Hi
I was looking at my tamiya famo the other day and i realised that the two rubber front tyres were beginning to crack and perish. I was wondering if anyone knows how i can stop this from happenning on new models and if it is possible to repare the tyres . Cheers, Nick

hmmm is your kit placed somewhere that gets direct sunlight? If so, id moved it to a cooler spot.

Not sure how you can save it though.

Hi on those that have started to rot , there is no answer or cure , but for new models paint on a thin layer of PVA glue ie , white wood work glue thinned 50-50 with water , also paint this on the plastic rim of the wheel before the normal painting it stops the reaction of the rubber used to the plastic . Hope this helps cheers ian

Hi guys.
@ jazza, yes it is i will move it as you say
@ sandy, thanks very much, very useful
Thanks very much both og you. Nick

This is actually three different problems, depending on the manufacturer and materials used. Actual rubber dries out over months or years, and crumbles--the black rubber track included with very early Tamiya and Nitto tanks had this problem, and nothing could really stop it, but I don't believe this material is being used any more.
Some vinyl tires react chemically with styrene, and require a barrier of some sort to protect the two materials (usually it's the styrene that decays, not the vinyl). This was a problem with early Airfix tracks until they changed their vinyl formulation in the early 70's, and Italeri has also had this problem periodically (some batches of vinyl were affected, but not others). A layer of Bare Metal aluminum foil around the rim can prevent a reaction there.
The new glueable styrene-vinyl blends used for some tank tracks and rubber tires react very badly to the solvents in enamel paints and washes. They can dry out and crumble just days after being exposed. Solution here is to use acrylics and watercolors only in finishing the model.

Hi

That's a very interesting topic...
Would, for example the rubber tires of my 1/16 Trumpeter T-34 eat the plastic over time?

I have them on the LAV, but I have car models that are very old with no issues, including Pocher kits from the 60's/70's