Tow cables

Jakko

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Military vehicles, and I suppose others as well, frequently carry tow cables. Plastic kits may or may not provide them, but if they do, it’s usually either moulded entirely in plastic or as plastic parts for the eyes at the end plus a length of nylon or cotton string to put between them. You can buy wire tow cables from various manufacturers, but it’s also very easy to make those yourself.

What you need mainly is thin copper wire, and that’s easy enough to get: find a length of electrical cable, like from an old appliance that’s broken, or buy some in a shop. Be sure to buy a kind that doesn’t have a single copper core, but a flexible cable with many small strands inside (wait, a lot of people reading this will be British … you may need to be a qualified electrician to be able to buy this kind of cable in the UK :tongue-out:). Strip the plastic outer away until you get to the copper wire, then take a greater length of these than you need — about twice that is a good rule of thumb. The number of strands to take depends on the thickness of the copper wires and/or the cable you want to make, but it’s fairly easy to work out by taking a bunch and twisting one end together a bit so you can compare to the cable ends that came with the kit, then adding some more or taking a few off as necessary. (If your kit provides a full plastic tow cable, just cut the ends off and drill them out to a suitable diameter.)

Here’s 25 strands of 0.15 mm copper wire, which was about right for what I needed them for, twisted together a bit at one end:

IMG_4755.jpg

Then I straightened them all out a bit by pulling them between my fingers a couple of times, and twisted the other end together as well:

IMG_4758.jpg

Next, you need a hand drill like this:

IMG_4772.jpg

Put a picture hook in the chuck and tie one end of the copper wire to it:

IMG_4760.jpg

Make sure it’s securely tied, else it might come off later when you don’t want it to. The other end goes onto a similar hook that, in my case, is screwed into a plank on the wall:

IMG_4764.jpg

But you could just as easily clamp it in a vice or tie the free end of the cable to anything else convenient. This is part of the reason for taking longer wire than you need: a fair amount is wasted in these knots. Again, make sure it’s tied on well to avoid pulling it loose when you do this:

IMG_4768.jpg

That’s the strands held between the drill and the fixed hook. Pull them tight, and then just turn the drill slowly:

IMG_4770.jpg

And that’s the second reason for taking longer wires than needed: the cable will shorten a bit as you do this. Check the cable to make sure it’s tight enough for your needs, and when it is, just cut it off at both ends:

IMG_4774.jpg

Here’s a close-up:

IMG_4778.jpg

It does show that one of my wires seems to have snapped and gotten loose a bit, but I can live with that. Now all that remains is to cut it to the length needed (13.5 cm in my case) and attach the kit’s cable ends with a bit of superglue:

IMG_4780.jpg

Then just put the cable onto the model:

IMG_4782.jpg
 
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scottie3158

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Jakko,
Great SBS that's how I do mine. Plus one or two broken strands add to the detail.
 

PaulTRose

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i used to work in an industry that uses copper wire, the gauge was just right that 3 strands wound together made a perfect tow rope..............i used to make them 2 mts long using a cordless drill lol
 

Tim Marlow

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I also do something similar, except I hold the “free” end in a small bench vice and hold the twiddly end in a pin vice. By the way, I’ve found pulling tightly on the wire until there is a slight “give” will straighten it nicely....
 

SimonT

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Classic method Jakko :thumb2:
I got the basic idea from Stan Catchpoles Modelling Workshop (still got it) way back in 1983 - it was packed with tips such as this and a lot of them are still just as usable today

I now tend to whizz mine in the Dremel though for speed
 

Jakko

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I’m not a fan of power tools for most modelling, but if it works for you, go for it :smiling3:
 

JR

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Jako.
Nice tip, done that using wire for trees !
I've thought about using picture frame wire, anyone else tried that ?
John.
 

SimonT

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I've used brass picture frame wire John - found it works best if heated in a lighter/candle flame to reduce the springiness
 
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scottie3158

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Simon,
I have used those as well and your right about annealing them.
 

rtfoe

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Classic method Jakko :thumb2:
I got the basic idea from Stan Catchpoles Modelling Workshop (still got it) way back in 1983 - it was packed with tips such as this and a lot of them are still just as usable today

I now tend to whizz mine in the Dremel though for speed

Simon, Mr Catchpole was instrumental in getting me to make or look for my own stuff. Been doing it since '83. Damn sight faster with power tools with variable speeds.

Jakko, thanks for posting the SBS. We always assume everyone's seen Catchpole.

Cheers,
Richard
 

Jakko

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We always assume everyone's seen Catchpole.
He’s from before my time — I only encountered “him” in a few issues I bought of Modell-Fan (the German magazine) in the late 80s or so, and after that in very old issues of Military Modelling I bought second-hand maybe ten years ago. I’m not sure where I got the method from anymore, but I suspect I may have come up with it independently.
 
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Jakko

Great SBS mate and as Paul said a broken strand or two adds to the realism, I don't think I've ever seen wire rope without a broken strand or two.

cheers
Ross
 
D

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Classic method Jakko :thumb2:
I got the basic idea from Stan Catchpoles Modelling Workshop (still got it) way back in 1983 - it was packed with tips such as this and a lot of them are still just as usable today

I now tend to whizz mine in the Dremel though for speed

Do you mean this one if so good read :thumb2:

Some of Stan's tips are on the Historex website at
http://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_hxkits.php
http://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_pyros.php
http://www.historexagents.com/shop/tips_metal.php
military-modelling-stan-catchpoles_360_048b1284368ec75a9ca907aa049c4a4c.jpg

Pete.
 
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prichrd1

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Ohh no don't mention the "F" word when Johns around, it gives him another reason to set fire to something!! :face-with-head-bandage::face-with-head-bandage::cold-sweat::smiling5::smiling5::smiling5:

Paul.
:smiling2:
 
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SimonT

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Pete - yes that’s the book/magazine I have
It was still available until the recent demise of MM but I assume it has gone now

John - don’t go setting it on fire with the Rembrandt still attached!
 

Jakko

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Paul and Jakko ........Just made me laugh out loud, brilliant responce.
I would’ve posted Beavis saying, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” but I have a feeling that’s from after your time :smiling3:
 
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