I’m trying to figure out what I could use to make HO scale hoses. (garden hoses,air hoses,gas pump hoses,etc.) So far I thought about fishing line, thread, wire and telephone wire insulation, Any ideas?
Willy6,
Depending upon the diameter you are trying to represent, you might want to try the smallest diameter solder you can buy. Since you won’t be using it to solder, the lead/tin ratio doesn’t matter. It will hold the shape into which you put it, which might be a problem with fishing line and thread.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
P.S. Your thought about wire insulation inspired me to suggest leftover cooked spaghetti (#10 vermicelli, of course) from Saturday night, but I won’t. [:)]
P.P.S. If you’re willing to experiment, you might try carefully heating small diameter rod stock from Evergreen or Plastruct over a candle flame to see if it stays ductile long enough to form your hose shapes.
P.P.P.S. Also, you could roam the online catalogue of Small Parts, Inc.:
http://www.smallparts.com/
to determine if they have anything to suit your needs - bit pricey though.
I used some telephone wire for the hoses in this scene. It might to big for a garden hose but if you are planning a fire scene it works well.
an article in MR a few years ago a guy used transmission wire for MU hoses, put mini magnet ‘glads’ on the ends, looked awesome