just picked one of my girlfriend's hair off my t-shirt... I just though it would make nice N-Scale telephone wires... anyone has tried it ? (I'm just trying to be inventive... )
I use hair for things like ropes and for the school swings for kiddies, and to tie down loads. One inch in HO is .01148+" and my hair from my head is .0014", Jan's is .0023". That is around 3/8" in diameter. I quit stringing telephone lines because they seem to get in the way everytime I need to clean track or do anything around them. In "N" scale, even hair would be about 3/4" in diameter, and couldn't be seen unless in a photo close up.
Depends on if you like your girlfriend in long hair I don't see any reason it won't work, very fine and decently strong, should work. And you already knows it works well with gel and hairspray...and you can color it pratically any shade under the sun...but where you get it is your business...you might want to get it from a store or use the fake kind as it could look bad if you had twenty different colors of telephone wire a couple of years down the road...And if you do go with the closest easiest source, know that she probably knows her color well enough to discern it from any other.
If i ever need to string some power lines then im going to have to ask someone if they would mind a hair cut , i'll probably be beaten senseless or something Besides... i kind of like red as a hair colour more than a power line colour... might use my own dark brown hair... its long enough and safer too!
I've had decent success using 3 lb test fishing lead. The advantage, I think, is that you've got plenty of length. Regular CA holds it well (I loop it around the insulators) and it takes paint (or Sharpie marker, I suppose) fairly well. Mathieu - do you think your girlfriend would get peeved if I came and got about 300 scale feet from her??
Last weekend I went to the PCR NMRA meet and the Free-Mo group has some of their HO modules setup. Their modules were hands down the best, most realistic modeling I have ever seen. One feature that caught my eye was their telephone poles. They did not have wires from pole to pole but they did wire up some things like the transformers had wires going up to the high voltage insulaters. In fact the poles were detailed so completely that I did not notice they were not strung pole to pole until later. The had 3 very fine reflective strips down low on poles that were near roads, then I noticed each pole had a different number on it. Some had guy wires on them. Some had wires to buildings. One had wires to a temporary construction service pole complete with 200 amp service and meter! That club proved that with all the detailing done on these poles you can convey the scene without the wires!
I think the best telephone line, and much easier to work with than hair, is EZ Line by Berkshire Junction. www.berkshirejunction.com/scenery.htm
