3D printed wire wheels for Revell XKE

[jacko]

Anyone have any experience/recommendations with the many options?

[peteski]

I originally bought a set from Jack Modeling, but they (while extremely well done, with thin interwoven spokes) are not accurate for for this car.

I then bought a set from www.motobitz.uk Part# MBA24059.  Those are also well made, and include very well rendered tires (much nicer than the Revell tires).  They also include corrected disk brake/hub spindles for the Revell kit.  My problem is that the wheel and tire are one-piece. I wanted to send the wheels to be "chromed" and with the tire being part of it, that makes things more difficult.

I'm planning on contacting Jason from Jack Modelling with suggestions on how to modify this wheels to make them accurate for the Jaguar model.  it would be nice to have multiple options available.

[Can-Con]

13 hours ago, peteski said:

I originally bought a set from Jack Modeling, but they (while extremely well done, with thin interwoven spokes) are not accurate for for this car.

I then bought a set from www.motobitz.uk Part# MBA24059.  Those are also well made, and include very well rendered tires (much nicer than the Revell tires).  They also include corrected disk brake/hub spindles for the Revell kit.  My problem is that the wheel and tire are one-piece. I wanted to send the wheels to be "chromed" and with the tire being part of it, that makes things more difficult.

I'm planning on contacting Jason from Jack Modelling with suggestions on how to modify this wheels to make them accurate for the Jaguar model.  it would be nice to have multiple options available.

Pete, if you were planning to have them plated by Little Motor Kar Co, I'd get ahold of Dale and ask him about it first. 

I asked him about plating printed parts last year, he told me he wasn't having very good luck with them.

But, best to ask for yourself, he might have figured it out since then.

[Lone Wolf]

Jacko, I know this isn't what you asked about but it could be an alternative? First, you'd need to know how many spokes in total those Jag wire wheels have, each. [Edit: 72 Spokes] This link is to photo etched wire wheel centers that are used with your existing outer rims. They aren't made specifically for Jags,  that I'm aware of, and I don't know their diameter. Anyway, if the 3 or so spoke options, pe wire wheel centers don't show about half way down, hit "filter" near the top left and choose "wheels" at the bottom of the list.

https://www.detailmaster.com/collections/etch-parts/wheels

Edited July 19, 2023 by Lone Wolf

[jacko]

Thanks everyone! John

[Deathgoblin]

How about these?  I used a set on my XKE a couple of years ago:

https://www.3dmodelparts.com/1-24-1-25-wire-wheels-15-inch-60-spoke/

[Jiml0001]

I have these 72 spoke Borani style wheels.  These I painted these with Molotov chrome paint.  Can print with or without tires.  A tip:  plan to have some kind of support for your model.  Resin wheels are delicate and will eventually start to distort with the weight of the model

[Bugatti Fan]

Wheel distortion by the weight of a 1/24th scale plastic kit?

Well that does surprise me considering the total weight is displaced through four points, and a plastic model is quite light in weight.

I could understand it if the wheels were fitted to a white metal or solid resin kerbside kit being that much heavier.

Pete in an earlier post was considering having the wheels plated. Would this process lead to the spokes looking a bit heavy and defeat the object of their scale appearance due to the build up on each spoke? I would guess that Alclad 2 or AK Interactive chrome might be a better option. Just paint  the tyres first, mask off and spray the wheels themselves afterwards should yield the result desired. I guess that Motobitz made them in the way they did as the tyres and wheels in the kit are too wide.

Saw some of the Motobitz wheels at Telford last year. They really look good. And they make them in 1/32nd and 1/43rd scales too.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Bugatti Fan

[peteski]

5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Pete in an earlier post was considering having the wheels plated. Would this process lead to the spokes looking a bit heavy and defeat the object of their scale appearance due to the build up on each spoke?

Good question.  I'm talking about the standard vacuum aluminizing process used for decades on model kit's "chrome"parts (not real chromium electroplating). The process where a clear coat is applied to the part, then the shiny aluminum layer is deposited over the clear. The thickness and overall quality of the process can vary.  I have worked with some factory "chromed" parts where no appreciable thickness has been added (Japanese made kits are usually the best).  I have also seen where the clear coat was applied rather heavily.  But the aftermarket vacuum aluminizing ("plating") companies (at this point I think we only have one left in USA) usually do a good job with the process, not adding much thickness to the part's surface.  Not more than a layer of black gloss enamel followed by Alclad II chrome.  I'm still not sure how I'll handle finishing those wheels.

