Modern aircraft and vehicles sport a variety of colored wire. Finding just the right thing to represent different wires on a model can be a trial, as I discovered recently while wiring the engine on a 1/48 scale Hawker Hunter. Worn out trying to get it right, I took a break and turned to my other vice, tying flies for fishing. As I was wrapping a certain pattern I use for pike, the idea poked me in the finger. Fly-tying wire, available at any fly-fishing store, ranges in gauge from hair-thin to fairly thick, and comes in a rainbow of colors – perfect for replicating the myriad wiring found in modern vehicles.

Tip submitted by:
Brent WeavingShakopee, Minnesota