Howdy, Compadres!

I'm interested to know if anyone has tried this method I just imagined. I know that many folks have sanded flat spots on tires (tyres for our British friends) to simulate the weight of the aircraft. I also have several models where the manufacturer has included weighted tires. Which look great, and what I'm trying to achieve.

My idea is to carefully heat up some sort of iron/stove burner/etc. to heat up the plastic JUST enough to flatten AND produce the desired bulge. I realize that this method would require VERY careful heating with much control over the heat source so as NOT to over-melt and disfigure the plastic part.

I haven't tried this myself ... I only came up with the idea a few minutes before posting this. Nor have I tried You Tub. I'm not overly confuser-savvy ... I mean computer savvy - and I'm not really familiar with the workings found elsewhere on "The Web."

Thanks for stopping by!

Regards,
Jeff

Thanks, Pedro. That's pretty much what I figured to do, although I hadn't thought of adding a bit of putty. I'm not very experienced using putty. Although I've been building models since the '60s, I had a loooong stretch (Army related, then more gub-mint work after that) where I didn't do any building, so I'm just now trying to learn more advanced finishing techniques. Like putty and weathering.

Anyway, thanks for the hint. I do appreciate it!

Hi Jeff. I have tried this before. I went about it in the following way: I would draw a line on the tire that would serve as a guide as how far I want to melt the plastic tire. I used an old iron at a medium heat level which allows for more control over the forming of the bulge. if your tire consist of two halves, I would suggest filling / gluing sprue to the hollow halves of the tire before joining the halves with glue. This would stop a big hole from appearing in the bottom of your tire.