"Barbed Wire " Topic

I've been working on some prototypes for barbed wire obstacles in 15 mm. They are designed to meet the standard 8" X 2" Flames of War obstacle bases.

Has anyone experimented with double-strand vs. single-strand wire for making realistic barbed wire?

I've posted photos of the prototypes on my blog and would appreciate feedback and suggestions.

link

Thanks,
John B
TabletopHistory
tabletophistory.blogspot.com

You know, I can't see much difference between the two-strand and the single-strand right now.

I'd go a bit evil, and make the full triple-coil entanglements of concertina wire. Coils are about 3 feet in diameter (~8mm or so), and then you stack 3 loops on top of each other in a triangle.

For 15mm I would only use a single wire.

You may want to spray the wire before fixing it on the board (post twist) – first one I did I forgot this bit of planning and gave up with the brush and took it apart!

Have a look at the posts as some where a twisted metal spike rather than a wide wood post.

Do not forget to hang the odd sign or dead body off them :-)

It depends on the detail you want.

I have used 5mm fuse wire twined tightly together (much finer than florists wire) but recently found fine guage twisted wire (for brabed wire) from Under the Bed at £1.00 GBP for 2 metres

It is cheap and nearly perfect

… and 2 metres makes plenty of entanglement in 15mm.

I've not seen it listed on UTB's website ( underbed.co.uk ) so you may need to contact them – but basically if they can get hold of this stuff, anyone can (and trust me its brilliant for small scale wire)

Phil
pbeyecandy.wordpress.com

I stripped some old electrical wire and two of the strands twined nicely into reasonable barbed wire. Cut one longer and twist a little knot every inch or so with the long piece (you could do more if patient enough) to give it that "barbed" look. Also, speaking from experience, I would definitely paint the wire before mounting!

You can also get some at,
link
and

link
LES

Isn't barbed wire most usually deployed on steel poles that have a twisted loop in them every two feet or so and a round eye at the top.
The Steel rods are about 1/2-3/4 inches thick and klook easy to hammer in to the ground. The wire can then be quickly strung between poles because it is only a matter of lifting a strand through the twist.

I think, John that the best product is the one that Phil (nice arty by the way) suggested, but I'd do some work on the poles and supports area to improve the look. The Poles could be created by twisting tight loops in single strand copper cable stripped of its insulation.
Also a lot of barbed wire is single strands rather than Rolls. Rolls IMHO is for gaps and when the obstruction is long term because it uses a lot of rather bulky wire.
Roy

This is what I mean by the posts
link

Thanks everyone for the comments. I've gathered some new materials and will be trying the FoW barbed wire prototypes again later this week. Along with the barbed wire, I'll prototype some of the other FoW obstacles, and once I have some that I'm happy with, I'll post a tutorial.

A couple folks commented that painting needs to be completed prior to mounting on the 8" X 2" FoW base. I couldn't agree more! This is a lesson learned by others, which I, unfortunately, learned for myself too with the first prototype.

I spent the last few days working at a model train trade show in Pennsylvania and met with several scenery and hobby vendors. I did not find any USA or Canada vendors that stock scale barbed wire.

Thanks,
John B
TabletopHistory
tabletophistory.blogspot.com

I think you can duplicate the type of wire that 'Yesthatphil' posted images of by using your floral wire and twisting thinner beading wire around it. I would, however, avoid the "coiled wire" look, since most wire was employed in strings and connected to posts. Any coils would be concertina wire.

German wire deployment information: link