Chain railings in larger scales?

[dhenning]

I am working on building the 1/125 Lindberg minesweeper into the Admirable class USS Pirate (AM-275) prior to her loss at the beginning of the Korean War. I will be using photoetch 3 rail stanchions for the railing posts and either wire or monofilament line for the lifeline/railings. My problem area is how to best represent the chain railings used in breaks in the normal railing, such as at the gangplank location, by the sweep float storage area, etc. The smallest chain that I could find is 42 links per inch, which still seems too large in this scale. Any suggestions/examples how you have handled depicting this?

[Timmy C]

David Griffith has a technique for replicating small scale anchor chain by twisting/braiding fine wire together, which gives it a chain-like look. Perhaps the method will work for the railings on your much larger scale version?

[Plastic Habit]

This is definitely a proven method. Armor modelers use multiple strands to make tow cables and two stands can be used to make chain.

This pic is some leftover that I had from my USS England build. It is two strands of .006 brass wire tightly twisted together then squeezed along its length with smooth jaw pliers.

[MareNostrum]

Yup, much to be said for the Griffith technique. (It's an odd scale, I have the kit too, but still in the box.) A few other suggestions... Tom's Modelworks has a couple of dedicated 1/125 p/e sets, not sure if they reproduce the chain sections, or even if "2-D" chain appeals to you, but it's a thought. A search of the jewelry section of arts and crafts stores might prove fruitful. Similarly, if there's a local jeweler, he might be able to point you to supply houses/catalogs he uses, might even tack on something you find suitable to his regular order.

[dhenning]

Will give the wire twisting a try. Where do you find .006 brass wire? Do you mount it in a pin vise or drill for the twisting.

I've looked at the Tom's Modelworks 1/125 sets in the past, and almost bought the Blue Devil set. I don't recall any chains on the set, but have spent a lot of time creating details in plastic that were on the fret.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Timmy C]

I use electrical wire from old electronics, and extract a couple of strands from the bundle to work with. How fine the strands are depends on the equipment.

[wefalck]

Electronic shops sell copper wire from 0.05 mm on spools or you may look into this on-line shop (http://wires.co.uk), if you are in Europe, for a more consistent supply of wires.

I found that the most convincing imitation of chain in small scales is done by first twisting two wires together and then twisting two strands of these twisted wires together in the opposite direction. You have to experiment with the amount of twisting in order to see what looks right for the particular purpose. If you use wire enamelled in black and dry-brush it with silver/gun-metal it should look quite convincing like a chain made from zinc-plated steel.

wefalck

[dhenning]

Thank you again for the suggestions. I tried twisting fine wires and flattening, mounted them to the fantail stanchions, painted them, and was so-so with my results. Then my 10 year old came in and said "Dad, why did you put barb wire on your ship?"

I regrouped and ordered the North Star 1/700 anchor chain set from Freetime Hobbies. Very pleased with how they appear on the ship.

Thanks for your help!