Has Anyone Tried?

A very interesting post, TB.

My interest in car models and my level of skills at the time did not a fit make; to try wire wheels. I even bought a 1/43 Ferrari 250 GTO but the wheels never happened.

More recently I have built a 1/9 scale bike and plan to start a 1/12 Tamiya GT bike. It has a bunch of upgrade kits such as wire spoke wheels and an individual link chain from PE.

I have a couple of Hubley cast kits out in the barn IIR, I think the wheels are chromed plastic.

I wouldn't think PE would work too well.

Bill

I like wires and some cars really look classy with them but I probably wouldn't use them if they weren't offered from the factory.

What I want are the large diameter skinny width wheels from the twenties and thirties.  Most passenger cars came with them, and all racecars did until the mag and aluminum ones came along in the fifties.

I remember the great Finecast lace-it-yourself ones that came with resin racecar kits like Etzel, Frontmotor and Jorgenson came with.

I know zero about wire wheels but Pegasus have quite a few.  

Hi Bill!

    I did some cruisin yeaterday and found a 1/12 I believe, "Benz Motor Wagon". I discovered that the wire wheels on that, ( Very Delicate) are indeed P.E. Now the problem there is this. How do you take flat P.E.and make it round?

   Found my answer when I took an old 1/43 Cobra kit from Monogram. This little beastie had Wires in P.E. I re-did it and used the Molotow pen on the wheels. It worked!

   So on the Benz you could use a black paint pen. Oh, before I forget,There was an articla in Scale Auto some time back, ( Way Back?) that showed how to make your own wires. It definitely works!

Tanker-Builder

Hi Bill!

    I did some cruisin yeaterday and found a 1/12 I believe, "Benz Motor Wagon". I discovered that the wire wheels on that, ( Very Delicate) are indeed P.E. Now the problem there is this. How do you take flat P.E.and make it round?

   Found my answer when I took an old 1/43 Cobra kit from Monogram. This little beastie had Wires in P.E. I re-did it and used the Molotow pen on the wheels. It worked!

   So on the Benz you could use a black paint pen. Oh, before I forget,There was an articla in Scale Auto some time back, ( Way Back?) that showed how to make your own wires. It definitely works!

 

I have that kit on order- it is supposed to arrive next week.  I ordered it almost two months ago but I hear air shipping from Europe is a real problem because so many flights have been cancelled.

Hopefully the spokes are narrow enough your eyes will have a hard time noticing the contour.  I prime and paint PE spokes and paint dries on narrow parts in sort of an oval cross section, softening the edges.  I intend to use woodgrain decals like the guy who did the WIP previously.

I have one remaining set of those Finecast wheels.  I am going to make a 20s Fronty dirt track car using the frame and engine from the AMT police Model T, those wheels, and a scratch body.

I used to be OK at building bicycle wheels. There's a fair amount to it.

My last motorcycle model had styrene castings that were really nice (Italeri)

What looks nice to me with wires is old classics, even some hot rods and they don't have to be/often shouldn't be chrome. From there sports cars and to me from there, of the early 50's era iron sleds, the Buicks. It's tough to even find a Buick model much less wire wheels that are right for it ! Now I grew up in the 50's and 60's but it was pretty rare to see a new car with wire wheels but still..