"6mm Barbed Wire Entanglements" Topic

I've found that ball point pen springs make really good barbed wire. I could buy a dozen pens at .38 cents apiece, but wondering if y'all knew of a cheaper source (aside from stealing them from the supply closet lol).

There are brass/metal kitchen scrubber things, cost about $2 USD for two scrubbers. Should be around the right height for 6mm barbed wire, I've used it for 2mm thornbush walls around a kraal:
picture

Florists wire from a hobby shop can be wound around a narrow tube (e.g., paint brush handle). You get yards for it for about $6. USD

Tooth picks are useful uprights if you are doing bases of it (otherwise it tends to snag and move during play).

Easiest to glue toothpicks to the base, let dry and then add on wire (a bit of rust-paint helps the look).

Is floral wire too thick to be in scale?

There are different gauges (thicknesses). One is a thin as pen springs and easily bends.

Trying to get perfectly scaled wire in 1/285-scale would be a manufacturing trick! A bit of dark paint can make it appear smaller than it actually is ergo my suggestion on the rust paint.

I use ballpoint pen springs myself. Pick them up at your local dollar store and you might only pay 8 to 10 cents per pen.

I don't care much for the "lazy wire" look that you sometimes get with winding wire around a stick. Concertina wire is bound at the top and sides and usually stands upright, even once you start running over it with vehicles (which I recommend against). Plus, with springs, you can make proper triple-standard obstacles!

picture

Or you could go buy a roll of smaller gauge wire from the electronics shop and wind that – would be much closer to scale, but of course also much more fragile.

Doug

I use jewellers wire, it is thin but holds its shape very well.