HI,

New here and recently back into modeling at the ripe old age of 40. I've recently purchased an Academy SturmgeschutzIV and am a little daunted by painting the track wheels,there are 16 plus the spline spindles.

I've read most people seem to build the model leaving the track wheels off untill painted. What is the best way to paint the black rims on the track wheels? I've tried to find paint masks but have had no luck. Secondly I love the rust look from some bolts how best to achieve this? Oil paints or mig pigments? Any tips greatly appreciated. I'm keen to do a good job and learn the tricks of the trade.

Many Thanks

Hi,

there are various ways of painting those rims. It depends a bit on the wheel itself. If there is a raised edge between the rubber and the steel, hand painting with a brush is the fastes way. If there is no little edge, you could make a template by cutting out a circle with a pair of compasses. Just replace the pencil with a steel tip. I did this with my 48 Tiger wheels and it worked great and fast. For this method you need to have an airbrush ofcourse. First spray the rims black, then lay the template over the wheel and spray the wheel.

For the rust you could use anything, it depends on what technique you prefer. Remember that MIG pigmets are basically oil paint without the oil A little MIG rust and some dark oil paint wash always gives a neat effect.

I wish you good luck

A black permanent marker can work for rubber on tank wheels, followed by some dullcoat to remove the shine.

Andy

Guy thanks for the advice, I shall give it a go.

I paint them by hand ,a stug should have the small ridge as a guide,it is tedious though.

I usually go with the magic marker method. Sharpies are great for this as they come in several different widths. If I hand paint i find something to stick in the axle hole, like a Q-tip or piece of sprue. Then I just rotate the wheel while I hold the paint brush stationary.

I've never tried the template method before but will someday. If you don't want to make your own template, you can always go with a drafting template like this one TEMPLATE. They come in several sizes, are reuseable and available at most office supply stores.

I really want to say how cool it is that everyone is soo helpful on here.

I have now tried the marker method but in the spirit of letting everyone know how it went I may have made a serious mistake. I used sharpies and it looked great clearly a shiny finish so decided to use a finish of Tamiya X-20 thinners and XF-22 Base to flatten the whole thing OOOOOPPPPPPS, luckily I only did it on 2 wheels the ink from the pens turned completely blue I tried again with just the XF-22 base and the same thing happaned. So I have now handpainted all 16 using the rotation methods, I simply used a cocktail stick with a bit of tape on the end to hold the wheel.

I presume I should have used a matt varnish with the pen finish, but haven't tested this.

You live and learn and actually the wheel s look really nice now.

Good to hear your wheels came out okay. Hand painting can be tedious but when done right does look good. As for the matte finish I use Testor's Dullcote in a rattle can and it never has affected the color when using a Sharpie. I've never tried Tamiya base as a matte coat, but if you want to continue using it after using a Sharpie, then maybe coat the wheels with Future first.

Mauserman,

Thats a good point about using future, I should have thought of that, it's been a great learning experience though and thanks again for the advice. The sharpies are easy to use as you said, i'm building another tank alongside this so will give it another go using the felt tip technique.