Post by MattH on Aug 16, 2018 13:15:12 GMT
Some people have been asking how I made my missiles. It's not an original idea - you can find many variations around the interwebz.
First: pipe cleaners. You want the 3mm ones, which taper nicely. The ones I got were these, which were the only ones I could find at the time.
Yeah 300 of them. I might have to take up pipe smoking. Still, they'll come in handy for my next project: a solitaire simulation of global thermonuclear war.
Next, hold the pipe cleaner with the narrow end pointing directly upwards and set fire to the tip with a lighter. The cotton burns pretty fast, so a couple of seconds should do it. Let it cool and then clean off the burnt stuff. You probably want about 10mm of clear wire. I probably overdid this one a bit:
Then I cut some in half, just to make them a little less unwieldy on the table. I normally use the short ones as AAMs and the long ones as SAMs.
Note the full length one is just under 7" which makes it perfect for a SAM's initial move.
Now here's the fun bit. If like me you're lazy and averse to power tools, you might want an easy ready-made solution to flight stands. I found these to be ideal. They're 40mm square bases with a 70mmx3mm rod, which I stuck small 2mm magnets onto, and the same on the underside of the aircraft, with superglue gel. It can be a fiddly job, and you need to watch the polarity. If I was doing it again I think I would use 3mm magnets on the stand and 2mm on the aircraft. I also have some of their "medium' flight stands which are 30mm square, and they're good for missiles and helicopters.
So I was trying to work out how to mount my missiles on the stands, and then I realised these things are made of steel wire right? I wonder if they'll just attach themselves... Oooh!
You'll find you can arrange them in all kinds of ways. You have to accept that the missile model is only there for show, and take measurements from the front centre of the missile's base instead, but it means you can move them around to fit, or even remove them completely while leaving the stand in place, if things get congested.
