I posted this in the general modeling forum by mistake- so I'm posting it where it belongs I hope. While reading over on Large Scale Planes I saw a reference to "RIO Slickshooter" 25lb test fly fishing monofilament. This stuff has a flat profile like RAF aerodynamic wire rigging. I went to my local fly fishing shop and saw the 35lb test line-- it looks great but may be a little out of scale for 1/32 scale-- I ordered some 25lb test line as they didn't have any in stock. Has anyone used this stuff? It looks pretty good, and if it's true monofilament it can be stretched and heated. I prefer monofilament lines as they add a lot of strength, but I also use EZ line and Prym flat for biplane rigging, but nothing really simulates the flat rigging found on WWI and interwar aircraft, so I'm always looking for new techniques-- has anyone tried RIO Slickshooter?
VR Russ

Be nice to compare with Prym , which is acceptable to me:

Steve, when I get it, I'll let you know. Prym is what I use now too, but to my eyes it's still not quite right. This RIO stuff looks more promising, but I see some challenges too. First, trimming the ends to look right, second, preventing sag. If it's true monofilament, it should tighten under heat, but it's wider too so it may take too much heat. Trimming the ends to fit turnbuckles might also be a challenge, I haven't thought much about that yet.
VR Russ

Russ I used p/e flat rigging ends on my Biff shown. Try it that way with the other material.
Did you try and paint the Prym?

Steve, yes, I have painted Prym, all the examples of flat rigging I've seen are a sort of semi-gloss black or gun metal color. I've used regular enamel paints as well as a black Sharpie-- both have acceptable results, I actually prefer the Sharpie, but the material still looks like elastic thread to me (maybe its because I know that's what it is and am too critical of myself). I kind of feel the same way with EZ line, stretched tight, it just doesn't have the right "heft" of steel rigging wire, and I've also had issues with it breaking with age (EZ line is actually a model RR product and has been around for a long time-- I used it for antennas on aircraft and RR telegraph line in the 1990s). Your Biff on the other hand looks excellent. That's a good idea about gluing RIO to wire "implants" though. The RIO comes in bright blue for 25lb test-- I haven't received it yet, but I'm going over it in my mind and I think I might be able to Dremel/sand or cut it down on the ends to reflect the taper that ends in a turnbuckle. We'll see. I'm really interested to see if it will tighten down under heat, which is my preferred method of getting the slack out of monofilament line. I use a surgical thread burner to heat my lines-- less danger of setting myself or my work on fire!
VR, Russ

The flat rigging is stainless steel , I believe , and is cast to size , with end fixtures. It could be argued the p/e end bits I used are slightly over scale , but the flat rigging is impossible to replicate completely, the ends and the flat runs , pretty tough.

Steve,
I used to use flat brass and steel by Micro Engineering, a model railroad supplier. The last model train shop that carried it closed down around here a long time ago, and I've not been able to find it since. It did a good job on short runs, and I've rigged the Williams Brothers Gee Bees and Hasagawa P-26 with it, but on longer runs it has a tendency to bend at different temperatures as it expands. I solved this problem by leaving one end to "float" in the mounting hole, but that didn't keep my fat fingers from bending it by accident. That's why I've been looking for something flat that behaves like monofilament and not subject to expansion/contraction issues. This RIO stuff has an aerodynamic profile similar to RAF flying wires unlike the Micro Engineering stuff which is just flat. I've also tried the RB stuff, it's about the same, but again no aerodynamic profile, and subject to expansion/contraction. I've even tried sanding the finest carbon fiber strip down to profile, but it's almost impossible to get two sections the same thickness. I wish one of the many aftermarket producers would come up with something like monofilament that would work-- it doesn't seem like it would be that hard.
On another note, something I noticed the other day is a series of small aerodynamically shaped holes on the end of the Eduard PE turnbuckle set frets. There don't seem to be any instructions for them, but I'm wondering if they were intended to draw monofilament or stretched sprue (too brittle for my taste) through to give it an aerodynamic shape? Seems a little flimsy, but I may give that a try as well.
VR Russ

Yes p/e can be used on the stronger single wing or really strong bay type aircraft.
Super frustrating to find this out , even leaving one end loose for expansion/contraction turned out to be unworkable.I made a mess out of the Biff and embarrassed myself in front of my entire IPMS charter crew trying to make it work:

OK, my order of two spools of 25lb RIO Slickshooter came in today. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was in almost perfect 1/32 scale, and compatible in size with the RB RAF flying wires. The difference being that this stuff has an elliptical shape, with sharp edges, more like aerodynamic flying wire really is. The color is a light sky blue, which shouldn't be too bad to paint-- at least it's not neon which is what I was expecting! As an experiment, I used a couple of forceps anchored to my bench top with a 5 inch length of the stuff suspended between with just a little slack. Using my surgical thread end burner (from Model Expo), I applied a little heat along the thread and it snapped neatly into a taught line! so it looks like this might work. Anchoring it will likely be the most difficult part, but I think a larger than normal hole in the wing will accommodate the end of the line just fine. Another idea might be to use micro tubing slightly "squished" on one end to accommodate the line. I think this Slickshooter stuff may be a good solution for modeling scale flying wires. The cost is $15.95 for a 115 yard roll-- which should last a while and is comparable to EZ line. Now to find a suitable paint or dye to cover up those light blue flying wires! Next step will be to try my favorite rigging paint-- a Sharpie pen!
VR, Russ