1⁄35
Making Modern Concertina Wire

a diorama feature by Andrew Johnson
15
Comments

An example of some of the wire on a 1/35 model, although you wouldn’t see concertina wire on any Sherman
 

The Results

As far as the size of the coil, if you want to coil it, I use the hood of a 1/35 hummer to get it the right size. There are a lot of pictures out there with hummers that have concertina wire on the hood for reference. One of the bad things about this material is it likes to twist but not coil up and stay that way even after painting. Most of the pictures I have seen of the actual thing have it tied off in at least 2 spots and sometimes 4. If you want it to stay coiled you will have to do this also. The only picture I have of the concertina wire finished is on a 1/35 Sherman I built. I am sure most of you know that concertina wire would not be appropriate for that time period. It is for modern armor only. Maybe some of the military guys can mention the time period that it entered service in the discussion thread for this article. Finally I would like to mention the roles of concertina wire look more realistic when you stack two 3’ roles on top of each other and blend them into one. When doing this keep the rolls tightly wound together and neat as possible like the real thing in most cases.

In the near future I plan on documenting some of the other things from the message boards that novice builders can use to increase your modeling results.
 

Copyright ©2002 - Text and Photos by Andrew Johnson (drewgimpy). All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

About Andrew Johnson (drewgimpy)
FROM: UTAH, UNITED STATES

I mostly build armor models, but also dabble in some sci-fi and aircraft.


Comments

Envar
Nice article! It made me wanna go do some concertina wire although i have no use for it right now! Riddle me this Batman, as I haven´t tried doing this myself, is it possible to use a solid metal ruler to cut the whole lenght with one precise cut? That´s the way I cut everything from foil to paper and if precision is needed , the error can be less than 0,1mm. But I don´t know if this material stays put during a long single cut...any experiences? And one vocabulary question. Is window screening the material that´s used to keep insects outside the house? That´s what it looks like. Thanks Andrew! Toni
AUG 13, 2002 - 12:54 PM
mj
Thanks Andrew; a great article and great timing. Two days ago I picked up a roll of screening (2'x7' Ace Hardware, $4.99) with the idea of trying out this method. Now, with your assistance, I am assured of success. Mike
AUG 13, 2002 - 07:16 PM
Ranger74
Great idea and article. I have one item of discussion and that is choice of color. I cannot comment on color for WW2 & Korea. And I do not know the shade of gray color of screen. I would recommend gray for modern razor wire. The razor wire I had to place along the bottom of a gate in my motor park had a medium gray protective coating and now has a pale orange patina from sitting out in the humid Tennessee summer. Just an comment, still love your concept and thanks for sharing it Now I know what to do with scraps after repairing window screens.
AUG 14, 2002 - 12:35 AM
Sancho0409
While rummaging in my garage earlier today I found something that could work. I'm not really sure want it's called or what it is, but I am pretty sure that it is used for connecting two pieces of drywall together. It comes in a roll like duct tape. It is, however, kind of sticky, but not much, they may be helpful or not so, but painting it may take away from some of its stickiness. Just trying to help, though I don't really know much about what I'm talking about.
AUG 19, 2002 - 09:17 AM
kersplatt
Great article... made me want to whip some up.. so I did. I am a little less discerning, and with a bit of twisting, turned it into rolls of barbed wire. (or not.. you decide) I love learning new techniques! Thanks Mike
FEB 22, 2003 - 11:01 AM
Grasshopp12
Great article Andrew!!! I will be using this for the dio project I'm currently working on.
FEB 22, 2003 - 03:20 PM
GulfWarrior
I know this is a very old post; but I'm hoping there might be someone around who might be able to help. I'm thinking of using this method to make section of perimeter in 1:35 scale. Does anyone know where I can find some T-posts to stake the wire onto?
AUG 30, 2018 - 02:33 AM
Kenaicop
Evergreen? I know they make “I” channel and you could slice off one side? Or Plasruct too.
AUG 30, 2018 - 03:04 AM
GulfWarrior
Thanks Top!
AUG 30, 2018 - 03:10 AM
pod3105
Evergreen also do an sngle iron profile in various gauges/sizes.
AUG 30, 2018 - 04:02 AM
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