wire wheels???

[iBorg]

Those PE wheels are the best I've seen. The look amazing. Most PE wheels fail in the cross over of the spokes and the hub. These look right.

[Tom VanNortwick]

On 11/27/2017 at 7:12 PM, Roncla said:

I've got a pair of Machined Aluminium Specialists front wire wheels I bought years ago

 I believe this business changed hands a while back and  Teds Modeling Market Place is now carrying some of the line but to date the front wheels aren't shown as available

Their is a definite void in the market for these rims as the kit plastic parts always look so crude.

http://www.tedsmodelingmarketplace.com/machined-aluminum-specialties/

 

 

[Tom VanNortwick]

[fiatboy]

In one of the model-car magazines they had a pretty complete article on making wire wheels.  I think the article included 2 or 3 different methods.  I think this article was published within the last year.  If there is any interest I will search for the article.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 1/21/2018 at 1:02 PM, Greg Myers said:

Still seems strange there are none the Scale Aircraft crowd uses that would work 

There ARE, and I posted links to some of them.

Last time I looked, however, all the sizes 1/25-1/25 dragster builders could use were out-of-stock.

[Ace-Garageguy]

29 minutes ago, fiatboy said:

In one of the model-car magazines they had a pretty complete article on making wire wheels.  I think the article included 2 or 3 different methods.  I think this article was published within the last year.  If there is any interest I will search for the article.

A couple of different methods have been posted in "tips and tricks" right here on the forum.

[fiatboy]

And we're mostly talking here about metal items.

[Greg Myers]

We are ? 

[Greg Myers]

Lot's of ways to tackle this. Here are just a few  

http://www.themotormuseuminminiature.co.uk/re-spoking-wire-wheels.php

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/6659-scale-wire-wheels/

https://hobbylink.tv/uc-realistic-wire-wheels

[peteski]

On 1/25/2018 at 1:27 PM, Greg Myers said:

Lot's of ways to tackle this. Here are just a few  

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/6659-scale-wire-wheels/

 

Unfortunately the photos in the above link are gone (thanks Photobucket)!

[Greg Myers]

Just a few at the end, first page shows up for me 

[peteski]

8 hours ago, Greg Myers said:

Just a few at the end, first page shows up for me 

There is only one post where I can see the photos: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/6659-scale-wire-wheels/?tab=comments#comment-854756

All the other photos are just Photobucket or imgur icons indicating failure.  No photos.

[Bernard Kron]

At long last, long time MCM board member, master modeler, and all around nice guy, Curt Raitz, has gone into the aftermarket wire wheel  business with his beautiful hand-laced wire wheels. Fpr those of us who frequent the NNL West you may have seen examples of his work in recent years and many of us have been bugging him to make them generally available.

They're the real deal, with stainless wire spokes and machined aluminum rims and hubs. Hence the TruWire brand. The initial offering is for 1/24th & 1/25th scale applications and come in two diameters, .740" and .790", $25.00 USD plus shipping. They are designed to be compatible with most kit dragster motorcycle style front tires. Curt tells me he's also offering them in 1/16th scale for a slightly higher price.

I was able to test both sizes successfully with several different generally available FED kits in my stash (unfortunately I'm so Old Skool that rear-engined dragsters are total MIA on my shelves). In general I would say the .740" size is a straightforward fit for most applications. The .790 inchers might require that you do some minor sanding on older, hardened tires. They are gorgeous and I'm sure will take almost any model I use them on to a whole new level. They're ideal not only for the obvious dragster uses, but also for a knockout Fad-T, some vintage applications, and maybe even for motorcycles.

Curt can be reached at miniscurtraitzing, 686 Helen Dr., Hollister, CA 95023. Email is ceraitz@gmail.com.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Bernard Kron

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Bernard Kron said:

At long last, long time MCM board member, master modeler, and all around nice guy, Curt Raitz, has gone into the aftermarket wire wheel  business with his beautiful hand-laced wire wheels.
 

Thanks for the heads-up, Bernard. I be needin sum.

[gasser59]

This is fantastic news, thanks for sharing. Curt will be getting an order from me for several.

[crazyjim]

Beautiful wheels.  Where do you get the tires?

[Bernard Kron]

 

6 hours ago, crazyjim said:

Beautiful wheels.  Where do you get the tires?

At the risk of quoting myself from my earlier post:

20 hours ago, Bernard Kron said:

They are designed to be compatible with most kit dragster motorcycle style front tires. ...

