Accurate Miniatures McLaren M8B tires are “sweating”

[LDO]

I got a kit off eBay. The tires and seat are in a sealed plastic bag and it looks like it has some thin oil inside. Are these parts going to dissolve the styrene that they contact? If so, does anyone make replacement parts? 

[Fat Brian]

That's the plasticizer leaching out and yes, they will eat the wheels over time. I don't know if anyone makes replacements. I have first issue Corvette GS and so far the tires on it are behaving themselves so I don't know what is causing those tires to do that. Does it look like it was stored in a hot area maybe?

[LDO]

It doesn’t look like it has any heat damage. I just wonder if it’s due to 27 years in that little plastic bag. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

38 minutes ago, LDO said:

It doesn’t look like it has any heat damage. I just wonder if it’s due to 27 years in that little plastic bag. 

Good question.

I have some GS Corvettes and they're fine.

I THINK I still have some of the McLarens here too, and if so I'll have a look.

EDIT: Occasionally I've been able to stop surface stickiness on soft plastic parts by washing them in acetone or lacquer thinner, and then shooting them with a flat black interior dye.

ALSO...one way to keep tires from attacking styrene wheels is to wrap the wheel in BMF or aluminum foil. You have to be really careful, but it works.

I tried coating styrene wheels with epoxy as well, but I can't recommend the results.

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:16 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[flashman1957]

If you have a 3D resin printer, or know someone that does and might be willing to print them for you, or decide to use a commercial printer service that does 3D resin (there may even be 3D printing companies in your local area), there is a 3D printing file available for sale on the Cults3D site to be able to print replacement tires (tyres 😉) for that kit. The 3D file is named "McLaren M8B Tyre Set for Accurate Miniatures 1:24". The file seller's name is AVUS3D, and the price of the file is $2.18 USD (as of the current exchange rate). These tires are supposedly more accurate (no pun intended) than the kit tires.

The URL/link is:  https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/mclaren-m8b-tyre-set-for-accurate-miniatures-1-24-avus3d

At that price, it could be worth buying that 3D file to have on hand even if you currently don't have a way to print it yet. It does not cost anything to create a Cults3D account for yourself to be able to buy/download files from that site. That way you would have the files available when you start looking for a way to have them printed.

Just FYI, when you do get them printed, I'd recommend requesting at least a couple sets or more, just in case you run into any problems trying to use them. For example, just last week a friend of mine started to use his Dremel to enlarge the opening of a set of 3D printed tires for a different kit that another friend had printed for him, and one of the tires shattered, as some brands or types of 3D resins on the market may be more brittle than some other brands/types, or affected by how they were printed.

Good luck!

Edited Wednesday at 04:19 PM by flashman1957

[Janice Berry]

Yeah, that’s a common issue. Some rubber or vinyl parts—especially tires—can have oils that react with styrene and cause melting or staining over time. It’s best to keep them stored separately from the plastic parts.

[Spooker]

Back in the day, when IMC tires were eating the styrene wheels, we used shellac to coat any plastic surfaces that would come in contact with the tires.  A couple thin coats brushed on seemed to work well.  Those of us that dabble in slot cars have run into the same problems in that hobby as well.  Clear nail polish as a barrier AND a glue works well for me on HO cars.

Edited Wednesday at 06:53 PM by Spooker

[Exotics_Builder]

I opened up my two original issues and neither was exhibiting any "sweating" of the tires.

[oldcarfan]

I had a 90s Revell kit with a similar problem and wiped the tires with acetone and then put BMF on the wheel rims. On the other hand, I bought an unopened ESCI whose tires had dried and cracked. On that one I chose the least damaged one, puttied the cracks, made a mold and got enough copies to finish the kit.