Realistic Tube Cargo Made from Straws

A cargo like this can easily be made using straws and coffee stirrers. I pick a number of straws in the same color, check so the length corresponds to the length of the car. Now, since the straws are made of plastic, we need a solvent based paint for this. I use Humbrol number 75 which is a kind of military, olive green. The paint should be thin so it floats over the surface and leave no marks after the paint brush.

While the paint is drying, we'll work a bit on those coffee stirrers. I'll cut four pieces to the same length as the width of the car. The cutting can either be made using a hobby knife, or in this case, a razor blade. Glue the coffee stirrers onto the tubings using fast-set glue. The Corvo straps, it's made from colored paper.

In this case, I use a piece of black paper. I cut that to strips using steel scale and a razor blade. I apply Elmer all-purpose under the coffee stirrers, fix the strap, and then just wind it around and back on the other side and fix it in the glue there. Yeah, for additional layers, I just apply fast-set glue on top of the strap. Keep adding layers until you feel happy with the appearance.

For really tall stacks of tubings, I typically add also additional layer of coffee stirs in between. If you want your cargo to be permanent, you can also add straps to the car as well.