Hi, looking for advice on what best to use for modern power cables in 1/35th scale for a Middle East diorama - the cables supplying electricity to shops/apatments etc. Any ideas? TIA

Hey Paul, I just use bare wire, thickness depending on use. Easy to form where you want and easy to paint. The copper stuff I use is one strand thick so it looks like coated/insulated power lines. For phone/cable use thinner stuff. Also use thinner wire with loops for the strand/ support wire that holds it up from pole to pole to building. Just look at your lines outside to see the support/strand with the wire loops that hold up the lines. Hope this helps you.

Thanks - I'll try wire!

Hi,

You could try the thin, black rubber tubes that you get in some sets. You can put some wires inside to shape it up and give it some rigidity, hope this helped.

Regards,

instead of stripping wire, you might want to see if you can get it in a small enough gauge for 1/35. This way it should behave as power lines do.

The black rubber tubing option was one that I had envisaged but don't know where to source it?

Hey paulo, I too have this problem/decision to make for my own middle east diorama.

My solution with be multi media.

I will primarilly be using model ship rope dyed black with ink and then drybrushed metallic followed by a significant dust coat with the airbrush, as it looks like main cables are actually twisted/woven.

Also I will be using solder, in a couple of sizes as it moulds easily, a spool of 0.5mm will be primarily used.

Enameled copper wire (enamelled black, maybe some red and some blue) will also be used, around the 0.2 - 0.4 mm

I have heard people use cotton but it gets a "hair" effect and looks unrealistic. the alternative that is used by some model ship builders for wire rope rigging is lycra thread, and I might experiment with this a bit.

hope these ideas help some.

Here are some photos I have of power lines in Iraq. The power is an absolute mess and everyone basically steals it by hooking up their own cables. after the war so much hardware infrastructure was knocked out and still hasnt been repaired - apparently even the Taliban in Fallujah were taking out repaired power lines to keep the peoples moral low and make them dependant on them rather than appreciate what the US forces were doing there. I have read you can be lucky to have power up to 6 hours a day outside the green zone! plus a shortage of skilled technicians etc etc.. Its one of the cornerstones or rebuilding Iraq and the coalition has its hand full!

Heres some close up pictures of the wires used. Also some other general pics of the lines. They have a very unique power pole in Iraq which has a zig zag metal frame base that joins half way up into a single pole. no one makes this as a kit yet, and it looks a challenge to scratchbuild. Maybe you could be the first to nail it !

Adamskii







That unique power pole

and a transformer that is very typical in Iraq.

Hi Paul,

If you're looking for cable of the sort used on cross-country transmission lines or power lines feeding into a substation, I'd suggest making a visit to a store where they sell craft supplies. They carry a product called beading wire, which is actually a seven strand cable. I found some at Wal-Mart while looking for something else in the craft section. They had two sizes in stock, 0.3 mm and 0.45 mm, and it comes in gold, silver, bronze, and gunmetal. The silver would seem ideal for large transmission lines which normally use aluminum cable. It's very cheap, a 40 foot (12.2 m) roll costs $2.00 here in the US. There is a plastic coating which will probably burn off if you try to solder it.
Beading wire makes excellent tow cables and such for light vehicles, and the 0.45 mm size would fit nicely on a 6x6's winch drum. It's a little springy, but otherwise it's quite flexible.

Cheers,
Dick