Do any of you use a technique to somewhat flatten one section of a rubber tire to give it a more realistic look? I wasn't sure how pressurized modern AFV tires are until I looked at a pic of an LAV and noted this:



Obviously unless a tire was made of hard rubber (like a heavy machinery tire), there is going to be some level of flattening where it hits the ground. And also this effect would seem to be negated "unless" a vehicle is on a road or other hard surface. What about Humvee's and other vehicles (like the M35's we have been talking so much about)?

Thoughts?

Jim

Well, In some 5Tons, there is inflation system. There are 3 settings. Off road, hard top, and I believe sand, but I might be wrong. Hummer's have the alluminum ring inside of the tire incase of a flat, it can still run. Standard pressure for vehicles, is any where between 30 to 55 psi depending on the vehicle. Thats not a lot of pressure for a vehicle with all that weight.

My 2 cents worth.

Once, long ago I heated the handle of a large pair of tweezers with a soldering iron. I then pressed the wheels of an Esci Hummer on it, one at a time. Just enough to make the tire flat in a small spot. I have never done it since, I didn't like the looks of it.

Rob,
Was it hard not to "overdo" it?

Or did it make it harder to roll across the table and go "vroooom - vrooooom!". hehehe



Jim

Well - it REALLY DOES kill the vrooom - vrooom effect...

Gunnie

Seriously though, I don't model the flattened effect because it is so easy to overdo - and very difficult to do evenly - i.e. if not done correctly, you'll radically change the "sit" of the model. That kills you if you wish to display it in a contest. Poly-vinyl tires don't take to this easily - and even the softest (Tamiya's Dragon Wagon and FAMO) tires meant to mimic this feature with the sheer weight of the model to press the tires down don't really make this apparent in the finished model. My completed DW is pretty heavy, and the tire depression is virtually unnoticeable.

Bulged resin tires might be interesting, and uniform, if offered like True Details tires for aircraft modelers. But, probably would be shunned likewise because they're too bulged.

The only time I would make the attempt is in the case of the LAV as you linked the picture to - as it is a highly noticable characteristic of that particular vehicle.

Just my thoughts...

Gunnie

some modelers do it boiling water in a pot and gently pressing the tire to the bottom of the pot.
best regards
Engin

Boiling water??? I think it would be too hot and could melt the plastic/resin...

Mario M.

No, the HMMWV tires are designed to hold a lot of weight and when you look at an unladen HMMWV, the vehicle looks almost like it's standing on its tip-toes, very little tire pressure at all.

And no, it did not prevent the vroom vroom effect since this was for a diorama of my battalion commander backing his tank over an OC's (observer-controller) HMMWV. That way I could use the Esci Hummer since the hood was also crushed (Esci's hood is just wrong).

This question of simulating bulged or pressure on the tires, got me to thinking, and since the DW has the "pneumatic" tires in the kit which Gunnie mentioned the models weight doesn't do the job, I was thinking of a possible solution.
I looked at the tires from the kit with their rims and thought...what if I took a scrap piece of plastic and glued one side of the scrap to the inside of the tire, where the tire would meet the ground, and glued the other side of the scrap to the inside of the rim. Of course the scrap piece would be just a little bit smaller than the actual distance of "untreated" inside measurements. Thus "forcing" the effect of pressure on the tire from the vehicle. ???
What do you think?

Hi!
What if we sand the part that touches the ground flat? It could create the ilusion of bulged tires, but we have to be very gentle to not overdo it, what do you think?
My two cents!

WWII tires did not have any self-inflating systems. I remember trying this several times with 1/35 Kubelwagens when I was younger. The best effect was finally reached gently pressing the tire on a heated metal surface. Gently, that is. The effect looks good, but iit can be easily overdone and then you end up with a vehicle that has four flat tires.
For resin wheels, this is not so easily done, but resting them in very hot water makes most resins a bit softer too.
The same procedure can be used to create a flat tire. For flats, start off by sanding a (few, depends on wheel size) mm or so off the tire where it rests on the ground, and then apply some heat to make it bulge a bit. When making a flat tire, you may want to to adjust the place where the wheel is fixed to the vehicle : the flat has to rest on the ground, it mustn't be suspended in the air. 2cts.
As always : try this on an old model first.

Ive never done thins but If i as i probably sand it down, then apply some putty and make the bulge and at the same time make sure they are all even. If they are not even, just add or remove some putty. Might work