I have always had trouble with Aircraft tires, no matter what I do they always look sloppy. How do I paint the hub cap, or whatever it called, a perfect circle.
TIA
one method ive seen on here is to cut a hole in some masking tape and put that over, depending on the size a sharpened peice of tube and a compass could work well.
I use those green drafting templates that you can get at Staples, Michaels, A.C. Moore, etc. They make them with various shapes and sizes and I picked one up that was entirely different sized circles. Just find the right size circle and hold it against the wheel and spray away! You may want to cover the template with some tape to save the writing and grid marks, if that matters to ya. Obviously, you can make your own hub masks if you don`t like the previously described method. It should work for any scale models,tons of circles! My template was under 5 bucks…cheap enough…worth a try…good luck! Len
I always paint the hub first, then paint the tire as close to the rim as possible before applying a heavy black wash to the recesses between the two. The wash does all the work and you don’t need to mask anything.
I usually spray the hub white, then very carefully with a steady hand and a well kept brush paint the tire around the rim… I usually work in 1/48 so this works out fairly nicely.
I use a method where I thin the paint enough and load a fine pointed brush. I then carefully touch the tire rim with the brush tip. Capillary action makes the thin paint work its way around the tire rim making a perfect circle. I then use a wider brush to paint the rest of the tire with Testor’s Rubber color.
Best 3 bucks I ever spent…
I just hold the right hole (After masking the rest of the template) over the hub and shoot it…
Hans…That`s what I use…easy as pie!
[dto:] That’s my method too.
I’ve been wanting to try the circle template method…but haven’t found one yet. Might have to investigate an office supplies store one day, but for now, capillary action does me ok.
Chris.
Ugh…I just don’t have the patience to break out the messy airbrush just to paint wheels. I have to admit that painting wheels is my least favorite modeling activity, along with painting canopy framing on World War II aircraft.
I don’t airbrush wheels… I brush-paint the rubber then shoot the wheel through the template with a rattle-can…
Office supply stores like Staples or Office Depot have them, as well as about any “Mom & Pop” office store… Also, I think Wal-Mart carries them, and some grocery stores as well, in the school supplies section…
I bought my template at Hobby Lobby (along with all my straight-edges, geometric templates, triangles, squares, stencils, etc… If you have one nearby, they’ll have it back with the artist/drawing supplies… Any art supply store should have them as well if there ain’t an HL ain’t near you…