The wire comes on one fret of photo etched material and is packaged in a zip closure bag with a paper insert showing possible uses for the wire as well as painting instructions and recommended colors.
When I inspected the barbed wire I was very impressed with the detail of the wire. The wire had good clean details and I could find no flaws of any type. The wire comes in one continuous strand which measures out to approximately 131 and 5/8 inches (332.74 cm) or approximately 10 feet (3.048 m). I believe that this is an appropriate amount for most projects. The wire is easily removed from the fret with wire cutters and can be cut in any desired length. Use caution when handling the wire as it does have sharp edges. Once the wire is cut from the fret there is no need for any clean up due to the fine detail. After I removed a section of the wire from the fret I simply wrapped it tightly around a wooden dowel to give it a coiled look. When I took it off of the dowel it retained the coiled shape. It was then ready to be painted and put to use in a diorama, hung from a vehicle or whatever the user has in mind.
Also included on the fret along with the wire is a pair of 1/35 scale wire cutters and a pair of 1/35 scale gloves. The wire cutters and gloves are a nice addition however they look too flat due to the fact that they are photo etched as well and are the same thickness as the wire. I personally think that they would have looked more realistic if they were made of styrene or resin so that they wouldn’t look so flat.
conclusion
The wire does not come with recommendations for a specific time period nor does it specify a specific nation so I believe that it could easily be used for most military projects. It could also be used for a non-military diorama such as a farm or ranch scene if desired. As barbed wire is used by both the military and civilians there are several possibilities for its use.
SUMMARY
Highs: The wire has very nice detail and is clear of any flaws and requires no clean up.It is very easy to use and adds immediate detail to any project.Lows: The wire cutters and gloves look too flat.Verdict: A very nice product that represents barbed wire very well. High quality and fine detail make this a worthwhile purchase.
About Randy L Harvey (HARV) FROM: WYOMING, UNITED STATES
I have been in the modeling hobby off and on since my youth.
I build mostly 1/35 scale. However I work in other scales for aircraft, ships and the occasional civilian car kit. I also kit bash and scratch-build when the mood strikes.
I mainly model WWI and WWII figures, armor, vehic...
Hi Randy,
Good effort, but I don't think this 'wire' looks very realistic at all. It simply looks too flat, real wire is not flat.
Although I agree with your critique of the wire cutters and gloves being too flat, I think you have rated this product too highly Randy. Personally I would've taken more 'marks' off for this inadequacy.
A tip for future reviews, if you own a scanner, then you can scan P.E parts which gives you a better quality image than most cameras can provide.
Thanks for writing this review, it was interesting to learn a bit about the product.
Chas
I wonder if this was twisted before being rolled, would it look better? It would not look flat then at least. As Chas has said use a scanner for PE, it is a trick that Bill gave me and I will never look back
I am looking for quantity of barbed wire for truck payloads. Nick, what do you think makes Aber wire better than Verlinden? Do you get more? Is the brass easier to work with than steel? I bought Hudson & Allen barbed wire, and it was easy to use and three dimensional, but you only get 3 feet (1 meter) per package ($9). The best part about H&A wire is you don't get cut or tangled in it. The barbs are soft. I would love to know what he is using to make it.
I tried the hand twisted technique posted elsewhere on the site, but it's very time consuming, and it REALLY works in getting yourself tangled in it. If you are going to make lots of it, you might want to invest in fishing fly tying equipment.
Darren, you are probably correct about the twist. You might even have luck twisting it with real wire if you had the time and patience. I didn't realize there was 10+ feet of the stuff. I think that is a great value.
i recently used this barbed wire. I wanst too bad when rolled. But cutting it and keeping it from getting tangled was a pain. I had it break apart in a few places when i was trying to cut it from the sprue.
I use the screen door material available at most hardware stores. I cut a strip as long as I like, about 1ft or so and carefully trim the opposite direction to create the barb effect.
It is very inexpensive and takes coats of acrylic paint very well as naturally curling up.
The best,
johncpo
call me crazy but I liek to scratch build my own barbed wire and sometimes It pokes me sharply when i do it bu t eh.........thnx for the article though, many of Verlindens products are good
Hi Randy,
This was one of the first products Verlinden had on the market way back around 1988.
It does look the part if its twisted
I found any excess wire you don't use the wire can be rolled around a modelmaster paint tin lid .
Over a period of time it eventually conforms to the way a roll of barbed wire looks like.
when the photoetch is cut away from the fret its very similar to how barbed wire is unwound off the reel it starts to catch on the roll .Real pain If you ever used the real stuff.
the aber pe barbed wire is an improvement and both manufacturers have made a good barbed wire product.
Thanks for the review.
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