Having a ball building a biplane. I've used 1/8 inch piano for the cabane struts and 3/32 for the interplane struts. Can anyone give me an idea on how (what) to cover the wire so it looks semi-scale? I intend on experimenting but decided to ask the forum first. Is sandwiching the wire in balsa the convention or are there other methods? Thanks in advance.

On the 1/8 inch piano wire I normally stop at the local auto supply and pick up a package of car door edge protector..

It's airfoiled shaped and contains a preapplied sticky glue on the internal side. Neat fact is that it comes in Clear, Black, Chrome and Gold colors. Maybe the touch your looking for.

Sadly, it does not bend easily at extreme sharp angles so must be mitered if bends are necessary.

DinD

What about epoxying eigth square balsa front and rear of the wire. Sand to shape and cover with a strip of solartex (or whatever you North Americans use).

Hobby Lobby also has some airfoil shaped hardwood dowels in various widths and lengths. I intend on using it for some interplane struts on a Bucker Jungmeister. In addition, Proctor Enterprises has fittings for the end of an interplane strut that is scale looking.

You can find K&S airfoil shaped aluminum tubes at your local hobby shop or online. They come in various sizes and work well for covering wire. I use them to construct N-type interplane struts on biplanes with no wire inside. You can epoxy plywood pieces in the ends to give you an attachment area and form joints.