Need help making curves with braided hoses.

[Funaka]

Hi, everyone, I'm looking for ideas-

I'm building a hangar diorama for my GP01, and I'm using Mechaskunk's braided hose to simulate hydraulic lines. The problem I have is that when I pull them over some smaller-diameter wire I bent to give them shape, the hoses wrinkle and turn oval or teardrop-shaped in cross-section . It wants to pull in a straight line across the arcs I have bent in the wire. I haven't worked with this stuff other than on a couple of the MG kits it comes with.

Here's a pic to try to explain it:
http://users.adelphia.net/~funaka/images/Problem.JPG

I remembered these pics from FF's Mosquito:

http://www.fichtenfoo.com/images/prog-mosquito/build-27.jpg
http://www.fichtenfoo.com/images/prog-mosquito/build-28.jpg

MOD EDIT: No Hotlinking of images not hosted by you.

I also read the tutorial on Mechaskunk's site, but I still have questions:

How do you get the hoses to bend in different shapes while still keeping a round profile?
Do you have to put wire or tube underneath them of exactly the same diameter as you want the hose to be?
What do you recommend for the wire underneath (I'm thinking solid copper wire, but I don't want to buy a whole expensive spool of copper wire to get just a few pieces)?

I'd appreciate any pointers since the lengths of these hoses is only about 1/2 - 3/4 inch (1-2 cm) but I went them to bend naturally like they're hooked up to a moving part and need to have some slack in the line. I just can't seem to wrap my head around this problem...

[fulcy]

Seems like you may be trying to pull them too tight?  The piece of wire that you thread through it should also be pretty tight with the inside, to help keep the braid round - but just put it on the wire loosely, and glue the ends.  Should help out (I hope! )

[Funaka]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm probably going to have to go out and buy wire in just the right size unless someone elese has a great idea.

DANG! I already blew all my money on your parts... This dio will be full of beads, balls and hoses. If I woulda planned it better I could have got them all in one order, but I'm so dumb it took three!

Maybe since you sell the drill bits that work with the balls and beads you could alol sell wiring in the right diameters and lengths for your hose. Liek I said, I don't want to buy a whole spool of wire to get the few inches I need...

As long as I'm at it, more decals (you gotta make the warning decals in black), please! Somebody has to fill in the huge void left by Pete Savin.

[oteebzo]

Why not try doubling up on the wire. If you ad acouple pieces to the hose it may take up the extra room .

[FichtenFoo]

IIRC, I used single-strand (as opposed to the two melted together) speaker wire inside my braided hose. It was the perfect fit, and cheap at Radio Shack.