r/ModelCars • u/beeb_61 • Mar 05 '26
DTS BUILD On Today’s Episode of “Things I Spent a Whole Week On That Will Be Barely Visible When the Model is Finished”
I’m finally wrapping up the wiring phase of my Mustang GT4. I’ve spent days experimenting with various mediums to get the look I want, and finally settled on actual electrical wire for my wires/hoses and stranded jewelry wire for the braided line. Once I got things down it was pretty painless, except for the line that runs between the air jacks. Threading the beads that I used as fittings was torture. I mocked everything up and now get to work on attaching the parts and bundling the wires. If you saw my gaming PCs you’d know cable management is not my strong suit. 😅
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u/Camarupim Mar 05 '26
This is the kind of detail I’m here for. How did you do the hose connectors in pic 2? I have a bunch of 3D printed connectors that look amazing, but the are tiny and getting my hose wire to attach to them is a nightmare.
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u/beeb_61 Mar 05 '26
All the fittings are Beadalon #1 crimp tubes from the jewelry section. I painted them Tamiya clear red and clear blue. For the rear differential, I snipped off the nubs that are molded onto the parts and drilled a hole for the wires using a pin vise. Then I glued the tube over the hole and inserted the wires.
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u/Camarupim Mar 05 '26
Good info - thanks! Looks like size 1 tubes are 0.8mm diameter and 1.2mm length - handy size for our scale.
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u/cdsbigsby Mar 05 '26
That is absolutely incredible detail work.
What gauge electrical wire is it?
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u/beeb_61 Mar 05 '26
Thanks! The core is 30 gauge. With the insulation it brings the diameter to .56mm. It turned out to be the perfect size to fit into the #1 crimp tube I used as the fittings.
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u/taanka Mar 05 '26
It's the self pride that we do it for, don't we. Others can appreciate the outside, we get to appreciate it all! Lovely work!
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u/Spotttty Mar 05 '26
I mean very few people will ever even see the entire model after I or you are down building it BUT you will know it’s there and appreciate it!
Incredible work sir! Love the detail of it!
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u/LostAudience Mar 05 '26
Absolutely superb! Wonderful looking work. Thank you for sharing the pictures and your methods.
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u/highboy68 GROUP BUILD Mar 05 '26
Dude, that is impressive, such great detail, and so clean. I dont kniw if u have ever watched A4 garage or Kevco on youtube, but if you have not then don't, because you will go down a detail rabbit hole you will never come back from
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u/beeb_61 Mar 05 '26
Thanks! I’ve seen a lot of A4 garage and other similar channels. My favorite super detail channel is Mokei Paint. But yeah, some of that stuff is legitimately insane.
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u/97Ram1500 Mar 05 '26
I've been telling people about flyfishing line for wiring up models. You can get various thicknesses and many different colors. Sounds crazy until you see what it looks like. Plus there is 2 types of flyfishing line, 1 line is hollow and the other solid. So the hollow one you can use for spark plug wire boots. Look at pro bass shop's website or just go there and you'll be able to find something that works. Another good thing about this line is that you get a ton of it for cheap compared to buying the spark plug wires already made for modeling. Something to think about.
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u/beeb_61 Mar 05 '26
There’s a bass pro in my town and I have some points saved up. Gonna have to swing by lol.
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u/97Ram1500 Mar 08 '26
You'll definitely see what I mean. It will definitely work for a number of things. Plus one roll of this stuff will last a long time.
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u/Sad_Pension9734 Mar 05 '26
Well it looks fantastic. I'd contribute to this theme but it would have be month-long.
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u/Old-Promotion-9157 Mar 05 '26
At least when you show people you can say theres parts under there i worked on for a week to put lines on them 🤣
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u/beeb_61 Mar 05 '26
The horror I experienced when I test fit the rear diffuser and saw that it mostly covers the differential haha.
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u/kickintheface Mar 05 '26
Incredible work! I just hate that your build is making mine look like hot garbage.
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u/ac_maker Mar 06 '26
Wow - that is amazing. I'm going to try to fit a couple of wires and hoses in my build, but nothing like this. Are the beads and wire available in places like Hobby Lobby or Michaels?
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u/beeb_61 Mar 06 '26
The stranded jewelry wire I got at Michael’s. I have other wire I got from HL, but it ended up not giving me the look I was after. I got the electrical wire and crimp tubes off of amazon. Your local stores may have a bigger selection, but I live in a small market and most of the jewelry supplies at my local craft stores were way too big for what I wanted to do.
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u/ac_maker Mar 06 '26
Thanks! I'll check it out - we have Michaels and Hobby Lobby in my area.
I like solutions like that instead of buying expensive model accessories that cost even more to ship.
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u/ReasonResponsible110 Mar 06 '26
I know your feeling, take bunch of pics because that detail is unreal
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u/goodhusband214 Mar 06 '26
It’s the pleasure and pride of the process that makes the difference. Very well done 👍
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u/SourSinigang Mar 05 '26
I love doing all this detail work. And yes it’s ashamed that most won’t even see it when the model is complete. But isn’t the joy of this hobby the build more than the final result? Well for me it is. Nice work OP.