Psychographic Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Where can I get a decent set of motorcycle style front wheels and tires? Replicas and Miniatures Co of Maryland doesn't have them, and Micro Nitro's site doesn't work, who else can I go to?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 RMCoM used to make couple of different versions. Did they stop making them or they are just temporarily unavailable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roncla Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 They are no longer in the RMCoM catalogue. Machined Aluminium Specialties made a particularly nice set but I believe they are out of production too.There appears to be a void here in the aftermarket for these wire wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 I emailed Norm and he replied quickly saying that they are being redesigned and it's taking longer than planned. He's expecting them to be available again in the summer of 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Hey, David..... if you look at page 3 of Impalows Pinto Gasser build you can see the wire centers he got from eBay. He had to make his own rims and hubs, but they look really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Chernecki Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Hey, David..... if you look at page 3 of Impalows Pinto Gasser build you can see the wire centers he got from eBay. He had to make his own rims and hubs, but they look really good!If I remember correctly, I think Norm uses the Herb Deeks centers on his rims and hubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Hey, David..... if you look at page 3 of Impalows Pinto Gasser build you can see the wire centers he got from eBay. He had to make his own rims and hubs, but they look really good!If I remember correctly, I think Norm uses the Herb Deeks centers on his rims and hubs. I've just recently (like the past few days) been in touch with Herb Deeks. I have a set of the 15" Borrani PE conversion centers he sells on Ebay, but they are NOT large enough (diameter) to do 17" or 18" motorcycle or dragster wires for a correct-looking vintage digger.He does NOT still make the ones that will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) I've just recently (like the past few days) been in touch with Herb Deeks. I have a set of the 15" Borrani PE conversion centers he sells on Ebay, but they are NOT large enough (diameter) to do 17" or 18" motorcycle or dragster wires for a correct-looking vintage digger.He does NOT still make the ones that will.The wheels and tires I'm using right now are smaller than most cycle wheels. The inside diameter is 5/8", outside diameter of my rim is 11/16", would you know if Herb's centers would fit? Edited September 21, 2016 by Psychographic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impalow Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) The wheels and tires I'm using are smaller than most cycle wheels. The outside diameter of my rim is 11/16", would you know if Herb's centers would fit? the HERB DEEKS EBAY centers are approx .575 OD and the Jaw breaker tires are about .777 ID.(don't quote me, the measurements are from memory, I'll double check when I get home) This made my rim lip a bit more chunky than I originally wanted. Jawbreaker tire on top to show size: Finished: Here are some of the Toms Model Works Airplane ones(Jawbreaker tire on top).. I still think these may work somehow, but the set #205 I ordered was way small. I would look at the #505 or #405's http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=231 Edited September 21, 2016 by Impalow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooneyzs Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 (edited) Here is a place here in Arizona that does wire wheels for airplanes but they would probably work for Dragsters and what ever else you can think of but depending on the scale that you are looking for may be a limiting factor. Smallest size in the Micro wheel sets is 1" dia. I have been wanting to contact them and ask a few questions myself and see if they will let me drive up and see some of in person Because I have a few projects that could totally use a set of these wire wheels. They may be a little on the pricey side though.http://arizonamodels.com/products/micro-wheel-kits Edited September 22, 2016 by Mooneyzs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 (edited) Here is a place here in Arizona that does wire wheels for airplanes but they would probably work for Dragsters and what ever else you can think of but depending on the scale that you are looking for may be a limiting factor. Smallest size in the Micro wheel sets is 1" dia. I have been wanting to contact them and ask a few questions myself and see if they will let me drive up and see some of in person Because I have a few projects that could totally use a set of these wire wheels. They may be a little on the pricey side though.http://arizonamodels.com/products/micro-wheel-kitsThanks for the link Chris. Several things jump out at me:First off is that the WWI style wheels are probably too balloon-like as-is for dragster use (which is the direction of this thread, presumably). However there are plenty of wheels and tires in plastic kits that can serve as examples for what's required, and even though by far the largest market is in 1/24th-1/25th scale, the 1" wheels they do now aren't far off the mark. I think even providing machined aluminum hibs and rims, as they do it currently, could be attainable in somewhat smaller versions.The second thing to observe is that the approach they use is quite literally how wire wheels are laced. They use pre-drilled hubs and rims just like in the 1:1 world. (I used to race bicycles and I've laced more than my share of wire wheels...) The "kit" consists of the parts and the instructions, but, in fact, there is no jig as such, just instructions to make a circle with a compass and pin the hub to the center. Skilled modelers working even in as small as 1/25th might very well be able to drill kit hubs and rims and accomplish the same thing. It would be no picnic, for sure, but more epic tasks than this have been successfully pulled off before.Jumping off from my second point, resin cast hubs and rims, even down to 1/25th could be made which include cast-in holes and a kit sold with a rudimentary alignment jig for a cost somewhere