Heat shrink tubing for cables
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2025 5:18 am
Hi all
Ive been getting into heat shrink tubing a bit and just wanted give a mini tutorial on using it for cables.
This photos shows:
Top - Tamiya tubing as included in their 1/12 kits. it has a strand of silver wire through it to give it some shape. This tube is too scale-thick for the brake and clutch lines on the bikes and cars.
2nd down - 5mm heat shrink (hs) tube - the thinner part has been held over a soldering iron and stretched out to its thinnest. Its a bit thinner then the tamiya tube when stretched.
3rd down - Thinnest hs tube I could find on aliexpress - stretched out to its thinnest
4th down - Same as above, but before stretching I inserted a single wire strand removed from a auto-elecrical wire cable (lots of single strands inside the insulation) See close up pic of silver wire protuding from the tube.
Bottom - Same as above but with a few strands of thin copper wire twisted together then inserted - this gives a slightly textured cable as the tube shrinks around the twisted copper strands. See the close up pic showing the twisted copper. Hard to see in the pics, but its good for brake lines that have some texture in them.
These tubes can be used on so many different types of models that have lines, cables, wiring etc. The hs tube also comes in different colours, including clear, which is great for fuel lines.
Happy modelling.
Ive been getting into heat shrink tubing a bit and just wanted give a mini tutorial on using it for cables.
This photos shows:
Top - Tamiya tubing as included in their 1/12 kits. it has a strand of silver wire through it to give it some shape. This tube is too scale-thick for the brake and clutch lines on the bikes and cars.
2nd down - 5mm heat shrink (hs) tube - the thinner part has been held over a soldering iron and stretched out to its thinnest. Its a bit thinner then the tamiya tube when stretched.
3rd down - Thinnest hs tube I could find on aliexpress - stretched out to its thinnest
4th down - Same as above, but before stretching I inserted a single wire strand removed from a auto-elecrical wire cable (lots of single strands inside the insulation) See close up pic of silver wire protuding from the tube.
Bottom - Same as above but with a few strands of thin copper wire twisted together then inserted - this gives a slightly textured cable as the tube shrinks around the twisted copper strands. See the close up pic showing the twisted copper. Hard to see in the pics, but its good for brake lines that have some texture in them.
These tubes can be used on so many different types of models that have lines, cables, wiring etc. The hs tube also comes in different colours, including clear, which is great for fuel lines.
Happy modelling.