[Can-Con]

53 minutes ago, peteski said:

Good question.  I'm talking about the standard vacuum aluminizing process used for decades on model kit's "chrome"parts (not real chromium electroplating). The process where a clear coat is applied to the part, then the shiny aluminum layer is deposited over the clear. The thickness and overall quality of the process can vary.  I have worked with some factory "chromed" parts where no appreciable thickness has been added (Japanese made kits are usually the best).  I have also seen where the clear coat was applied rather heavily.  But the aftermarket vacuum aluminizing ("plating") companies (at this point I think we only have one left in USA) usually do a good job with the process, not adding much thickness to the part's surface.  Not more than a layer of black gloss enamel followed by Alclad II chrome.  I'm still not sure how I'll handle finishing those wheels.

It's a moot point if you can't find someone willing to actually do the plating.

As I said above, Dale Horner who owns Little Motor Kar Company advised me against it as he's not having much luck with it. 

BUT again as I said above, he may have figured something out since I had talked with him. 

This is the main reason I got the Revell spray stuff. Needs no undercoat so less paint to obscure details on parts I can't have plated.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Can-Con

[stitchdup]

theres an alternative to vacuum plating parts. find somewere that does mirrors and ask if they can silver the parts. its done like spraying but gives a much tougher finish. I know i can get it done in the uk so there has to be places in the usa that does it too. it can be seen on a recent jaguar lights on the wheeler dealers show

[Lone Wolf]

I have no experience with them personally, but you might try contacting Roswell Customs and Chrome, which is about the only "plastic parts plater" left in the USA, that I've heard of, anyway.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Lone Wolf

[peteski]

Thanks guys.  This is not a project I'm ready to tackle, but it is good to have options.  Silver plating sounds interesting but unlike aluminum, in my experience silver tarnishes, turning dull or even black. I suppose it could be clear coated, but that just adds another layer to the finish.

As for problems vacuum aluminizing 3D printed parts, there are different printing technologies and materials out there.   If I do decide to send them to Dale, I'll discuss it with him first.

[Can-Con]

1 hour ago, Lone Wolf said:

I have no experience with them personally, but you might try contacting Roswell Customs and Chrome, which is about the only "plastic parts plater" left in the USA, that I've heard of, anyway.

Little Motor Kar Co, IS still in business despite the rumor that started a few years ago that Dale stopped. 

[H.A.K]

https://icemancollections.com/

 

I've used his wheels a few times, They good to go right out of the box.

[Jiml0001]

Just a followup on the comment by Bugatti Fan.   These wheels are not resin cast, they are 3D printed.   The individual spokes are less than a third of a millimeter thick.   When I print them I have to be so gentle because before they are cured, just rinsing them off in water can break spokes.    I haven't seen any deformity issues with them yet, but I have seen 3D printed front tube axles sag after several months on the shelf so I wouldn't be surprised if these wheels sag after time.   These spokes are much thinner than any other wheel I have seen.

Edited July 21, 2023 by Jiml0001

[Bugatti Fan]

James, I did not mention anything about these wheels being resin cast in my post.

It would be impossible I agree to cast scale wire wheels by the normal resin casting method. I have heard in conversations about 3D printing about a resin based filament being better than another plastic filament. As you do 3D printing yourself, you will be infinitely more knowledgeable about this than just and end user like me.

From my perspective just as a model maker, if 3D printed wire wheels and tubular items are liable to collapse, I have to ask what is the point of buying and fitting them to a model? It's not as though a plastic kit in 1/25th or 1/24th is in any way  particularly heavy like a white metal kit, a solid resin kerb side kit or a diecast model.

Even though 3D printed wire wheels in this scale have spokes that are approximately 0.3 mm in diameter I would have thought that the complete wheel would be reasonably strong when cured. Also considering that the weight distribution from the model is distributed through four points each wheel only had to be strong enough to take a quarter of the weight of the model. Maybe simply making the spokes themselves slightly larger would not detract from their scale appearance but strengthen them considerably. Even 0.1 mm added to each spoke multiplied by the number of spokes around the circumference of each would increase the strength of each whee!.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Bugatti Fan

[peteski]

Also, while a single spoke is very thin and fragile, all the spokes combined result in relatively strong wheel.  Just like the 1:1 scale wire wheels. They use thin steel spokes to support the entire car and withstand rough roads, and the forces of cornering.  As for sagging resin, yes some resins have been known to lose integrity in time, but other resins are much more stable.  Once can hope that the wheels (and other 3D parts we buy) are printed using the more stable resin