1/35 captured Puma - somewhere in eastern Poland in 1947

[Rick Lowe]

My problem with rubber tyres on model kits is that they deteriorate much faster than the rest of the kit &, eventually, become a sticky mess sagging off the rims.

OK, it may take 10 years to get there, but it does get there.

A similar issue  used to regularly crop up with Airfix tank tracks; melting the running gear over time.

Resin replacements are probably the best alternative, and you can quite easily model something flat - I manmaged, and if I can get there with my very basic skills, anyone can. 

[Hotte]

Großartig 

Hotte

[zenrat]

My problem with rubber tyres on model kits is that they deteriorate much faster than the rest of the kit &, eventually, become a sticky mess sagging off the rims.

OK, it may take 10 years to get there, but it does get there.

The problem is with vinyl tyres not rubber.  The plasticiser can leach out of the vinyl over time and can mark/soften plastic or eat into paint.  I've never had, or heard of, this problem with rubber tyres such as those used in japanese kits and it doesn't happen with all vinyl tyres.
Indeed I think manufacturers may have improved their materials to prevent it happening.
I have had vinyl tyres on one model eat into the paint on an adjacent model if they were touching, i've had them eat into painted rims, and i've had them stick to varnished wooden shelves (resulting to a wheel being left behind when I picked a model up).
But generally nearly all of my model car builds, dating back to 2006, have intact tyres.  None of them have become a sticky mess sagging off the rims.
I have one model with a serious deterioration issue and that is a Matchbox 1/12 Vincent motorcycle.  This build dates from about 1985 and the  tyres have "dried out", hardened, shrunk, and split.  However, other motorcycle builds from the same period still have their tyres intact.  Some are japanese kits with rubber tyres (and so will be immune) but there are others with vinyl tyres which are unaffected.

[Old Wombat]

Ah, Vinyl! Sorry, my error!


Still prefer resin, though.

[Wardukw]

I've got some rubber tyres dating back to over 30yrs old..these are AM sets I used to buy for my cars ..their still sweet ...soft and flexible.
But I also have a Takom 35th scale G6 SPG ..this thing has 6 tyres and I'm pretty sure their vinyl as I had it sitting on the trailer of my Hobbyboss M1070 tank transporter and when I went to move it it was stuck to the trailer 😳 😅
And I mean stuck...took some force to remove it 😆
Now it sits on a dusty shelf so it won't stick to anything else.
One weird problem was with the old Tamiya LRDG Chev SAS truck ..those tyres always split and I'll bet other who built this donkeys yrs ago had the same problem.
I've had plenty of tank tracks which just falls to bits over time .
Oh I remembered I've got the entire lower hull ..wheels and suspension from a Dragon Puma I scored for a song of Trademe..it had no upper hull or turret.
But it's got 16 wheels..two different types.

[Rick Lowe]

Phill, have you seen the build where someone put a 251 hull onto a 234 chassis? They still used the 234 engine deck though, and fenders, so if they're not there, probably not much use to you.

[chrisonord]

That is excellent

[Wardukw]

Rick even tho i havent seen the machine you mentioned i have seen quite a few other ideas using the 8 Rad chassis ...ie got the chassis for the Puma ..a Dragon one but has no upper hull so i have ideas ,,i have the Tamiya rerelease of the Italeri 6 Rad and ive got the upper hull of a 250 and 251 half tracks   

Something weird is probably going to happen   

[Old Wombat]

Something weird is probably going to happen   

And?

You say write that as though it's something unusual!

[rickshaw]

I think you need to invest in some twine to represent the rope usually used to tie packs/bundles onto vehicles.