Hi, Has anybody used the Voyager photo etch set for the Zvezda BMW R12 motorcycle? The wheels are my problem. I've made a spacer for the wheelhub as per the instructions. Now, the spoke etchings have to taper from the hub inwards to the wheel rim. How did anybody achieve this ? They show the desired result in the rather scant instructions. I'm thinking about super gluing at a start point then working round the circumference of the wheel, gluing and pinching with tweezers ? Lockdown. Too much time to think about things......

By going around the edge from one fixed point you would have the risk of ending up with a kink when you have made almost a complete circle.
I would try to find or make a "pipe" to fit the shelf on the inside of the rim to be able to push down the whole circumference of the spoke "disc" in one movement.

If the wheel halves haven't been glued together yet I would glue the spoke "disc" to the ledge on the rim and then push the hub outwards. Still might be a good idea to have some sort of ring on the outside to prevent the circumference of the spoke "disc" from popping loose.

/ Robin

I believe I addressed exactly that issue in this review I did of a similar bike with PE spokes. Although not mentioned in the article, I recall using a very flat cone shaped form (think Vietnamese peasant hat) to form the spokes on.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/10388

Thank you guys for your replies.
Upon looking other makers PE bike wheels, they have "gaps" in the wheel rim. Voyager's don't. Their rim is a full circle. I'm thinking of removing tiny sections from the rim and this will allow the wheel profile to be achieved. If I try to push them into shape as they are then the wheel will distort as the metal can't stretch into shape. I still have the little press/tool ( like a peasant hat ) from a set of Swash wheels which can probably be adapted to this different sized wheel. We'll see......

Check the diameters first!
The spoke sets from other manufacturers, those with the gaps, should have a greater diameter than the actual wheel so that when the gaps are closed the resulting circle will fit the rim.
If voyagers outer diameter of the spoke "disc" already
fits the rim perfectly it will be to small after you have reduced it by cutting and closing gaps.

Metal can stretch, if it is brass (which it looks like) then it can be heated (annealed) and then stretched by pulling/pushing down over that "Vietnamese hat" shape.

I think there is a significant danger of bending those spokes ...