I know that I have read somewhere, a magazine article or in this or some other forum about a paint that military modelers use for their vehicle tires. Tires really aren’t solid black. The paint is made by a brand not often used by model railroaders like AK Interactive or MIG. But I’ve looked at their websites and not found a color that is labeled for tires. I’ve tried searching this forum but I get flooded with irrelevant ‘hits’.
Does anyone know of such a paint?
Thanks,
Jeff
Vallejo Panzer Aces paint line.
#306 Dark Rubber
#305 Light Rubber
These are what I would suggest.
-Kevin
That might be it. Thanks.
Before Vallejo came out with the Panzer Aces paint, I used Vallejo Model Color number 995, Dark German Camoflage Gray for rubber, and it looked very good.
Just another option.
-Kevin
I use flat black acrylic paint, which gives the color and flat surface I want. Tires and wheels are tiny, and at my age I have found that I get the best results with a small, fine brush and a magnifying lamp. I bought the magnifying lamp for electrical wiring, but have found I use it mostly for painting.
I found some Testor’s “Rubber” paint at a now-gone hobbyshop. Initially, I thought it to be from Pactra, due to the shape of the bottle. It’s a brownish-black solvent-based paint. Seems to have pretty good shelf life, and thins with lacquer thinner when needed. I use it only with a brush, as I’ve no interest in masking wheels and vehicles for airbrushing tires.
I also use black for tires, usually Pollyscale, but I’m not fussy…once the vehicles are on the layout, it’s hard to tell which paint was used.
Wayne
https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/81785/index.htm
I think Rapido also makes a rubber black colour. Nope, just “grimy black” which might look ok.
Vallejo recently added a tire color paint to the line.
shane
Testor’s “Rubber” is a dark brown, and does not look good for modern tires.
I have been given two explanations for why Testors Rubber is not black/gray in colour.
It is not intended for tires, but for rubber parts that actually were dark brown.
In World War 1 and 2, tires on many military vehicles were made from a dark brown rubber compound.
I do not know if either is true. The lack of colour pictures from WW2 leads to all kinds of debates.
I painted my USA Army for WW2 with “Gas Paint” roundels, and you should hear the debates about the “correct” colour of American gas paint that I have started. I just used Dulux colored decal film because I had it on hand. I made zero attempt to be accurate.
Do you know which of their paint lines? I just did a quick search and did not find it.
Not even Mega-Hobby has it yet.
Thanks.
-Kevin
Hello All,
Another option would be to make your own.
Begin with a quantity of black and add a drop of white.
After mixing throughly do a small test on the back of the wheel.
Keep notes on how many drops you added.
When I mix paints I use small clear plastic paint containers. These are available at most hobby supply stores.
I mark a line for the initial quantity of base paint and then note how many drops of the other colors so I can reproduce it at a later date.
Hope this helps.
Grimey black works for me.
I’ve seen suggestions to add a touch of dark blue to the flat black to give a more rubber look.
Real tires are made black by addition of carbon black to the various substances that now make a “rubber” tire.
Natural rubber is creamy white and tires not coloured with carbon black could look quite brown. Vulcanizing cooks the rubber whether natural or synthetic. I remember when old worn tires looked distinctly brown black. Now old tires look slightly blue black. Maybe there’s a whole new “transition era” to explore …l
Tires are most definitely not “black” but as one poster puts it albeit more succinctly: in HO at the normal viewing distance who notices the subtle shades of flat “black” tires?
Hello All,
It’s amazing how many shades of “black” there are.
Adding blue might not give the black a blue-ish shade. Adding yellow might.
The key to mixing any “custom” color is documentation.
When talking about colors I am referencing the primary colors; red, yellow, & blue.
Secondary colors can be produced by mixing the primary colors.
Tints can be achieved by adding white while shades are made by adding black.
The OP might begin with blue and add black to achieve the right shade.
Or…
Use white to represent “fresh” white walls. Even white walls age and become tan over time.
A color wheel, also available at most hobby supply stores, can help when mixing custom colors.
I’ve seen many modelers paint rack containing tens of bottles of paint.
For some, this is not an issue. I learned early on that with the 3 primary colors along with white and black any color is achievable.
Ready to paint colors are great, don’t get me wrong.
With a little trial and error you can achieve any color you desire- -and some you might not.
Hope this helps.
Good advice, saves time and aggravation. Along with notes I also keep some labeled samples of mixed colors on white index cards for future reference and comparison.
Regards, Peter
Hello All,
Some folks use scrap pieces of styrene as the paint might dry to a different color on more porous paper or card stock.
That being said, if you are painting card stock then your tip is spot on!
I am in the final stages of finishing a kitbash of the Walthers Northern Light & Power kit.
The two kits were molded with slightly different colors of brick red. When putting the two kits together the difference was obvious.
To get the brick facades a uniform color they were painted with rattle can red auto primer, being careful to use light coats so as not to hide the brick detail.
I wanted the sills, lintels, and capstones to be a granite color.
To achieve this I began with a base of white, added 5 drops of black and 2 drops of blue. In the jar it looked right.
Doing a test, on an unseen painted section, after drying it was too gray.
I added 2 more drops of blue. After it dried it was the color I was looking for.
Yes, cards or chips can be a great reference but sometimes you need to do a test run to determine the final look.
Hope this helps.
I painted some tires on military vehicles in the past. Grimy black was too pale to my eyes. I prefer a darker black - not totally black although new tires will be very dark coming out of the factory. A warm black is what I would go for. You could mix someting like 2 parts black with 1 part white, add a bit of black to your taste, and try it on the the inside of a tire on the model. I would use craft paints for this. Wait a few minutes and see if you like the result. I always test things on the invisible part of the model first.
Simon
I do not know if this is the correct answer. I have Vallejo ‘Model Air’ #71.315 TIRE BLACK. Acrylic. The ‘Model Air’ paint bottle has a black cap the ‘Model Color’ bottle has a white cap, at least mine do.
On my ‘rubber tired’ construction&n