1:35 U.S. Bantam - MiniArt

1:35 U.S. Bantam wheel masking set (Quickwheel, for the MiniArt kit)

A masking sheet for painting the wheels of the American Bantam light reconnaissance car in 1:35 scale. It is neither a kit nor a replacement wheel, but an accessory that separates the tire from the rim during painting. The cutouts are cut for the wheels from the MiniArt kit. Unlike tracked vehicles, these are genuine road wheels with a full sidewall, so the border between the colors counts for even more.

Painting tire lettering and sidewalls

On a wheeled vehicle the sidewall of the tire is clearly visible and offers scope that the road wheels of a tank do not. New rubber has a sidewall slightly richer and smoother than the tread; worn rubber, by contrast, is bleached out toward gray and dusty. It therefore pays to shade the basic dark color: keep the tread darker and lighten the sidewall with a dry brush or a light breath of a paler shade from the top down. Raised lettering on the sidewall, where the mold carries it, is best picked out with a dry brush and light gray paint drawn across the relief. Repainting individual letters by hand at this scale is pointless; it only produces merged blotches. The alternative is a thin dark wash that runs into the recesses and lifts the lettering out of the shadow. Leave the border between rim and tire to the mask and come back to the sidewall only after unmasking, so the effects are not wiped away.

Procedure

Clear the wheels of seams, degrease them, paint the rim, mask once it has dried and spray the tire color in thin coats. Unmask while the paint has flashed off, and only then do the sidewall and the lettering.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the Bantam light reconnaissance car in 1:35 scale
• Modelers who want a clean border between rim and tire
• Those who take wheels through to the detail, sidewalls included
• Anyone whose hand-lined tires do not come out right

A painting accessory, not a kit. Paints and thinners are not included in the package.