Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Making your own wheels.


Recommended Posts

A friend asked me how I did the wheels for my Cobra so I thought I would post a few pics to help illustrate it for him and other who want to know.

IMG_2614-vi.jpg

First thing I did was draw the basic spoke design on a sheet of evergreen sheet plastic. Then I cut all the holes in between the spokes and shaped the plastic accordingly

Then I add the rim from a parts box wheel, in this case IIRC it was from a monogram 1978 corvette wheel.

Then I added the hub, and ridge detail with either sheet plastic (hub) or strip plastic (ridges). All in all there were 23 separate pieces in this wheel. If you have questions or need a point clarified feel free to ask.

IMG_2941-vi.jpg

IMG_2948-vi.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Darin, thats pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing. I've always wanted to try making a wheel myself just haven't gotten around to it. I'm convinced you can pretty much make anything with styrene, lots of time, and files. Really nice job you did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guessing by the color on the in-process model that the one you made from sheet/strip plastic and kit parts was used to do a resin cast for the model's set of 4?

Yes I did. The Street Cobra's wheels are all the same size so I was able to make just one and have it cast. BTW it I had Five cast as I needed one for the spare tire also.

Edited by Darin Bastedo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Ha...I just stopped by this forum to search for a thread on making wheels, and here it is right at the top. :D

Can you expand on what you mean by " shaped the plastic accordingly"? I assume you started with a flat solid block of styrene stock?

Any ideas on what you would do if you don`t have a base rim to base your wheel off of?

I am trying to replicate this wheel, in large scale of course :D :

product_shelby_mustang_gt500kr_alcoa_forged_wheel.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David, with your skills, I don't think duplicating that Alcoa rim will be difficult!

Look outside of "normal" kit building supplies for your master, like copper or aluminum tubing for the "hoop".

The center should be fairly easy with thicker sheet styrene carved to duplicate the 3-dimensional features of the 1:1, or use rennshape, or balsa foam, etc. Some brass hardware in the proper size for the lugs and lots of patience and some time & you'll have it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any ideas on what you would do if you don`t have a base rim to base your wheel off of?

I am trying to replicate this wheel, in large scale of course :D :

What scale is the wheel going to be? There are many toys available with plastic wheels, and while some of the toy's wheels may look horribly simplistic, you really only need to find a wheel hoop which closely matches your desired wheel specs. You can always sand away some material, or use some styrene strip to add a bit of thickness. Since they are already nearly perfectly round, you don't have to worry about making your own wheel hoop, as that's near impossible to make out of a rolled sheet of anything.

The real key to making wheels is symmetry. The human eye can detect (well, some people's eyes are better at detecting than other's) even the slightest bit of off-centeredness (if that's a word) and any non-symmetry. Even making each spoke (or pair of spokes) individually, and casting multiple copies will work, provided the master spoke(s) is (are) perfectly symmetrical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...