Which scale wire for.....

Hi Guys

Whats the best wire thickness for the below please as there are millions of different thickness's and i'm confused

Spark plug leads
Battery terminals
Brake lines
Fuel lines
And whatever wiring is in the engine bay/car etc.

Thanks chaps

Here's some of the tougher ones:

Braided Line:

-Descriptions are from an Earls catalog

In the US we use AWG for wire sizes. The bigger the number the smaller the diameter. Common sizes are even numbers from 30 up to 10 (the size goes up to 000 but above 10 its too large to be of use and down into the 30's but is quite hard to find)

This web site will give you the metric diameter of the different sizes:

http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/awg-to-mm.htm

Since the mm size in 1:24/1:25 scale is roughly equal to the 1:1 size in inches
30 awg is .25 mm so it is good for 1/4 inch
28 awg is .32 mm so it is good for about 3/8

If you have metric sized wire only then if it is measured in diameter you find the size closest to the item in inches.

Now here's the difficulty. The sizes are of the wire only and don't include the insulation. Insulation thickness varies depending on the type. Vinyl is much thicker than Teflon. Metal lines aren't much of a problem because you can strip the insulation off and then pick the size that seems right. Wire wrap wire is too large but is quite often used because you can find it at electronics stores and its cheap.

It depends on how pedantic you want to be Ash. Here is a rule of thumb for 1/24 1/25 guide.

Plug leads are typically around 9mm so use .36mm

Battery leads around 11/12mm so use .48mm

Brake lines (hardline) around 8mm so use .32mm

Fuel lines (hardline) about the same as brakelines but can be a bit larger. Flexible around 13mm so use .52

And whatever wiring is in the engine bay/car etc. wrote:

LOL..... how long is a piece of string.

A word of advice.... Don't get bogged down with minutae, you'll only wind up as a rivet conter!!!

im allergic to rivet counters lol lol

and if you want a source for wire try hobbycraft.....the bead jewelery section has it in all sorts of gauges and colours

As Paul said hobbycraft have a great range of wire, it's worth checking dunhelm out as well.

I get my wire from Shipwreck Beads. here is how I decide what wire to use. If I want to make spark plug wires for an old muscle car the plug wires would be 1/4 inch or .250. So you divide that number by the scale you are working in. 1/25 th scale would make it .010" to be right on. Then you look for a wire that is the right color and close to the right diameter. You won't always find the right wire but can come close. Pre-wired distributors are wired with either 28 or 30 gauge wire. That makes the wire about .013 or .014" in diameter. A little large but it looks right to the eye. us the same method for fuel lines or brake lines or battery cables. Even if you work in the metric system the math is the same.


You can grab a wire and check it with a caliper and see where you are at. I used to use .018" wire for spark plug wires. that would make the plug wire almost 1/2 inch in diameter. I thought at the time they looked good. I was wrong. LOL

Another source for wire can be stranded wire. Strip the insulation away and measure the diameter of a single strand. I have found that if you find the right diameter you can wash the wire in lacquer thinner, let it dry and then paint it to be what you need. Some of the wire I have used is only (.") that's like a human hair. I am always on the look out for wire of any type. Never can tell where it can be used. Every time I try to tell you the wire is three thousands of an inch the little guy with the wine glass pops up. so I will try it this way.

I hope this helps if not just ask. I have been using craft wire and other wires in different scale for quite a few years now.

https://skidsplace.forumotion.com/t103-working-with-craft-wire-and-beads

Brilliant guys thank you ever so much, lots of info here and I am very grateful.

Hopes that soon enough you will see things popping up in the engine bays and looking a bit more authentic.