Armor typically lends itself to having telescopic antennas so while I’ve been building a few v e h i c u l a r subjects I’ve been using some of the samples I received from Albion Alloys while attending the iHobby Expo.
The precision fit of their tubular stock is awesome! Nice and tight which removes any slop or slack between the pieces. I have made several antenna assemblies already and will continue to experiment with others as well.
The use of two or more diameters of tubing allows you to replicate the insulation and/or base loads attached to an antenna. Much like this mold base on a 1:48 Humvee I am working on.
You have the ability to sand the ends of the tubing to give it curvature to break the squareness if necessary. Wrapping a section of tubing with wire allows you to create a spring mount.
Right now I am toying with the idea of making a metal replica of this styrene directional antenna I am planning to use on one of these projects…I’ll share how that works out later.
Another application one can use this precision tubing for is to replace or create poles, rods and tubes with fittings by combining plastic parts with metal parts. The Bergepanzer I am working on had the option for the crane masts in the folded and stowed configuration. I needed more of these mast sections so using my micro razor saw I sliced the part apart to retrieve the necessary ends which I combined with Albion Alloy aluminum tubing.
I’m also using the tubing for the pins I need to test fit the assemblies together before inserting styrene or metal rod to hold them permanently in place. It wouldn’t be hard to glue on some hex heads to turn these tubes into bolts either!
I cut the brass tubing and rod with my hobby knife. A little pressure and a rolling action cut with minimum burring. Use a polishing stick to clean up any burs. For heavy walled or larger tubing a tubing cutter is recommended. You can also use a cut off wheel on a rotary tool as well, but make allowances for wasted material when measuring and cutting. I find using this method requires me to trim and true the ends once cut.
Scale Modeling Photography Tip:
Lighting for the photography of all of these little details was achieved by using a ring mount light attached to my camera lens. This eliminates issues from using a flash when photographing in a macro or near macro setting.
I shot these images with my Panasonic DMC-FZ50 in normal settings (not macro). Post edited with Adobe Elements 7 to crop and resize them.
The cutting mat was from Excel Hobby Blades and the measurement markings in the first picture was shown with the millimeter scale and the second one shown with the inch scale. Both which are imprinted on the surface of the mat.
Thanks to Albion Alloys for the review samples.
