Alkem Models Chain Link Fence

New chain link fence installed around Richford Fuels

Realistic Chain Link Fence Made Easy....by Don Janes

     Ever since I built my Richford Fuel scene I wanted to surround it with chain link fence but have been unable to find something easy but durable.  Scratchbuilding was one option but a lot of work.  I had a package of Walthers fence but it just seemed to be quite difficult to assemble and not very sturdy.  The other option was the new Woodland Scenics chain link but it looked a little heavy and toy like.  I was talking with my friend Jim Sloan and he mentioned Alkem Scale Models  had chain link fence so I checked it out and was really impressed so Jim and I ordered 4 sheets of it, two for each of us. (http://alkemscalemodels.biz/chain-link-fence) 

 

 Chain Link Fence — Alkem Scale Models alkemscalemodels.biz › chain-link-fence

 

      The fence is 0.005 stainless steel and comes on a fret with about 200 scale feet of HO fence.  Included are fence sections, double gate, man gate and a large rolling gate, all with barbed wire on top.  The detail is amazing and you can actually see the barbs on the barbed wire top.  Included also is a length of .032 phosphor bronze wire.  The instruction say it can stand alone but I added a post at each post location for stability.

These photos show the fret with all the pieces included plus a couple of close-ups of the detailed gates

Here we see the gate sections added to the fence.

     Once I separated the fence pieces from the fret I laid the fence out where I wanted it to go and drilled and installed all the fence posts.  I airbrushed the sections with Floquil SP Lettering gray and let them dry overnight and brush painted the posts.  Once the sections dried I used rust coloured Pan Pastels to lightly weather the fence before installing it.  To fasten the fence to the posts I ran a fine bead of medium gap filling CA to each post and pressed the fence against the posts. Although the gates have small hooks that can be used to make them operate I decided to glue mine in place since there are a lot of fine details around the gate and I knew that I would eventually break something while opening the gates. Considering it is so thin, the stainless steel is very durable and can be easily handled when installing it.

      I am really impressed with this product.  It is a little pricey but when you consider it is extremely easy to install, durable and looks better than anything else on the market it is worth every penny

These photos show how good this fence looks and the amazing detail that it has

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