1
1: Out-of-scale wheels and tires can ruin the look of a nice
model car on the layout, but it's difficult to find parts to
improve an otherwise accurate model.
Herpa 051262 Auto Tires w/Sport Rims.
Herpa 052108 Wheels with Fulda Tires
Herpa 052184 Wheels w/Dunlop Tires
Alloy Forms 3072 Small Truck Tires (no wheels).
Durango Press 93 Auto Tires (12) Cast Metal (no wheels)
Promotex 5358 Truck Tires, package of 50
Rietze 70086 wide low profile truck tires
– MRH
You can get most of these at
by mail
order. You could make wheels out of plastic disks if you're not
looking for anything fancy.
Another spot for truck tires and wheels in newer styles is
Try big box-stores and swap meets for cheap toys that scale
out close, and take the wheels and tires. Hot Wheels are a
possibility but they are often oversized. Another are vehicles
manufactured by Yatming, especially trucks. Check for who is
the manufacturer. They come in all sorts of product names.
A couple of other places to search:
lists Athearn highway trucks in kit form.
They also offer spoke, 2-hole, and 5-hole wheel and tire sets for
heavy trucks, and stock parts from Promotex and Trucks n' Stuff.
makes many trucks and cars from
the 1930s through the early '60s but do not list parts for
separate sale.
lists some
wheel accessory kits, as well as inexpensive Model Power and
Motor Max cars that could “donate” wheels to other projects –
unless these are the cars and trucks you want to improve. One
listing is River Point Station HO 537525078 Highway wheel set,
painted matte silver.
Thanks to David for sharing his experience and stash of parts
numbers. Do readers have any more ideas?
Sticky trees
Q.
Can someone out there tell me how to stop ground foam
from sticking to tree trunks? The entire tree (2) from top to
bottom gets covered with spray adhesive and dusted with
foam. I'm not using furnace filter, just individual branches, so
the trunk is very exposed.
– John in Australia
A.
Cascade Bob says the green foam on the trunks looks like
moss that often grows on trees.
Joe Atkinson likes the moss look too, but had the same concerns
in making his own trees. He sprayed the tree with hair spray and
rolled it in the leaf material instead of sprinkling leaves on the
tree form. He then sprayed it a second time, held the tree on its
side, and sprinkled leaf material on the edge, rotating the tree as
he went. That way, the leaves fell on the perimeter branches and
never on the trunk.
Rob Spangler suggested adding foliage to the branches before
Questions, Answers & Tips - 2
MRH-Aug 2013
