Anyone know the best way to paint the road wheels on the panzer IV.i like to paint them before they go on the tank.am talking about the tyre part that is black.i was thinking about airbrushing them all black then paint the centres dark yellow with a paint brush or would the black make the yellow look too dark.cheers all .

Thanks for posting a question I was going to ask a few days ago, i think I forgot. I guess its easier to airbrush the whole thing dark yellow and then hand brush the rubber part, but still it seems that there could be an easier way to do this, if anyone could tell us the best way it will be appreciated
P.S.- now I'm happy my Panther is missing a whole set of wheels!!

tiger,
paint them a dark grey all over makes it look more natural than normal black then buy
yourself a circle template from wh smiths cost £1 or 2 now place the circles over the
wheels til you have a perfect mach around the wheel rim were it meets the tyre and
spray away you will have a nice neat rim and you can use the black on the wheel as
a pre-shade if your looking to spray the tyres black use either tamiyas nato black
or panzer grey

I use a liquid latex moulding rubber. I spray the road wheels all the base color(s) then after it dries I use the stick end of a paint brush and fill in the center of the road wheels with a good covering of the latex. When it sets for a day I then spray with a dark grey. When your paint sets you just use a pin or the xacto blade and it peels right off. Make sure the latex is on heavy enogh or it can be a pain to get it all off. I get mine from lewis craft, Micheals or sometimes the hobby shop has some. This stuff is a moulding latex so you can make moulds of items, not big things as it would take to long build up. It comes available in different size containers, if you try this method just buy a small size at first. I have used this method for years, also you can dab it onto areas where you don't want paint so two parts can be glued up without scraping away paint.

Thanks for your posts lads great help

With my Pz iv I'm experimenting with a technique I have read about.

Use a chisel pointed Black permanent marker pen. I have sprayed the wheels and then with the chisel point run around the rubber area. The dark yellow base (maybe?) makes the black more a very dark gray - and also matt not gloss.

Anyway I have done that but not finished the overall painting yet so I'll let you know when I have finished.

Brian

I do it a little bit different. Since I build mostly Shermans I do the same wheels over and over. I spray the wheels black and let dry. Then I have a piece of plastic sheet about the size of the notecard with 16 holes cut to mask the rubber portion of the roadwheels. I snap the 12 wheels plus any spare wheels I may need into the holes. Then I hit each hole with OD color.

Recently I built an M5A1 Stuart instead of an M4 Sherman and the wheel size was different so my template didnt work. However I may be on a Stuart kick for a while and might make a 10 hole template for the Stuart.

Unfortunately my technique onlu works for those peeps obsessed with one style wheel over and over again. Doesn't really address those one time situations

Shermie -

What did you use to cut the circles in your plastic sheet? I have often thought that your method sounded like a good idea, but I have always had trouble cutting perfect circles in the sheet. I tried a compass with the cutting blade, but as I cut a few holes, the diameter of my circle cutter changed. Is there a way to "lock" the compass, or perhaps you have a better way?

Thanks-
Jeff

Well I'm lazy so what I do is paint them all a dark grey blackish color ,then I use my airbrush and close the nozzle so that only a tiny bit of paint comes out at once ..I can hold the trigger down and it takes a couple of seconds before I can see the color start to change...I load up with the dark yellow color of my choice and spray the middles getting as close as possible to the edge ...even if I go over and touch the rubber I just use a dark wash afterwards and works fine for me ...no more masks for me !

Rick #:-) okay that mask is fine lol!

I airbrush the wheels the basic vehicle colour (and add camo colours) then I press the wheel through it's axle hole onto a tapering dowel, such as a small paint brush handle, until it is firmly seated. By twirling the dowel/handle, the wheel revolves. With a bit of practice and steady hands you can paint the tires without actually moving the paint brush. You hold the paint brush tip on the tire and revolve the wheel and it gets painted automatically. Any small boo-boo's can be retouched or hidden under weathering.

jrnelson

I have a freind who does prototype cars for the Big 3. He has special tools for plastics. If I recall correctly he had some sort of circular cutting stamp the size that I needed and simply stamped 16 holes for me.