Erik Smith Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) Why are kit makers starting to use this style (or similar) wheel? The kind with a ridge or pegs around the middle that fit in a groove on the tire. Why? It is hard to get the wheels in the tire without scratching the paint or stretching tire decals. You can't use the wheels in other tires. Moebius does them. Revell - most notably in the Rat Roaster - does them. I can't see an advantage other than to bother me. Edited January 28, 2013 by Erik Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsDano85gt Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Cut off the tabs with a fresh exacto blade or sand them down with a dremel/ rotary tool leave maybe 3-4 standing to still hold the rim in position within the tire then call it good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Grind off those 'paddles' and the Moebius wheels will fit inside a typical AMT/MPC tire- And to solve the problem of marring the sidewall, just push the wheel into the tire from behind- you still might scrape the sidewall, but it's less noticable on the inner side of the tire, and no chance it'll scratch up a printed or decal whitewall. As to why some manufacturers are going to that design... can't help you there. I've wondered what if any advantages attaching the tire this way has over the long-standing two-piece wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I've wondered what if any advantages attaching the tire this way has over the long-standing two-piece wheel. Simplicity? I don't care for this style of wheel, either, but they can be made in one-piece, and still locate positively in the tire. Plus, the builder needn't worry about getting any glue not paint on the tires, since the wheels are finished prior to installation inside the tire...which brings us back to Erik's points. Revell has been using these for a few years (maybe a decade plus?) on their Snap Tite kit wheels. I think the '34 Ford coupe might've been one of the first to use them, but the '77 Monte, '57 Bel Air, '63 Vette, and others use the same style wheels. My thought is they originated in die-cast model kits, as they seem to be easier to assemble in a production setting where a perfect installation on the tires isn't nearly as critical. I want to say the Revell '68 Mustang kits have this style of wheels, too, and the Bullitt and '68 CJ kits were based on a die-cast model. Maybe the same thin with the Vanishing Point '70 Challenger, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Simplicity? I don't care for this style of wheel, either, but they can be made in one-piece, and still locate positively in the tire. Plus, the builder needn't worry about getting any glue not paint on the tires, since the wheels are finished prior to installation inside the tire...which brings us back to Erik's points. Revell has been using these for a few years (maybe a decade plus?) on their Snap Tite kit wheels. I think the '34 Ford coupe might've been one of the first to use them, but the '77 Monte, '57 Bel Air, '63 Vette, and others use the same style wheels. My thought is they originated in die-cast model kits, as they seem to be easier to assemble in a production setting where a perfect installation on the tires isn't nearly as critical. I want to say the Revell '68 Mustang kits have this style of wheels, too, and the Bullitt and '68 CJ kits were based on a die-cast model. Maybe the same thin with the Vanishing Point '70 Challenger, too? I've never gotten any glue or paint on the tire assembling the two-piece type, maybe that's just me.... Of course now that I've come right out and said it I'll routinely get glue and paint smudges on my tires when installing them on two piece wheels. You are correct about them being common to die cast model kits, and if you've ever taken apart a factory built diecast you'll see that many of them have the wheels engineered the same way as well. Personally, though, I don't see them being that much easier to deal with than a typical two-piece wheel. And there are some wheels (like the Revell '50 Olds) which are two-piece but still accept the tire via the ribs molded to the outside... wouldn't that type of design really rule out any simplicity advantage the one-piece wheel design might have over the typical two-piece design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 And there are some wheels (like the Revell '50 Olds) which are two-piece but still accept the tire via the ribs molded to the outside... wouldn't that type of design really rule out any simplicity advantage the one-piece wheel design might have over the typical two-piece design? I used to like you, Most. Yes, it definitely would, though. At least they didn't do it the way Minicraft did with it's hot rodded 1/16 Model A kits....horrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 At least they didn't do it the way Minicraft did with it's hot rodded 1/16 Model A kits....horrible. The one where there's no inner sidewall at all? Yeah. Could be worse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) Probably has more to do with costs. 1 piece design = less material . means cheaper to tool up + to manufacturer = a small costs savings per kit. Might be only a few pennies per kit, but figure that over hundreds of thousands of kits and the costs add up pretty quick Edited January 28, 2013 by gtx6970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I believed they did it to stop us from interchanging wheels with different kits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I don't like them either. But, so far I haven't had any problems mixing and matching them with other tires. The ribs do sometimes help with some of the older hollow tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blown03SVT Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 From a realism stand point, automotive rims generally are not assembled in two halves trapping a tire. I agree that trimming the "nibs" down would allow to slide into the tire easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The new Revell wheel mounting approach reminds me of the style I've seen w/ cheaper diecasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62rebel Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 new is bad! different is bad! starting to feel like i'm on the island of dr moreau...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Hall Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 new is bad! different is bad! starting to feel like i'm on the island of dr moreau...... Nothing wrong w/ new or different, I don't see any improvement w/ this style of mounting wheels into tires compared w/ the traditional approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 new is bad! different is bad! starting to feel like i'm on the island of dr moreau...... Care to elaborate what exactly this means? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenrat Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I believed they did it to stop us from interchanging wheels with different kits... Why would they do that? Surely they would want us to buy more new kits in order to get the new wheels to put on our older kits. Just be thankful AMT engineered their new parts pack tyres to fit the "old style" wheels and not the new ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James2 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 or stretching tire decals. You could try putting the wheel in the tire then the decal! Cutting the paddles off is easy enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan White Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I wish they would stop using the two piece wheels and just go to a one piece design, similar to how Japanese companies such as Tamiya do it. That way you can use any extra wheels with another set of tires, without having to worry about finding a set of wheel backs that fit properly. Plus, with the space saved on the parts trees, brakes could then be molded instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Smith Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) You could try putting the wheel in the tire then the decal! Cutting the paddles off is easy enough. I dull coat the tire and decal, though. Yes, cutting off the paddles is easy. It's not necessary though. Plus, try cutting off the ribs on some of the Revell wheels - one (i think they are the steel wheels in a Mustang kit) has a big ring plus ribs. It's not hard, I just don't like to waste 10 or 20 minutes doing it. Edited January 29, 2013 by Erik Smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 They probably are doing it so we cant swap out kit tires for tires that have sidewall detail on them, I guess they dont want us to have models with sidewall detail tires on them I dont like it either, and would love to see them go to the one piece wheels with out backing more often, I know a lot of the new subjects have the one piece wheels, with metal axle pins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James2 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I dull coat the tire and decal, though. I use coins to cover the wheel while painting, dimes work perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgefever Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I dislike these newer ribbed wheels, but I'd still rather have them than the one piece Japanese style. How is having no inner bead detail an improvement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 These rubber wheels and matching tires are here to stay, so get used to 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930fordpickup Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 (edited) Probably has more to do with costs. 1 piece design = less material . means cheaper to tool up + to manufacturer = a small costs savings per kit. Might be only a few pennies per kit, but figure that over hundreds of thousands of kits and the costs add up pretty quick This is spot on . Just to add a few notes . Any way they can save over the long haul is a plus for them. If the tooling is cheaper to make it will be cheaper to fix , and take less time to repair to get back on the floor for production. Complex molds take more time to repair. They are just keeping it as simple as they can. Edited April 14, 2013 by 1930fordpickup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest G Holding Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I believed they did it to stop us from interchanging wheels with different kits... SURE............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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