Rule of Rigging

So I am about to start another Nieuport 17.  I still have an Academy Nieport 17 kit but this one will be the original from Hobby Craft that I picked up on eBay for $11.

You can see that the box is beat up and in terrible shape; but the insides are all there and look to be in good condition.


I have spent the last two days making turnbuckles and other parts for rigging.  In working on my last biplane I quickly came up with a rule of thumb for rigging:
Figure out how many parts your build will require; then double it!
When this rule is followed you save a great deal of agony from tweezer launches and feedings of the carpet monster.  On my first build I started to get a little frustrated when I would loose a rigging part and have to make another then loose the new part as well.  I took a break for a couple days, made up plenty of extras and went back to having fun.

While the partial buckles I used in the last model were acceptable, I feel that they are missing something.  So this time I am using full buckles and connecting them to the plane with partial buckles to get a more accurate effect.

Here are my new turnbuckles.

Here are some turnbuckles with mounting tails attached. I have used 0.5mm (0.3mm ID) brass pipe and 34 gauge (0.16mm) wire to make these.  I am hoping to get some 0.4mm (0.2mm ID) pipe from my local hobby shop soon (it is on back order).  I want to use that with some 38 gauge (0.1mm) wire to make smaller turnbuckles for the rudder cables and the interior support.  If it doesn't arrive in time I will use one size throughout.

Lastly here is a picture of me taken by my three year old son.