Tire Stencil

[Matt Wadlinger]

I found this stencil for the tires. It has a bunch of different Goodyear and Eagle shapes and sizes. If we went with Brians Idea to sand of the markings, and paint the letters on, there should be a size/shape on here to work.

http://www.mshobbies.com/servlet/Detail?no=294

[Zoom Zoom]

After trying some of Accu-Stion's templates, I'd have to say these might be even more difficult/frustrating to use.

We attempted to use some similar templates (even larger) and had no luck on the sanded tires. The only reasonably sane way to get tire stencils to look right is if the stencil covers the entire tire, and has locators attached so the tire is centered under the stencil (like Tamiya's). Otherwise you'll need nine hands working all at once that are more adept than a surgeon's to get them in the right place and taped down and then you'll be doing a lot of masking on every tire. It's exhausting just to think about it; again the idea is seems good but the actual execution ruins those type of stencils. Maybe someone can dab the paint on w/a sponge, but in 1/24 scale that kind of thing gets obnoxious fast.

I vote decals. The dry transfer ones we tried were also a nightmare, the tire is far too soft and wobbly to get the dry transfer to stick. The decals were definitely the easiest solution. We have a ton of them available, and maybe Clay can add smaller ones like the GT40 has on the custom decal sheet.

[DrBob]

Do you gloss coat the wheels, apply decals then flat finish??

Can someone post a close up of the wheels?? Does the black go into the groove between the spoke and the rim?? Do you run a thin wash in there?

[Matt Wadlinger]

Dr. Bob - Here is a close-up of the wheels and tires. I painted the black on mine and then shot the whole wheel with Acryl Flat clear.

http://images16.fotki.com/v298/photos/4/431166/3118108/DSCF6972-vi.jpg

[Ferrarifreak]

Hey guys, I haven't done mine yet on this kit. But if I may offer up my suggestion as to my process i've always used on my nascar tires. Bob's right on the stencil idea. I've used one of them many times on the older nascar tires and they are simply very difficult to use and get it just right. I managed to hit it right one day and painted up a box full of them just so I wouldn't have to do it again. After some experimenting with the decals i've got them figured out much easier. After sanding the treads, just slightly scuff up the sidewalls then wash them good. After drying, lightly mist coat gloss LAQUER over them. After that dries, apply decal and blot properly. Once that has dried well, lightly mist coat once again the gloss LAQUER. After drying time, begin to lightly mist coat DULLCOAT LAQUER. After mist coating a couple times to dull dow the sheen, you can use your judgement as to how dull you want them. The trick is to not put anymore on than needed because as you press the wheel into the tire it will begin to crack the coating so you must be very careful. I have even done the tire and wheel assembly together to prevent this. Which may be the trick here because of the flexibility of these tires. Just be careful as to putting the laquers over any acrylic or enamels you may have used on the wheel if you use this process. The key thing is to seal the decal in GLOSS then begin to dull down the sheen. This will keep the decal carrier from bleeding and showing around the edge of the decal. Just one of my methods for what it's worth.
Danny.