Lownslow Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 this looks like a fake ferrari lebaron kit car because of those stupid monster truck tires you keep putting in your sport car kits, why why why? this is sexy, notice the profile of the car compared to above doesnt look like a rental on tall hankooks. just like wheels the tires also say alot about a car, write that down. same car fujimi tires looks nicer dont it(i ran out of these tires so i wont be using these so ill have to resort to plan B and mold my own) pretty much stuck with these theyre not great but a much better choice theyre off the revell audi R8(definetly molding that front tire) work harder on making your tires look as good as the 1:1s even if they dont have logos but dont stick us with garbage.
Maindrian Pace Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 The real car has a higher ride height and the wheels/tires are inboard a little further, which would help. Lower anything, and adjustments are almost always needed. -MJS
Jairus Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Tires on most all model kits are pretty bad in my opinion. Vinyl doesn't look realistic and won't take paint. Real rubber tires are better but only slightly so and few makers use it. I would almost rather kit manufacturers go the way of the military modelers and mold the tires in styrene with a separate photoetched tread pattern.
diymirage Posted January 2, 2012 Posted January 2, 2012 Tires on most all model kits are pretty bad in my opinion. Vinyl doesn't look realistic and won't take paint. Real rubber tires are better but only slightly so and few makers use it. I would almost rather kit manufacturers go the way of the military modelers and mold the tires in styrene with a separate photoetched tread pattern. photoetched treadpatern? you mean snowchains? (on a sidenote, did you see i actually finished the hotwheels build?)
Lownslow Posted January 2, 2012 Author Posted January 2, 2012 Tires on most all model kits are pretty bad in my opinion. Vinyl doesn't look realistic and won't take paint. Real rubber tires are better but only slightly so and few makers use it. I would almost rather kit manufacturers go the way of the military modelers and mold the tires in styrene with a separate photoetched tread pattern. i spray em with testors laquer the flat black looks good
Danno Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Testors DullCote (flat clear lacquer) makes kit tires look a lot more like car tires.
Jairus Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Tire tread can be as detailed as body script and yet it is not replicated very well. Nor is the flat spot on the bottom of the tire... which can be seen on the street by looking at just ONE car. Military modelers have it figured out. Military after-market offers lots of correctly molded aircraft tires with this "Flatspot" detail, why cannot the Automotive after-market follow suit? As for photoetched tire tread... why not a photoetched tire tread that is simply wrapped around the tire and painted black? It could feature uniform depth and a perfectly shaped tread pattern with the seam at the top under the fender line where nobody can see it. At any rate, I agree with Frank. The model manufacturers in the US have been dropping the ball when it comes to the tires in these kits. Edited January 3, 2012 by Jairus
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Dullcoat is good, I've also had good luck going over them with a brass-bristle wire brush. That takes down the shine and makes them look more like natural rubber. But anyway, yeah- I don't care if there's no sidewall detail, just enough with the blocky, comically-oversized junk already!
Chief Joseph Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) As for photoetched tire tread... why not a photoetched tire tread that is simply wrapped around the tire and painted black? It could feature uniform depth and a perfectly shaped tread pattern with the seam at the top under the fender line where nobody can see it. That's the way I am making Eagle GT's for some Buick turbo Regal models. The sidewall lettering is photoetched also. Edited January 3, 2012 by Chief Joseph
Gluhead Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) If the Japanese manufacturers can make tires as nice as they do, I expect the same out of our domestic manufacturers...but we sure don't get that, do we. I have a small stash of AmSatco, Tamiya, and Fujimi tires (also includes my Modelhaus resin tires btw, also a favorite) that I keep all in it's own separate wooden box like prized jewels. Ha! In all fairness there are also some classic favorites from the domestics in there, but it really would be nice to see them step it up a few notches in this department. Oh, and the flatspot. Mine always end up with them. I thought that was straight out of the Modeling 101 handbook. Tires that look inflated to 200psi just ain't right. Edited January 3, 2012 by Gluhead
Dr. Cranky Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I sand mine, and it's always a lot of work, but it helps relax me. I do agree with J on making the tires out of styrene too, and when you look at the work military builders have been doing to make their tires look ultra realistic you realize they are on to something.
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 I'm kind of on the fence about two-piece plastic and resin cast tires. I'll use them if I have no other atlernatives available, but for the most part I do favor the vinyl (or better still, natural rubber) tires. I know there are guys who can paint them to look just like real rubber tires, but I'm not one of them.
Casey Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 One advantage to casting tires in white resin and then painting them is it's easy to sand the paint off any raised sidewall lettering, eliminating the need to detail paint the lettering, since the exposed bare resin will be white...provided it's the "right" shade of white for your particular project.
Chuck Most Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 One advantage to casting tires in white resin and then painting them is it's easy to sand the paint off any raised sidewall lettering, eliminating the need to detail paint the lettering, since the exposed bare resin will be white...provided it's the "right" shade of white for your particular project. That is one big advantage, yes. That technique works perfectly on the slicks from the Round 2 reissues of the AMT Munster Coach and Dragula.
Casey Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Is any company currently producing photoetched tire tread? Slicks are much easier to make in resin compared to treaded tires since no tread detail is involved, but I'm not sure if anyone or any company has ventured into photoetched automobile tire tread territory yet. It really would open up a lot of possibilites for scale auto tires, but there would need to be a huge variety of tread patterns available to ensure scale fidelity for each make and model of tire.
Lownslow Posted January 3, 2012 Author Posted January 3, 2012 I sand mine, and it's always a lot of work, but it helps relax me. I do agree with J on making the tires out of styrene too, and when you look at the work military builders have been doing to make their tires look ultra realistic you realize they are on to something. we customize our trucks and cars more than they do, im sure im not the only one whos shoehorned small tires into a bigger wheel.
Maindrian Pace Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 Another tip for making vinyl tires look more like rubber is to rub them with lacquer thinner on a towel or rough rag. -MJS
Scale-Master Posted January 3, 2012 Posted January 3, 2012 we customize our trucks and cars more than they do, im sure im not the only one whos shoehorned small tires into a bigger wheel. Are you sure you don't have that backwards? Tires into wheels?
Kit Basher Posted January 4, 2012 Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) I like to rub vinyl tires with 0000 steel wool to kill the shine. Then sand the tread for a worn look. Edited January 4, 2012 by basher
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