During the IPMS USA Nationals this year, John Vojtech was kind enough to provide several of his tools from Unique Master Models (UMM) to the IPMS Review Corps, and this was one of the items I was fortunate enough to receive. Technically, Kanthal wire is a ferritic iron-chromium-aluminum alloy that has high resistance and also resists oxidation. Although the resistance of a wire means little to a modeler (unless it is being used to allow electricity to flow), resistance to oxidation is a big benefit for any applications where bare wire is needed.

This new product for UMM is advertised as being ideal for making springs, shiny antenna, and various engine or wheel bay details. The spools are 3 meters long (about 10 feet) and are available in 0.2 and 0.4 mm, both of which were provided to the IPMS for this review. UMM recommends that you do not solder Kanthal wire, but attach it using glue instead.

My hits with these releases starts with the fine gauge selected for these wires. They can be used on different scales of models depending on what you are using the wire to detail. The wire is easily worked and just a little stiffer than copper wire of a similar gauge, which will be good for use as antennas and rigging, and you can easily bend the wire as needed. The wire can also be polished if a high gloss finish is desired for your project according to UMM, but I did not notice much of a difference on my sample when I did this as the wire is very shiny to begin with.

I would again like to thank John Vojtech and the folks at UMM for graciously providing these wire sets to the IPMS-USA for review.