between the RepMin system (which includes a simple clamping jig) of around $15.00 IIRC and Arizona Model Aircrafters' machined aluminum hubs and rim price of $85.00. A sub $50.00 price point might work, at least for some modelers. Anyone who has seen Curt Raitz's fishing-line laced wire wheels knows that they are well worth a substantial premium for the impact they have on the finished model.Photo-etch wire wheels, when done well, as the for-now-defunct Replicas & Miniatures most certainly were, can be surprisingly real looking, but real round section wires, such as those done with fishing line are fine wire, can make a model look extraordinary. While the techniques for achieving them already exist, the skills and patience required can be daunting. The Arizona Model Aircrafters approach pints to a possible solution. The exceptionally fine resolution at which Norm Veber can cast resin shows that this technology could be used to make cast-in pre-drilled rims and hubs in 1/24th-1/25th scale to come up with a compromise-priced approach to this impactful approach. Edited September 22, 2016 by Bernard Kron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooneyzs Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Bernard....First off this was just a suggestion for wire wheels and nothing say anyone has to use them by any means. I know for a fact that there are probably out of many people's price range anyway. How may people would really be willing to pay $85.00 for a set of 2 rims? I do know and saw that actual tires on the WWI rims are too Balloon like But nothing says that one couldn't change out the tire and use an O-ring or a possible different kit tire that may work for it. the think is they tell you the diameter of the rim but it doesn't say how wide the rim is. I personally have been on the search for a wire wheel solution for my 1/16th scale Dragster builds and There isn't really much out there for us modeler and when I ran across this I though that I could be once solution for them. It's true that one can take the kit rims and cut away the spokes Drill the hubs and rim and lace themselves. You are correct that resin cast hubs and rims can me made and would be a way cheaper solution but no one that I know of currently makes them. And yes there are a few solutions when it comes to photo-etch sets. I have a few 1/16th Photo-Etch Dragster front wheels from Machined Aluminum Specialties, but don't think they are available anymore but the one thing about them is the rim portion of them are a tad to big in my opinion. I have used them on a build but I would prefer to make something that looks a little more accurate myself. But that is my personal preference when it comes to certain things, I want to try and make it looks like the real thing. Yes they are better than the kit rims but not as good as if one was to lace their own wheels. It all comes down to how accurate does one want them to be. I know its just a model but we all build to different styles and what pleases us. I build the way I do because I like to see how close to the real thing I can make it.I have 3 Dragster builds that I want to build which are near and dear to my heart and where my love of drag racing came from. On those builds I want to make everything look as close to the real thing as possible trying to make exact replicas of them. The only way for me to do that is design them myself, So I am planning on drawing up a set of Wire Wheels for these Dragsters in my CAD program and once I get the hub and rim drawn. I will then design a Jig that will hold the parts during the lacing process. I know using a Jig will help keeping things symmetric and would think it would make it easier to lace anyway. I will probably have these rims 3D printed but I may also go about seeing how much it will cost to have them machined. I would really like to machine them myself but I don't have Mill or Lathe yet due to not having the funds to purchase them yet.As you stated the largest market is 1/24 - 1/25th and a 17" diameter rim would have a diameter of 0.708" in 1/24th scale and a Diameter of 0.68" in 1/25th scale, not including the tire. for me in 1/16th scale a 17" diameter rim would have a diameter of 1.0625". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Kron Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Chris,I know that however you get to it, once you make your wheels to your satisfaction they will be as realistic as we can hope for. It shows in all the models your do.I think that a laced wheel approach is surprisingly close to an affordable solution, at least at the quality and level of Norm Veber's products. The key is to be able to accurately do cast-in holes to 1/24th scale and produce hubs to scale. The hubs in Norm's p/e wheels are small enough but I don't think they could accept flanges to scale wide enough to cast holes in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plastic-mechanic Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 http://scaledworld.net/free-downloads see SA #38 p 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impalow Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Sorry totally forgot to post the measurements I have... but here you go... The hand laced wheels look amazing.. eventually I'm gonna try that, just because of the challenge. Herb Deeks Ebay O.D. Herb Deeks Ebay I.D. to where the spokes start JawBreaker Dragster front tire I.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychographic Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 (edited) Thanks for those measurements Eric. I don't think think the Deeks will work, just a tad to small. I ordered a set of the Tom's 505's. Edited September 23, 2016 by Psychographic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimaxion Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Jawbreaker Tires ?? Where please ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impalow Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Jawbreaker Tires ?? Where please ??Its this one https://www.amazon.com/MPC-Scale-JAWBREAKER-Dragster-MPC821/dp/B00OHMGE34 also available at hobby lobby... I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimaxion Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I was just needing the tires , not of the Vinyl Tire Melting Variety .. Thank you .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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