Rubber tires

Well a few years ago some kits were released with rubber tires that tended to decompose, either in the box or after the model was built. The AMT 1/48 Tigercat kit was probably the worst example. So rubber tires in aircraft kits got a real bad reputation. Modern plastics are probably OK, just look at all the Car kits with rubber tires. That said, I still prefer molded plastic or resin wheels and tires on my models.

Rick

Oh yeah, I just love those things .... NOT!

Swanny,

Just out of curiosity, what kit is that tire/wheel assembly?

Thanks!

Eric

Uh-oh... My PBY-5 has 4 PVC tires for the beaching gear...

Hmmm... Knowing swanny, that's probably WWII... it doesn't look like the landing gear of a bomber... the control surfaces on the upper left of the picture reveal that this is the right main landing gear... and that really looks like a jet exhaust to me, since i don't know of many high-wing WWII fighters... is it an Me-262? just a wild stab in the dark...

Shrikes, you are getting to know me too well and you are very close. It's the 262A-1/U-4.

Hey, swanny! do you know what causes things to split like that and how can i prevent it?
Also, what tips do you have to make them look more realistic?

They split because they dry out. How to prevent it? Buy resin replacements - that's what I'm doing.

great... well, they haven't dried out on me yet... can I keep them from doing that if i rub petrolium jelly on it or something? man, that sucks... and i thought thay were great too because of how realistic they looked...

I hear ya, I didn't know any better when I put my first set on a model either. Try a little Armour-All (for cars) on a Q-tip, might help.

Welp, I wasn't going to, but I guess I need to order those resin tires for my Trump A-10.

Dana F