this is my first attempt at painting German road wheels, was not looking forward to endless masking to achieve clean lines between the steel wheel and rubber outer part.Came up with this to use as a mask, it is a cap from lip balm it fits perfectly into the wheel lip.I held it between thumb and forefinger to airbrush.Perfect results I think? http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/davechavez7/004_zps2473aeb8.jpg

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/davechavez7/001_zpsafebae6a.jpghttp://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt127/davechavez7/003_zps8abfdcd8.jpg the model is the 1:35 Emil Sturer by Trumpter.The mask fits all of the roadwheels

That is an interesting way of doing this as I always spray the rubber colour of choice and then use a circle template to mask the outer portion while the inner area is sprayed.

That's different. I bought a circle template and a brass sheet for masking WWII German vehicles. Total cost: $20. But, whatever works for you.

the downside is I no longer have a cap for my lip balm the cap fits perfectly with a good seal to avoid overspray.It is kind of maniacal that I kept on glancing at items/masks that would fit exactly.Seems like road wheel painting is the most cumbersome aspect of armor, about as fun as PE ship railing.Are the circle templates easier than my dorky method?

Depending on the ring template you buy you have more options than you will ever need. You can also purchase ring tempalates designed for specific models and specific brands of models.

I have two circle templates. One is fractional and the other is metric. One of the circles always perfectly fit the rim of a road wheel.

Your cap idea is interesting but you are limited by its size
and as you can see, some of your rim is painted black.

As the others suggested, for a few bucks you can get multi-sized templates that will allow you to paint wheels with
easy and perfectly.

Cheers,
Joe

have a look at the original inner road wheel? it seems the Trumpeter wheel rendition is not quite accurate, hard to tell by the museum photos of the Emil photos.My attempt at authenticity seems to be very close looks like the model wheel has welding around the perimeter?

http://www.fahrzeuge-der-wehrmacht.de/Bilder/VK3001H_L61_Ku_08-1.jpg So, the raised rubber edge on this pic is poorly rendered on the model wheel? do you have a link for the templates? I will try them.

I wasn't criticizing your authenticity of the rendering of the paint job. You have painted them as per the museum photos...great job.

I was suggesting that there should be a distinct limit to
where the rubber meets rim, in my opinion.

It may be that the restoration people have done a poor or
haste job of repainting that museum Emil. I have seen some paint jobs on tanks in my area that look as if they were painted by a blind man...it's just sad.

Here is a link to the templates that we are referring to...
just as an example....there are many other sources.


http://www.amazon.com/Staedtler-Circle-Template-Circles-977110/dp/B000KIBQ46

Cheers,
Joe

Actually I seek constructive criticism.I never tried the templates, I envisioned them not working very well since they can not sit flush on the object? how does one prevent overspray? the weird way I masked had me pressing the mask/cap into the wheel with quick results. I guess I do not understand the technique youse guys use.

You paint the wheels black....then you find the appropriate
hole in the template for the rim. Hold the template over the
the wheel pressing on the wheel from behind and spray away.

Works quite well.

Cheers,
Joe