Question for Casey & other resin casters

[Monty]

Casey, I came across this discussion http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=54058&#entry624569 and wondered if the BFG letters are raised enough to be captured by the casting process, or are these just tampo printed?

Question for all casters: Let's assume you find a good BF Goodrich Radial T/A like these, and they happen to be made in a size that would work well with 1/25 & 1/24 car models. What would stop you from casting it? Copyright issues?

I ask because I have so many cars that were produced after the advent of radial tires, so slappin' on a set of bias ply tires isn't going to work. Look at most of the muscle car calendars from the '80s and you'll notice that the vast majority have Radial T/A tires. I'm just looking for a set of 15" street performance tires (dare I dream of different sizes?) that I can put on my post - '74 models.

[Casey]

Casey, I came across this discussion http://www.modelcars...58 and wondered if the BFG letters are raised enough to be captured by the casting process, or are these just tampo printed?

They are tampo printed, but in my experience, they would be captured/"seen" when casting using mold rubber such as Alumilite's Quick Set & QS3. I've never cast tires like these, but the rubber picks up almost every detail in the master.

You should look into Fireball Modelworks' Goodyear Eagle GT tires, Monty: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55457&hl=eagle

IIRC, Joseph is working on some BFG T/As.

[Monty]

They are tampo printed, but in my experience, they would be captured/"seen" when casting using mold rubber such as Alumilite's Quick Set & QS3. I've never cast tires like these, but the rubber picks up almost every detail in the master.

You should look into Fireball Modelworks' Goodyear Eagle GT tires, Monty: http://www.modelcars...=55457&hl=eagle

IIRC, Joseph is working on some BFG T/As.

I contacted Joseph on 7/29 and he indicated he was too far behind on other projects, and that these tires were on the back burner, at best, for the time being.

Thanks for the Fireball Modelworks link!

[cnaind]

Would any of these be close enuff?? http://public.fotki.com/cnaind/passenger-tires/radials/

[Monty]

Would any of these be close enuff?? http://public.fotki....-tires/radials/

Alan, those Radial T/As appear to be resin castings of the BFG tires Arii used to offer. On the positive side, they seem to work well with many 1/24 cars (especially B-body Mopars) and I'm glad you're also offering the 5-slot wheel instead of making folks choose from some of the strange wheel designs Arii offered. When you sand the tread and paint the sidewall letters carefully, these tires can really look sharp. From what I understand, the original Arii sets are hard to find, so it's nice to know we can still get them from you.

On the negative side, I'd guess the majority of us build mostly1/25 scale kits, and these tires would more than likely look out of scale on most of them.

It's nice to see that you offer some Pirelli and Dunlop tires. I may have some use for those in the future.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Monty

[Casey]

Monty, you have me wondering if the sidewall lettering and tread area could be sanded down on the MPC BFG Radial T/A tires for an improved appearance? I don't have any on hand, but the tread always seemed a bit too "off-road"-ish and the sidewall letters a bit too pronounced to my eyes.

The tires from the Testors kit have great sidewalls, but as Bill pointed out, the tread looks nothing like a BFG Radial T/A, and everything like the Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special tire's tread.

[Monty]

Here's what drives me insane: I have a friend who's an incredible modeler and scratchbuilder. He and I ran Radial T/As on all our 1:1 street machines over the years, so he wanted some in 1/25 scale for his models. Long story short, he knew he'd have to make them himself for them to be correct, so he used parts from 3 different model tires and created masters for a 235/60/15 and a 255/60/15 Radial T/A. (He said the masters were a major PITA to make, but they scaled out perfectly. If you knew this guy, you wouldn't be surprised - verrryy German).

Unfortunately, he was worried about someone else getting ahold of these and profiting from his work, so he decided to cast them himself in very limited quantities. Here's where it gets bad. He's still not sure how it happened (Dog? Kid?) but somehow a container of lacquer thinner got tipped over and ruined the masters, and he says he's not going to bother starting over again. (I've offered him everything in my model collection, but he won't budge.)

I've got some pics & I remember some of what he told me regarding his procedures, so I keep hoping a talented & tenacious person will want to take this on in the very near future.

[Casey]

Did he ever make a mold of the master(s)?

[Monty]

Did he ever make a mold of the master(s)?

He made several attempts using the casting materials Micro-Mark sells, but even though he followed the directions to the letter, the materials wouldn't set up correctly. In addition, when used as instructed, the black dye turned the tires a very light gray. When he tried adding more dye, it affected the castings, rendering them unusable. There were a number of "established" casters on another board whom I contacted on his behalf, (with his grudging permission) but none could be bothered to reply.

He has since gone back to building semis. Among the things he has scratchbuilt: a 1/16 Detroit engine for one of the big Monogram kits and a set of 1/25 stanchions(?) the support poles for the front of a semi trailer. Using a metal crank, which he also made, these can be raised or lowered. Being a former OTR driver, he made sure they crank the same way the real ones do.

[Monty]

Monty, you have me wondering if the sidewall lettering and tread area could be sanded down on the MPC BFG Radial T/A tires for an improved appearance? I don't have any on hand, but the tread always seemed a bit too "off-road"-ish and the sidewall letters a bit too pronounced to my eyes.

The tires from the Testors kit have great sidewalls, but as Bill pointed out, the tread looks nothing like a BFG Radial T/A, and everything like the Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special tire's tread.

I'm not sure there's much reason to even try and work with the old MPC Radial T/A. To start with, they're about 1 1/2 scale inches shorter than the AMT Polyglas GT, so they almost look like the undersized tires the lowrider guys seem to like. Personally, I wouldn't put them on anything bigger than a Mustang II.

If memory serves, Revell's '70s funny cars had distinguishable, and with acquired skill, paintable lettering on the tiny front runner tires. For whatever reason, MPC couldn't be bothered to recreate the style and size of the Radial T/A script with that kind of meticulousness, hence the heavy, discount-white-letter-tire sidewall script. Sanding it down would only make it slightly less egregious. Surprisingly, the tread pattern isn't horrible, but the tire shoulders are a little too squared off.

Here's another thing to consider about options: it appears as though Shabo made a slight tweak to his BFG tire letter transfers: They say T/A Radial instead of Radial T/A. Maybe he was trying to avoid paying royalties or something

Now you have me wondering if I could accept a correct BFG sidewall with Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special tread... At this point, if it was available, I probably would.

Who're you calling obsessed?

[dimaxion]

The Stantions are "Landing Gear" you spoke of .

I am still lacking good , accurate , E & F-70-14 Wide Ovals ! I have many stillborn Muscle Cars waiting / wanting for these period correct tires . Then G & H F-70-14 & 15" Muscle Car tires for the later Muscle tires . Come to thinh of it , FR-78 Series tires for the '70's & 80's would not be something I would pass up either .