I'm just getting back into the hobby after a long absence. I was working on a Dragon kit of a T34-85 (the premium edition kit) and the road wheels, according to the paint diagram, should be flat black around the outside. I was surprised at the number of photos of completed kits that left the entire road wheel green - perhaps they didn't want to hassle with it.

But I'm wondering what the best way to paint these is? I'm thinking of spraying the whole thing green and then creating some sort of mask to spray the edges black. Any suggestions for a easier way to do this?

Greg

Masking is one way to do it, although I always have problems cutting the required perfect circles. Instead I usually just hand-paint the rubber rims on road wheels. Most wheels have enough of a rib between the rubber part and the metal part that with care and properly thinned paint you can achieve a good result with a Mk I hairy stick.

Another option is to paint the wheels the rubber color and then use a draftsman's circle template as a mask to airbrush the center. This works if the size of the wheel exactly matches one of the circles on the template, which I have found is not often the case.

For most wheels I use the masking or template method,but with the T-34 roadwheels,their pretty easy to handpaint.