Keeping things in SCALE, wires, hoses, etc.

[Oldmopars]

On a resent quest to work on things easier for my arthritic hands, I have gone to some larger scale stuff. 1/8th and 1/16. However when hunting down correct tube/wire to use for ignition wires, heater hoses, etc. it has open my eyes to how often we are way out of scale in these areas.

To illustrate this, if you have a V8 engine and upgrade the spark plug wires, you look for 8mm wires. These are the better wires over stock, stock wires will be about 7mm or so. But, to make my point, lets assume that all cars we build have these high performance wires at 8mm.

In 1/8th scale that would mean that the tube/wire we use needs to be 1mm (1:8x1mm=8mm in scale), so for 1/16th scale this would be .5mm (1:16x.5mm=8mm). Now, when we get to 1/24 or 1/25 this gets really small. 8mm/25 is only .32mm. 

In the picture below I found some tube at HL, .5mm, 1mm and about 2mm. They are on a quarter for scale. 

In my 1/16th scale T-Bird the tube that was included in the kit was at least 2mm, this would be 32mm in scale, or 1.3in. HUGE. 

What have you all found as correct scale wire or tubes?

 

[misterNNL]

I will sometimes measure a part in question with my digital caliper(about $7.50 @ harbor freight) then multiply that by 25 the answer is that part in 1/25th(I think)

[peteski]

Since we usually know (or can easily find out) the 1:1 diameters of wire or hoses, all we have to do is divide by the scale of the model to arrive at the properly scaled diameter.  You can do it in your head or with a calculator.

For hoses I use various sizes and colors of insulated electrical wires or tubing. For scale electrical wires (wire harnesses or spark plug wires) for 1:24 or smaller scales I use the Detail Master or ProTech wires.  Both brands are actually very fine insulated wire.  Diameter from 0.016" to 0.007".   I have not been able to find a source of that fine of a wire elsewhere, but tonearm wire (for turntables) is also quite small in diameter.  Yes tonearm, like in the old record players, um, turntables.  You should be able to find it on eBay.

Another source of fine wire in multiple colors is the Model RR hobby.  Decoder wire comes in 10 colors, and depending on brand and gauge, can be quite fine. I have a selection of ESU, ZIMO, TCS, and Digitrax brand wires.  Those wires have the insulation diameter from around 0.015" - 0.025" depending on brand and gauge.

[blunc]

electronics suppliers are usually the best option for various wire gauges and colors, I regularly deal with wires from 26awg to 16awg while at work.

Junk electronics are the next best (and cheaper) option, busted headphone cords yield smaller wires that can be used for detailing, other wiring is great for larger scales.

Remember that it doesn't have to be exactly 1/8 or 1/16 scale wire, it just has to look appropriate for the detail being replicated.

[MrObsessive]

I don't necessarily go by exact size and measurements when doing something in a particular scale. I'll go by what looks correct to my eyes and go from there.

Case in point: The 1/8 scale Shelby I'm working on has what looks to me HORRENDOUSLY oversized ignition wiring. Add to that the way they want you to route the wires, it looks like a GIANT spider sitting on top of the engine. It may in fact be the correct size for this particular car, but to me looks grossly out of place. I'm right now fixing all of that to something that looks more suitable to my eyes.

It's never a one size fits all when it comes to things like this and what might seem "correct" in the specific measurements may not look all that great when it's put on a particular model or part.

Just my 2 cents worth when it comes to this.

[Dragline]

I'm in the Bill camp. If it looks right it is right. We have a great camera and storage unit in our heads. We can see if things are out of place in a split second. I usually laugh up my sleeve at overly large ignition wiring as it looks like, something is terribly wrong. Even aftermarket wire can be a tad big. I've found a brand i like and stick with it. I dug into may used and clapped out electronics for the wire inside and am well stocked. take an alternator for example. That wire is tiny in scale and it needs to be just right and that's where that electronics wire comes in handy.

 

As the late great Eddie VanHalen said: "If it sounds good, it is good."

[Oldmopars]

The 1/16 T-Bird I am building has those huge tubes for wires in the kit. I took the tube, cut it into short lengths and and made spark plug boots, then put smaller wire inside. This did make it look more to scale, but I think it is till on the large size.

I am doing an 1/8th scale Corvette right now and it has me really thinking about correct scale and sizes as I am adding a lot of extra details to it. 

[Chariots of Fire]

I agree with Mr. O.  It's what looks right that counts.  But keeping things in scale is really important generally.  It is very surprising sometimes to make something to scale, or so you thought, and then went out and measured the real thing only to find what you did was 2-3 times bigger than it should have been.   Don't forget; 1" in 1/25 scale is just about 1mm on the metric scale.