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Antennas into Fuselage - How?


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Hi guys,

 

You’re all probably getting tired of my incessant questions on details, but this one was a real problem for me. 

 

I just finished my Eduard 1/48 FW190 A-4.  Seawinder provided a fabulous set of photos of the antenna details on the real airplane ad I was and am thrilled.  However, I ran into a huge problem trying to mount the T part of the antenna into the fuselage.  And I had an issue with connecting the T part of the antenna with the main line.  I used EZ Line, which I thought was great stuff.  And it is, but contrary to things I’d read, superglue doesn’t seem to work to attach EZ Line to itself, though it does seem to work when attaching it to styrene.  The only way I was able to attach the T part to the main line was by knotting the T line onto the main line, stretching the T line end and trimming.  That worked, thank goodness.  Now for the big problem.  I drilled a small hole in the fuselage where the T line would enter and I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to insert the EZ Line into the hole and secure it, while maintaining enough tension to keep it taut. WRONG!  I ended up making a bigger hole than I wanted to, and had to use a whole lot of super glue, which made a mess on the fuselage surface, and it was dicey at best to try to push the main line down so the T line would be taut dwhen I let off on the main

line after the other end finally took hold in the real messy hole!!  So , then, I had to figure out how to clean up the mess AND fill the hole, while leaving the insertion point alone.  I got it to look minimally okay, but not good.  HELP me PLEASE for future builds that require fuselage entry of antennas. Ideally, I’d still like to use EZ Line, but if no one knows how to do what did well, I may need to give up on using that material...

Edited by Curt B
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You can't push on a rope. We'll, unless you stiffen it somehow. I routinely use CA to stiffen the end of cotton or synthetic threads. Cut the end at an acute angle and it's very easy to use. Sadly, this doesn't appear to work on EZ line.

 

Another approach is to install the threads before assembly, which means you need to deal with them during assembly and painting, I did this with the upper line where it entered the aft hull of this LCM3. I put enough thread for its full run in the hull and glued toggles on both ends of the thread. The toggle left outside the hull allowed me to pull the rest of the line out; the toggle on the inside of the hull prevented me from pulling the bitter end of the thread out of the hull. The other lines shown in this photo were threaded at the very end.

lcm-done06.jpg

 

Another approach is to drill through holes and then thread after assembly. I've never this, but it's been demonstrated in numerous WIPs.

 

You could you make a 'plug' with a through hole; 0.3mm Albion tubing might be best for this. You would need to drill a 0.3mm hole in the plastic, thread the EZ line through the tube ensuring the EZ line length will be correct, glue EZ line into the tube, and then insert the tube into the plastic. It would give the appearance of a through-fuselage insulator, especially if it stands a little proud of the surface. Grumman F4Fs and F6Fs most definitely had such fittings.

 

I use a 6 mil ceramic fibre for antennas and rigging. It's stiff so I just need to drill holes aligned with the direction of the 'wire', cut the fibre to length, insert into the holes, and glue in place with PVA, CA, or epoxy.

Lublin-repaired1.jpg

 

goose-final6.jpg

 

HTH

-- 

dnl

Edited by dnl42
Dopey autocorrect
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Thanks for your thoughts.  I had not considered inserting the line before closing up the fuselage, but does make sense, since you could leave just enough outside to prevent ‘losing’ the lead but have enough inside to pull it out when the painting is done.  That still leaves the EZ Line super glue problem, but that’s less of an issue than the fuselage insertion.

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I use 1/2 pound test monofilament fishing line for antenna wires.  For the fuselage entry, I drill a @80 hole then start to feed a piece of line into the hole.  After getting the line started, I use a piece of fine wire to put a small drop of super glue on the line.  The feed the line into the hole until the drop of super glue hits the hole and fills the hole with the line in it.  After giving the super glue time to set, I then run the line to the main antenna line and tie it off there and then trip the excess flush to the knot.  If the antenna needs insulators, I use a small drop of paint for colored insulators or a small drop of 5 minute epoxy for clear ones.  If the line needs tightening, that can be done using smoke.  I prefer using a piece of stick incense, makes the smoke more controllable and also makes the model desk smell nice.  HTH, Dave.

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I use 1/2 pound test monofilament fishing line for antenna wires.  For the fuselage entry, I drill a @80 hole then start to feed a piece of line into the hole.  After getting the line started, I use a piece of fine wire to put a small drop of super glue on the line.  The feed the line into the hole until the drop of super glue hits the hole and fills the hole with the line in it.  After giving the super glue time to set, I then run the line to the main antenna line and tie it off there and then trip the excess flush to the knot.  If the antenna needs insulators, I use a small drop of paint for colored insulators or a small drop of 5 minute epoxy for clear ones.  If the line needs tightening, that can be done using smoke.  I prefer using a piece of stick incense, makes the smoke more controllable and also makes the model desk smell nice.  HTH, Dave.

 

Thank you sir!   Your method will definitely be something I consider, going forward.  All stuff I had not considered. I really appreciate your help on this!!

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Hey Ed (and Trojan),

 

Thanks, guys.  After I had that heckuva time with the EZ Line, I'm not going to be doing THAT again.  I'll do the monofilament fishing line or the Invisible Thread, which sound like great ideas.  If my mom were still alive, I'm sure she'd have had the latter, being the lifelong seamstress that she was.  While I'm not happy with the way my FW190 turned out (it's barely acceptable), I'm not messing with it.  But for the future...no more EZ Line for me (at least not for fuselage insertion; for canopy to tail, it's great stuff and works fine)! 

 

Ed, I presume you have to paint (or otherwise color) the invisible thread, yes?  How do you do it?  Before or after installation?

Edited by Curt B
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