Worn & Damaged Rubber Tires

[grim_marmazet]

This is just a quick guide to getting nicely used or damaged rubber tires on your Tamiya or Asiatam wheels.

Firstly you need your completed wheel assembly;



Using a brand new and very sharp blade in your knife/scalpel chop bit out from the tire rim to simulate chunks taken out by stones, broken metal and glass and combat;



You then need to mount the axel in a clamp or vice securely so it can't wobble, but also needs to be able to freely rotate. At this point take a sanding or grinding tool in your dremel, and starting at slow speed wear down the surface of the tire that will be in contact with the tracks. This part takes a while, and doesn't look like your getting much effect at first;



Finally, you'll have some nicely worn, heavily used road wheels!



You can vary the effect with different tools in the dremel, and add major wear by using the tool without the wheel rotating. Finally to soften it all out give it a light sand with some fine grit sandpaper.

Hope you all like it.

Cheers,
Rik

[Saxondog]

Rik,It takes a bit of nerve to cut and grind on that set of wheels considering the cost of the Asiatam set.But I like the effect,It stands to reason the rubber would become damaged. Blake

[grim_marmazet]

It was a bit daunting to start, and it takes a while to do all the road wheels. The running gear tends to be one area that always gets left out of the weathering.

My Tiger's wheels have shell and bullet holes, missing nuts and bolts, scrapes, the worn tires, and nce painted will have a generous helping of mud!

Cheers,
Rik

[Saxondog]

Rik,You have raised a very good point,and are correct as we all tend to overlook the road wheels as far as wear and damage.Look forward to seeing the finished wheels on your tank.Cheers Blake

[xrad]

if you go a little too far, some black polyurethane can fix it...

[grim_marmazet]

You gave me an idea xrad! I was thinking about maybe making some of the damage look like its had temporary repairs on it. Not sure how damage to the tires and wheels would be repaired in the field though. I imagine the wheels would have plates welded over cracks and holes. The tires were solid rubber so maybe chunks of rubber were epoxied in place?

Cheers,
Rik

[Jeff V]

You gave me an idea xrad! I was thinking about maybe making some of the damage look like its had temporary repairs on it. Not sure how damage to the tires and wheels would be repaired in the field though. I imagine the wheels would have plates welded over cracks and holes. The tires were solid rubber so maybe chunks of rubber were epoxied in place?

Cheers,
Rik

Hi Rik, I would recommend not getting carried away with the rubber roadwheel damage or the repairs to roadwheels. If the germans had access to a welder they for sure would just replace the roadwheel if damaged. Also, this hard rubber was very tough and hard to damage. No epoxy was ever used to glue a new chunk of rubber in place. In fact, IMO the rubber was hardly ever damaged even on heavily worn tanks. My family owns a U.S M-29 Weasel with rubber covered roadwheels that was made in 1943 and used extensively after the war in the mountains. When we got the vehicle it looked like hell and needed a complete restoration, however, the rubber on the roadwheels looked like the day it came out of the factory. The german vehicles were similar. I have seen many photographs of german tanks with shell holes in the roadwheels and I'm sure there were shell hits on the rubber during the war, but other than that there will be very little damage on the rubber rims.
BTW, I love the work you have done on your tiger! Really wonderful, and I can't wait to see what it looks like completed.
best wishes,
jeff

[grim_marmazet]

You gave me an idea xrad! I was thinking about maybe making some of the damage look like its had temporary repairs on it. Not sure how damage to the tires and wheels would be repaired in the field though. I imagine the wheels would have plates welded over cracks and holes. The tires were solid rubber so maybe chunks of rubber were epoxied in place?

Cheers,
Rik

Hi Rik, I would recommend not getting carried away with the rubber roadwheel damage or the repairs to roadwheels. If the germans had access to a welder they for sure would just replace the roadwheel if damaged. Also, this hard rubber was very tough and hard to damage. No epoxy was ever used to glue a new chunk of rubber in place. In fact, IMO the rubber was hardly ever damaged even on heavily worn tanks. My family owns a U.S M-29 Weasel with rubber covered roadwheels that was made in 1943 and used extensively after the war in the mountains. When we got the vehicle it looked like hell and needed a complete restoration, however, the rubber on the roadwheels looked like the day it came out of the factory. The german vehicles were similar. I have seen many photographs of german tanks with shell holes in the roadwheels and I'm sure there were shell hits on the rubber during the war, but other than that there will be very little damage on the rubber rims.
BTW, I love the work you have done on your tiger! Really wonderful, and I can't wait to see what it looks like completed.
best wishes,
jeff

Thanks for the info Jeff, and the comments. This is right, the wear was very light, but at scale you need to over exaggerate the effect a little to notice it. I have finished the wearing of the tires now. For the most part they're just a bit worn down where they contact the tracks, but some are battered. I felt it would look a bit odd to have a heavily battered tank, with nice shiny wheels, lol. Most of the damage will dissapear under mud and washes. I'm also considering lightly spraying the tires in a medium-dark grey, to get a better colour to them.

The Tiger is nearly completed, unfortunately my airbrush nozzle broke, so i'm waiting on a replacement to finish the basic spraying and gloss coat. I'll post pictures after that, before I start weathering.

[Jeff V]

Sounds good Rik! What a time for your airbrush to go down! I thought those kind of things only happen to me!
best wishes,
jeff