Will Tamiya tires melt plastic too?

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

I have an old Saladin kit by Tamiya. Are there any reactions with the tires VS the plastic rims I should know about and any precautions I need to do?

Thanks!

2

Not sure but in the recent issue of FSM, a tip was giving to entirely paint the rims before installing the tires. The paint will, hopefully, act as a barrier between the vinyl and the plastic. I have a Tamiya M20 I did this on some years ago and have had no problems.

-Jesse

3

The old Saladin tyres are a rubber compound and don’t react with styrene . I have some installed on a much improved Saladin which must be 30 yrs old and still OK. However , the material used in the LRDG truck tyres , a much newer model, is some form of vinyl and this will cause problems .Mine split within a year.

4

Thanks for the advice guys, that’s good to know. [:D]

I guess I’m out of luck on AM products so I need to figure out what tanks shared the main gun and see if there is an aluminum barrel for it.

5

I’ve got an ancient LRDG Chevy truck with vinyl tires, no melting after 30 years.

6

If you are trying to improve the old Saladin ,I would suggest you try and obtain the Tamiya M113 Fire Support Vehicle , which is an Australian variant ussing a Saladin turret on a M113 APC. The turret is far superior to one in the armoured car kit which is a caricature . The gun is OK ,you won’t need a metal one . If you still want a metal barrel , the Revell 1/35 Scorpion has one , the gun is a close relative of the Scorpion’s.

7

I have been modelling for quite a long time now and I never had problems with Tamiya vinyl tires. Never painted the rims either.

8

THANK YOU for the tips! [bow]

9

Panther F

If you would like to see how the M113 FSV turret looks, check my thread here: /forums/1020760/ShowPost.aspx

There were a few tweaks, I added the right side antenna mounr, front lifting rings, wiring for the smoke grenade launchers and the “canvas” cover for the mantlet sleeve. [:)]

The kit is widely available and pretty cheap.

10

Nice build Phil, and thanks for the link! I’m tracking a kit down now, probably go for two since the Fire Support Vehicle looks so good too.

11

I’ve only had TWO kits in 40 years that had this problem and BOTH were aircraft and from AMT, their 1/48th F7F-3 and F7F-3N Tigercats… The vinyl tires were quite soft and pliable (almost felt like a gel), and did indeed soften the hubs (I recast a set of each from resin)… I’ve never had any plastic “softenings” on kits (auto, armor, or aircraft), that use the “hard” vinyl tires…