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"Balancing
Act"
Adding Wheel
Weights For A Subtle Detail
by Tim Bongard
WARNINGS:
All Model Car Crafstman How-To articles are intended for adult modelers only. Children should be supervised at all times when using any of these techniques.
Always wear eye protection when doing any modeling.
Use caution with tools and use proper protection from any chemicals or compounds, in accordance with manufacturer specifications.
Wheel weights add an interesting dimension to any model car. This is especially true
if the wheels are a color other than chrome, so the weights can be seen very clearly.
These
are also very easy to use.
Try Detail Master Wheel Weights (DM 2100) - Order them at the Detail Master Website Here
Photo #1 - Again, back the tree with masking tape to keep from
losing small wheel weights
as they are cut.
Start once again by trimming
away most of the unneeded metal sprue. Then back the
tree with masking tape as in photo #1. With the tape in place and trimmed, cut the weight
from the tree. Before doing this however, you might want to give some thought to which
wheels you are putting them on. This may sound funny, but if you are adding them to a
Hasegawa Sauber Mercedes or Silk Cut Jaguar, you may find that cutting the weight off at
the tree leaves you plenty to mount the weight. However, if you are adding these to a
Monogram NASCAR race car kit, you may find you want a longer mounting tab. This all
has to do with the way the tires sit on the kit wheels and the thickness of the wheel rim
itself.
At any rate, you can actually make the tab longer by cutting the tree differently. Try
this.
Photo #2 - Some wheels may require longer tabs. To do this, first
cut the tree like so...
Pick the weight you want and
back the tree with masking tape as you normally
would, then cut the tree as shown in photo #2. Repeat the step as in photo #3 so that the
tab
is elongated by the way you cut the tree.
Photo #3 - ... and finish cutting across the tree to give you an
extra long tab for those super
fat wheels. When you have the tab at the desired length, hold the weight
with your pliers and
fold the tab over as in photo #4. Then apply a spot of glue and slide the weights into
place on
your finished wheels.
Photo #4 - Instead of trying to hold the tab in the jaws of the
pliers, try holding the wheel
weight and folding the tab.
The weights can be
further enhanced by adding some thickness to them with a spot
of glue. Once dried, the glue can be painted with a flat aluminum or metal paint to
replicate
the look of real wheel weights.
- end of article -
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