Anyone here with connections to Model Rectifier Corp?

[Monty]

Just curious if they'll ever do another release of the wheel & tire sets that they created about a decade ago.

Edited July 8, 2011 by Monty

[Guest]

I have a set of the tires, but not the wheels. PM me if interested.

[Monty]

I have a set of the tires, but not the wheels. PM me if interested.

I certainly appreciate your offer, but this was just an inquiry as to whether anyone knew if we might see these sets again. I thought the Keystones were very well done (I heard the Cragars were too) but I wish they would've tooled up a set of Ansen Sprints (5-slot wheels), since they were a commonly seen wheel back when these tires were popular. The kits also provided adapters of almost every sort so you could use these on a variety of models.

[sjordan2]

The Cragars are listed as out of stock on their website. They list the brand as Academy. Other places have them, though. Just search Google images for 1/24 Academy wheels.

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/index.php/plastic-wood-model-car-truck-boat-military-ship-tank-airplane-anatomy-hobby-model-kits/car-model-detail-parts-tires-wheels-rims-hoses-wires-engine-parts-carpet-interior/academy-1-24-mickey-tires-with-crager-mags-model-car-parts.html

Edited July 8, 2011 by sjordan2

[Monty]

the sets that include the Mickey Thompson and Goodyear tires are good, those with the Firestone's not so much. the tires for whatever reason in the Firestone sets are shaped all wrong.

the adaptor sets included with these wheels are worth the price of admission alone, very, very useful little pieces

I never bought any of the sets with Goodyear tires, so I can't offer an opinion on them. I have, however, had the other two tires, and it looks like we disagree somewhat.

The Firestones at least give us an early '70s street tire that isn't marked Goodyear and the lettering is fairly well done, so points for that. The shoulders are where this tire really loses any sense of authenticity. They're just too square. The real tires taper off to the tread surface, while the kits' tires just take a 90* turn. I'd give them a grade of C-

That said, I double-dog dare you to post up a pic of an MRC Mickey Thompson tire with painted lettering and put it next to a picture of a real Mickey Thompson street tire. Someone at MRC got the side lettering so screwed up it's ridiculous. There's an approximate 7" scale gap between the words "Mickey" and "Thompson" on the kit tire, which throws everything else off.

Summary: I might use the Firestones for a bit of variety, but I wouldn't even consider lettering a set of these kit tires up and putting them on a model.

Looks like we agree on the adapter pieces

[Monty]

The Cragars are listed as out of stock on their website. They list the brand as Academy. Other places have them, though. Just search Google images for 1/24 Academy wheels.

http://www.oakridgehobbies.com/index.php/plastic-wood-model-car-truck-boat-military-ship-tank-airplane-anatomy-hobby-model-kits/car-model-detail-parts-tires-wheels-rims-hoses-wires-engine-parts-carpet-interior/academy-1-24-mickey-tires-with-crager-mags-model-car-parts.html

The Academy angle was new to me, but the search results were about the same. Looks like hobby shops kept the imagery, but everybody has these listed as backordered or something that can be pre-ordered. Maybe that means they will be coming out again.

I appreciate the tip, though!

[Jon Cole]

I always thought the heavy tread on the sidewall gave the tires a truck tire look. Sorry, I do not know which set, I just see heavy-handed tread engraving.

[Guest]

I have seen both MRC's Firestones and Goodyears, the sidewall and tread are identical on both, only the lettering is diffrent, and the sidewall shape and tread of both are wrong for that matter.

[Guest]

Back when they first came out, my local hobby shop had both of the tire and wheel sets, with both sets of rims, and both brand of tires were the same. They must have changed them over the years.

[Monty]

they have never changed them. what you see pictured is what they have always been like

Gotta agree with this. When these sets first came out, my modeling buddies and I raided the hobby shops for all of the various combinations, but only a few ended up buying the Goodyears 'cuz AMT already offered a very similar tire in about half their kits.

Long story short, our excitement at having alternative tires caused us to forget to do our own due diligence (look closely at tires on the box art before purchasing). Our disappointment at the shape of the Firestones and the word placement on the M/Ts meant most of those tires got thrown away.

OTOH, if you detail their Keystone wheel with some black paint (I used Humbrol #85 Coal Black) it's probably the best version of this wheel in the hobby and still looks good on just about anything from the muscle car era.