How to get "Flat" tires

[82Whitey51]

Modern aircraft (and older types too) have pretty high tire pressures. As the aircraft sits on deck, the tire area touching the tarmac will be flat on the surface...and us model geeks like that look, it looks "real". This, does not look "real"! :

I typically achieve the look by running a fresh sheet of sandpaper under the tire as it sits on a flat surface, but the risk of breaking something is high there. Yesterday I decided to try a method that a buddy of mine shared...sitting the model on a hot iron. Sounds more risky, man!

 

Well, the idea, is to set the model on a warm surface and let gravity take over...not drop your model into a deep fryer.

 

1. Set the iron up so it is level.

 

Pretty important. Improvise, adapt, overcome!  I was going to set my iron on a baking rack the wife has, but the handle of the iron was too wide...the dish drying rack on the other hand, would work fine. I selected the lowest heat setting, sat it in the rack, and leveled it... PRIOR to plugging it in! I used a couple of oven sticks to get the iron level and situated.

 

2. Place a piece of wax paper onto the iron. This keeps the wheels from sticking to the iron, and also keeps melted plastic and paint off of the iron...pretty important for tranquility in the household.

3. Plug up the iron and let it get warm.

4. Place the model onto the warm surface. (Test fit placement prior to plugging up. You want the wheels to fit onto the surface evenly and not have one falling into one of the holes. You may even want to mark the wheel placement.) Here we go...

 

My buddy likes to press lightly on the top of the model, in an even manner to get the wheels pressing down. I have a steel weight that I used in this case. Bottom line, you want to watch the wheels closely and make sure they are each "melting" evenly. It doesn't take long, and you only get one shot so be careful!

 

I left this F-15 on the surface for less than one minute. The main wheels reacted just fine under the weight, the nose I had to lightly press on to get an even flat spot.

 

 

 

I'm happy with the results, and it was easier than sanding them. The set up and prep took much longer than the process.

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2016 by 82Whitey51

[Lancer512]

Cool idea! I was doing the wheels separately on my kitchen stovetop (flat glass surface).

But your method seems to have a more uniform overall result than when trying to press each wheel more or less perpendicular onto a hot surface with your bare fingers.

[Army_Air_Force]

Clever method. You could always add blocks of wood under the wings, nose or tail, with a 0.5mm gap or however much sink you want the model to make. That way it can squash the tyres until it hits the blocks, then it can't sink any more.

[galileo1]

Great tip!  I'll definitely try this whenever it is I actually finish a model 

[82Whitey51]

17 hours ago, Lancer512 said:

Cool idea! I was doing the wheels separately on my kitchen stovetop (flat glass surface).

But your method seems to have a more uniform overall result than when trying to press each wheel more or less perpendicular onto a hot surface with your bare fingers.

Yes, a flat glass top stove would probably be easier to do it on...as long as you can keep the heat somewhat low.

I'm going to look into picking up a cheap "hot plate"  and see how that works.

[Helmsman]

There is another method once found on some Russian forum. It is similar to the iron method but uses the cooking pan with some water. The pan is heated and a wheel is lightly pressed onto the pan. Water helps prevent overheating while pan itself is hot enough to flatten the wheel. 

 

[Bob Beary]

5 hours ago, 82Whitey51 said:

Yes, a flat glass top stove would probably be easier to do it on...as long as you can keep the heat somewhat low.

I'm going to look into picking up a cheap "hot plate"  and see how that works.

 

Looks like that "trade stuff" you took at Don Bosco is finally paying off :)

[Crazy Snap Captain]

Nice one!