As you can see there aren't many of them.  I use a 34 gauge soft wire, two colors of paint, paintbrush , super glue, pair of wire cutters and a toothpick.
I start by cutting a long piece of wire.  I then fold it in half and tie one end to the toothpick (used as an anchor) and the other end gets tied to a weight (in my case it is a screwdriver). The screwdriver is used to twist the wire.  I twist it until I am satisfied with the size of the twists.
Here is the wire after it has been twisted.  It is now ready to receive the barbs.
The way I start to make barbs is to cut a single strain of wire.  I then loop it around the two twisted wires making small coils.  I usually loop the wire 2 1/2 times every 1/4 of an inch.  I would prefer to do it every 1/8 of an inch but my hands are too big for that.  Once all the loops are done I apply a little bit of super glue to each of them to hold them in place.
Next I start to snip the looped wires.  Now the barbs start to take shape.
When all the excess wire has been removed the whole thing gets a paint job.  First with a Tamiya's German Grey and then with a wash of Burnt Sienna.
Here is the final product.

About the Author

About Martin Wasiak (Marty)
FROM: MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES

I have been building models since I was about ten years old. My uncle, who a the time lived in Holland, introduced me to model-building by giving me some of his unbuilt kits. They were mostly Tamiya's German Armor and figures. I immediately caught the bug so to speak. Like many others, I put my ...