Painting Wheels

I don't know how they do it either. I still do it the old fashioned way, paint the rubber with a brush. I haven't tried the masking yet. Some modelers attach tools before they spray the base, and I have no clue as to how they paint them afterwords, other then it must be difficult. Still, many modelers do it that way.

i got a question similar to this one. how do some modelers paint the tracks on their tanks, after they have them glued on? even before they've painted the whole model, or applied any mud to the undercarriage?? could someone answer this for me??

When I do allied armor, I attach all of the wheels and suspension the the chassis. Then after I spray my Main color (OD in this case) I use a sharpie pen and carefully go around the rubber areas of the wheels.Then, when I am ready I put on a glosscoat and then a final dullcoat. When I do German Armor I usually dont attach the road wheels right away, but if I do, I use the same method as above. What I usually do with German Armor is, airbrush or spraycan all of the wheels on the sprue. Then I cut them off when dry, and then I use a circle template. I mask off the edges around the right sized hole and then I hold the wheel under the template so that just the rims are showing, no rubber, then I paint the base coat and camo.

QUOTE: Originally posted by gringe88 i got a question similar to this one. how do some modelers paint the tracks on their tanks, after they have them glued on? even before they've painted the whole model, or applied any mud to the undercarriage?? could someone answer this for me??

I' ve often wondered how in the world they paint the treads after they have been installed. I just don't see it.

I'm one of those guys that paints the tools in place. I just use a small brush and be careful with it. Keeping the paint smooth is a must though, I like it to kind of flow from the brush onto the tools. I do the same with track if I install it before painting. I usually paint the track last. It can be tedious, but it's not hard. I rarely put any mud on a tank unless I'm doing a dio and then the track and suspension color is not relevant. It's really just a matter of preference.

I've painted models several ways; completely assembled first, mostly assembled first, or in lots of pieces (ie: all the wheels and tracks off the vehicle). The key is patience, a steady hand (or semi-steady), and good paint brushes.

Usually when I ask fellow modelers why they are concerned about painting armor after it is completely assembled, they say, "you can't paint the back side of those parts." When I mention to them that no one will ever actually "see" the back side of those parts, they either shrug their shoulders and walk off or they nod their head as they begin to understand the point. When we build models, anything that can't be seen doesn't have to be painted perfectly.

When you attach everything prior to painting, you have to be very careful to ensure that you are getting the basecoat sprayed everywhere that can be seen and there are times when I will quickly put a layer of the basecoat behind the wheels before assembling. However, if you're careful and your coverage is good, it's not necessary. Then you can just carefully detail paint all the parts that need it (ie everything that can be seen).

The same principle holds true for any of the other components that require detailing such as exhaust systems, tools, and boxes. No one really thinks that modelers are crazy for painting these parts after assembly and wheels or tracks are no different...just bigger. All you need is a steady hand. For me, Vinyl tracks are easier to paint after assembly while aftermarket sets are more of a toss up. For me, it really depends on the specific tank and the type of tracks.

hi, when i paint wheelsi do the black parts frist and then paint the rest what ever color it will be.

gdarwin[roy]

I could show you a photo of this DML Nashorn I'm working on with the tracks, roadwheels, idler wheels, front drive-sprockets and return rollers all attached to the hull in final placement. But when it comes to painting all these parts they all will be removed and painted individually. Why? How?

I attached the roadwheels, idler wheels, front sprockets and return rollers on the hull so that they would give the tracks (individual links) their proper shape and fit as I assembled them! The trick is to glue all the roadwheel assemblies, the idler wheels, the drive sprockets and the return rollers onto the hull using white glue (Elmers). This way once the tracks are completed I could remove all the 'running gear' off the hull gently without breaking anything apart. I have not yet painted anything, but soon will. Once everything is painted I will re-assemble everything, but then I'll use either slow setting super glue or 5-minute clear epoxy. Most likely the epoxy.

This is just one way of working the problem of painting and assembling intricate parts.

Glenn

I do a hybrid approach for the very reasons that Foster mentions. Because my finished models go in a display case or an elevated shelf, great care has to be taken with all areas to insure proper paint coverage...not too long ago I had built a Matilda II with all those little roadwheels and didn't pay too much attention to them as I thought the skirts would hide them. They did, when viewed from the side. Once finished and in the display case, all the unpainted sides of the wheels were clearly visible but it was far too late to do anything about it!

The upshot of this is that I now paint the hull with most of the detail attached not including tools and paint the roadwheels while still attached to the sprue. I've always favored painting indy track links while still on the sprue and paint rubberband tracks before assembly.

Hi All,

Well, I'm rather new to armor - only working on my 2nd tank - but I've tried a couple of things that seem to work with the wheels.

With the sherman that I built, I sprayed everything OD, then I punched out little hub masks in masking tape that fit the hubs perfectly. I then sprayed the wheels black and removed the masks. I was absolutely shocked how perfectly it worked given that this was my first kit in about 25 years. Turned out terrific but it was quite tedious. If you want to do this, it is a lot easier to just buy a set of wheel masks from Eduard.

For the Stug that I'm working on, I took a different approach. This time, I sprayed all of the assembled parts flat black, including the wheels that were not yet atteached. I then sprayed a very thinned dark yellow (1 part paint ; 2 parts thinner) on the finest setting over the hubs, letting some of the black show through for a nice effect. When dry, I touched up any overspray outside the hubs with a black sharpy. Again this turned out really well. The black preshade on the entire vehicle gave a nice worn effect too. The wheels were then attached.

As for the tracks, I paint them completely before assembling (basecoat, rust drybrush, steel drybrush. After attaching, I weather the vehicle, then drybrush a little more rust and steel on the visible parts.

I am by no means an expert, but these methods seem to work quite well. I tend to scour the web for ideas for a particular problem. The "Armor in Scale" website has a series of articles posted, one of which deals with airbrush painting roadwheels without masking. The idea here is that after weathering (washing, drybrushing) any overspray won't be visible anyway. I gather that one needs a very fine airbrush to do this.

Hope this helps.

Jim

On my first project, Academy's Tiger I, with the interior. I did it the old fashion way with a paint brush. Did yoou know a Tiger has 48 road wheels. It took for ever. Now I spray the wheels while they are still on the spur, let dry for a couple of hours then give them a secound coat. I set them aside for at least 24 hours sometimes longer. When I am ready for them, I cut them off the spur. clean up the edges as I go along, Then i use a large black permanant marks a lot for the rubber. I use two fingers to make a axle, useing the pen to roll the wheels. With a little practice, you can whip them out in no time.