Longer Poly Inserts for Aoshima Wheels?

[Kombi]

I'm working on a truck right now that I'm planning on using some Aoshima wheels for. These use the same poly inserts as the kit wheels, but because the offset is so deep they are sitting way to far inside the body.

One thought I had was to find some poly tubing that I could cut to a desired length. Then simply sleeve that with some styrene tube to fix my offset issue.

Does anyone know of poly tubing that can be readily used in such a way? Or maybe another method you've used to address this issue?

Edited February 27, 2010 by MkIII

[Casey]

I tried to find styrene tubing for a similar purpose, but 1/2" diamter is the largest commonly available diameter I could find.

You'll find larger (> 1/2" diameter) tubing in the Plastruct catalog, and you can view their catalog online: www.plastruct.com

[LDO]

If you're talking about small diameter poly sleeves that go in the wheel center, I'd have someone turn some plastic replacements on a lathe.

[Junkman]

Usually screws are provided to affix them to the kingpins, right? I used longer screws and made shims to take out the play from round Evergreen tubing. Poblem is you can then only display your model with the front wheels straight, since the already generous scrub radius is amplified.

Widening the rear track should be pretty straightforward.

[Kombi]

Turning down some tube isn't completely out of the question, but probably won't be possible to do that any time soon.

No screws for these, they're simply slipping over plastic pins which I've already installed. One day I'll learn how to test fit better.

I'll go the route of styrene tubing and see what I might be able to come up with.

Thanks for the advice!

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

Aaron,

I've used Aoshima wheels on numerous AMT and MPC models. Here's what I do. You need some Evergreen 3/16" styrene tubing and a 3/16" drill bit. Take the 3/16" bit and using your hands only, ream out the opening on the backside of the wheel.

Then, cut a length of the 3/16" tubing to fit and insert into the wheel.

I don't use the poly caps when doing this as I build vintage model kits that come with metal axles. I insert a length of Evergreen 1/8" tubing inside of the 3/16" tube.

Give this a try and see if this helps you out.