I was able to test both sizes successfully with several different generally available FED kits in my stash (unfortunately I'm so Old Skool that rear-engined dragsters are total MIA on my shelves). In general I would say the .740" size is a straightforward fit for most applications. The .790 inchers might require that you do some minor sanding on older, hardened tires. ..

The Dunlop motorcycle tire in the closeup picture is from the Revell Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit, which has my favorite styrene wheel and tire combo. I also tested various other tires like the ones from the Round 2 MPC FED re-issues (Young American, Garlits Wynn's Charger, etc.), the old Ramchargers FED and the American Grafitti Milner's Dragster (which should mean that the current Jawbreaker re-issue will work fine). Also the Too Much, the old AMT Garlits Wynns Jammer and the HemiSphere re-issue, with its solid styrene front tires, and the Revell Boomer T. Almost without exception they are a straight fit to the .740" wheels. The exceptions being the solid styrene Wynn's Jammer/HemiSphere tires which will need to be sanded on their inner surface to fit, and the Boomer T where the "rubber" had hardened enough that they couldn't be stretched to fit, although light sanding on the tire i.d. would have done the trick. If you prefer the look of the slightly larger .790" offering the Round 2 Garlits Wynn's Charger re-issues tires are gorgeous with full sidewall markings and a perfect fit, and the Ramchargers FED (and by implication the current Round 2 Jawbreaker tires) mounted without a problem. All the other tires would require a small amount of opening up of their i.d. with sandpaper or your Dremel to fit the .790 inchers.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Bernard Kron

[crazyjim]

I wonder if O rings would work?

[gasser59]

23 minutes ago, crazyjim said:

I wonder if O rings would work?

I've used O rings before and while they look pretty good, they dry out and break. At least they do here in the desert.

[Bernard Kron]

31 minutes ago, crazyjim said:

I wonder if O rings would work?

 

8 minutes ago, gasser59 said:

I've used O rings before and while they look pretty good, they dry out and break. At least they do here in the desert.

As nice as Curt's latest production version wheels look it would seem a pity to use O rings. O rings lack the tread and sidewall detail of most kit tires. I especially recommend those in the Tony Nancy Double Dragster kit and the ones Round 2 includes in its Don Garlits Wynn's Charger re-issue. They look fabulous on these wheels

A few years ago when Curt was first developing his technique he gave me a prototype set of wheels. They were a bit bigger in o.d. than the final versions and no kit tires would fit, so I used some O rings instead. They looked OK but nowhere as nice as even the most basic treaded kit tires.

Below is a picture of the Revell Slingster I built back then using those old prototypes. You'll also notice that that the hubs on the final version are more finely done, as are the rims, and that he was using fishing line back then whereas now he's using stainless steel wire. Quite a step forward IMHO.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Bernard Kron

[curt raitz]

Norm at Replicas & Miniatures sells a set of motorcycle wheels/tires in 1/25th scale.

I was able to special order just the tires from him awhile back. The Dunlops fit the .790" wheel and the Goodyears fit the .740" wheels.

The slot car drag racing guys use a #13 O-Ring 7/8 x 11/16 x 3/32 on the .740" wheel.

The #15 O-Ring 1 x 3/4x 1/8 fits the .740" wheel. 

I have not tested an O-Ring on the .790" wheel.

Following Bernards advice, I will make wheels with a smaller diameter.

 

[Mr. Muppet]

Last I checked with him, Norm doesn't sell the wheels anymore, but he is working on getting them back into production.

Your wheels look great, btw, Curt.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Mr. Muppet

[Greg Myers]

17 hours ago, crazyjim said:

I wonder if O rings would work?

the right size, why not ?

[Greg Myers]

8 hours ago, Mr. Muppet said:

Last I checked with him, Norm doesn't sell the wheels anymore, but he is working on getting them back into production.

Your wheels look great, btw, Curt.

A little competition the life blood of capitalism. 

[misternemo]

On 11/22/2017 at 6:34 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

That makes 2 of us.

Micro Nitro used to, but he seems to be gone.

At one time I'd found some PE wires made for 1/32 planes that looked good, but haven't seen them in a while either.

The Herb Deeks wires currently available are for 15" rims, which is way too small for dragster / motorcycle wires.

Deeks used to make these, but apparently no more.     

And these scale out to about 24" in 1/25, way too big...   

EDIT: These (below) are approx. 17" in 1/25 scale, were from Australia, for $100+ per pair.  This is all the contact info I have...For Spoke Wheel Shop........... 

strobson@adam.com.au

Steven is not making these beautiful wheels anymore.when he did,they were about $140. well worth it though!!