Wiring harness

[KBryan67]

Hi everyone,

  Theres probably a post about this but i didnt see one but what would be good to replicate wiring harness for 1/25 scale models.

  I scrolled the internet looking for ideas but no definitive answer. I have couple ideas but gonna keep searching.

  Thanks

Edited January 19, 2020 by KBryan67

[LL3 Model Worx]

What do you mean exactly?

You mean wiring the model for lights or do you mean modeling the wiring harness of the actual 1:1?

[StevenGuthmiller]

I think he might mean just engine compartment wiring for looks.

I've been doing mine lately with styrene rod and stretched sprue cemented in place and painted later.

 

 

Steve

 

 

 

I will still be adding wire tie downs to these.

 

 

 

Steve

[Fat Brian]

I would use wound guitar strings shaped and painted black. Best if all, if you know a guitarist you can probably get an unlimited supply for free.

[peteski]

1 minute ago, Fat Brian said:

I would use wound guitar strings shaped and painted black. Best if all, if you know a guitarist you can probably get an unlimited supply for free.

But with steel wire core, can they be shaped easily (liken have sharp bends in them or be laid down on a curved surface) and remain in the pre-formed shape?  I seem to recall thick guitar strings being rather stiff.

[Waynerd]

I might try taking some strands of fine wire after the insulation has been stripped off and then coating them with Plasti-Dip from a spray bomb to mimic older harnesses wrapped in the non-adhesive black tape.

As Peteski mentioned, wound guitar strings would do a nice job of duplicating the split loom tubing that been used for the last 30 years or so.

[Fat Brian]

23 minutes ago, peteski said:

But with steel wire core, can they be shaped easily (liken have sharp bends in them or be laid down on a curved surface) and remain in the pre-formed shape?  I seem to recall thick guitar strings being rather stiff.

Yeah, they can be a bit stiff but can be worked into shape with some small pliers. I've wondered if you could heat the wire to try to take some of the temper out but I've never tried it. Sometimes you can pull the wrap off of a section which would make it much more flexible. 

[89AKurt]

Wound guitar string is very stiff!  If you thought you bent it enough, glue in, it could spring out of place.  I just used it for an oil cooler.

Each manufacturer has different design harness hardware, is that what you're talking about?

[SfanGoch]

55 minutes ago, Fat Brian said:

I've wondered if you could heat the wire to try to take some of the temper out but I've never tried it.

I just tried it on a piece of 18 gauge nickel wound string and annealing it makes it very flexible.

[KBryan67]

Yes, i meant just for looks, sorry for that but couple good ideas given, thanks for that.

[StevenGuthmiller]

The nice thing about using plastic rod is you can cement it down as you go, inch by inch, in any shape, on any contour you desire, very quickly and easily with a liquid cement like "Plasti-Weld".

The draw back is that you have to paint it afterwards.

 

I have used wire or plastic and wrapped it with thin strips of BMF and then painted it to resemble tape wrapped wire.

It works okay, but it takes time and it's a little "fiddly" to do.

I used this technique on the firewall of my '65 Fury.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[BigTallDad]

7 hours ago, KBryan67 said:

Hi everyone,

  Theres probably a post about this but i didnt see one but what would be good to replicate wiring harness for 1/25 scale models.

  I scrolled the internet looking for ideas but no definitive answer. I have couple ideas but gonna keep searching.

  Thanks

 

5 hours ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

What do you mean exactly?

You mean wiring the model for lights or do you mean modeling the wiring harness of the actual 1:1?

There have been a lot of good answers/examples but the question posed to the OP has no response. I think waiting for that response might be a good idea, rather than coming up with solutions for an undefined problem.

[peteski]

3 hours ago, BigTallDad said:

 

There have been a lot of good answers/examples but the question posed to the OP has no response. I think waiting for that response might be a good idea, rather than coming up with solutions for an undefined problem.

The original l question was "... what would be good to replicate wiring harness for 1/25 scale models [?]"  To me it is pretty obvious that it is about a scale harness that depicts the 1:1 item (not a functional harness which will actually be used to conduct electricity to working lights or other features on a scale model).

[Fat Brian]

6 hours ago, SfanGoch said:

I just tried it on a piece of 18 gauge nickel wound string and annealing it makes it very flexible.

That's good to know. I wasn't sure a lighter or candle would get hot enough. 

[TarheelRick]

2 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

That's good to know. I wasn't sure a lighter or candle would get hot enough. 

I think you are correct and do not believe there is enough heat in either of those sources to effectively anneal guitar strings or any other form of steel.  Heat-treating a ferrous alloy requires the metal to reach a temperature at which the molecular structure relaxes, a butane torch could possibly bring smaller pieces to that level, such as guitar strings.  The metal needs to reach a temperature where it is almost red in color, then allowed to cool naturally.  I was a certified welder in the USAF for more than 9 years, we did quite a bit of heat-treating of various alloys (steel, stainless, aluminum, etc.). I am no expert and that has been more years past than I really like to consider, but some things still remain in my fading memory.

[Fat Brian]

17 minutes ago, TarheelRick said:

I think you are correct and do not believe there is enough heat in either of those sources to effectively anneal guitar strings or any other form of steel.  Heat-treating a ferrous alloy requires the metal to reach a temperature at which the molecular structure relaxes, a butane torch could possibly bring smaller pieces to that level, such as guitar strings.  The metal needs to reach a temperature where it is almost red in color, then allowed to cool naturally.  I was a certified welder in the USAF for more than 9 years, we did quite a bit of heat-treating of various alloys (steel, stainless, aluminum, etc.). I am no expert and that has been more years past than I really like to consider, but some things still remain in my fading memory.

I totally understand, maybe Joe will chime in with exactly what he used to heat the string.

[gtx6970]

I used guitar string to make park brake cables on this . And they sure look the part.

BUT

IMO. They are far to rigid to use as underhood wiring .

This same car I used the smallest detail master wiring I had. Wound several strands / colors  together and painted them black . Leaving the different color ends exposed 

 

I did this car maybe 25 years ago. One of these days I'll update the ugly kit blob they called a carb

Edited January 20, 2020 by gtx6970

[SfanGoch]

1 hour ago, TarheelRick said:

I think you are correct and do not believe there is enough heat in either of those sources to effectively anneal guitar strings or any other form of steel.

 

1 hour ago, Fat Brian said:

I totally understand, maybe Joe will chime in with exactly what he used to heat the string.

I used a Bic lighter with the 3" length of guitar string held by a pair of locking tweezers. I heated the string until it turned red; then, In let it cool. Afterward, I pulled the piece through a folded piece of 400 grit wet & dry paper to remove the oxidation.

[Exotics_Builder]

Lots of good answers.  On classic cars, the wiring harnesses depicted are good.  Fo exotics or modern EFI cars, there are also harnesses on the engine that control the injectors and often the plugs.  Some of the techniques above can be applied to that as well.

 

I did a version of this to my Ferrari SA Aperta about 3 years ago.  It was very minimal as was barely visible in the engine bay

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Exotics_Builder

[Brutalform]

Pro Tech Model Parts has some very fine detail wire that comes in red, black, blue, and yellow. 
 

[KBryan67]

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I want to start upscaling my model building. I like doing regular car/truck models out of box but i really like doing projects that are different looking like taking 2 different bodies that are broken from different cars and making it into my version of a "one of a kind".

  Right now im all over ebay seeing who has scraps/parts lots just to kinda build up my spare parts junkyard. So we'll see what i can find for my stock and go from there lol.

[BigTallDad]

Instead of guitar strings, how about braided wire fishing leaders?

They come in many diameters and are easier to bend than guitar strings.