bigtrak Painting Wheel Rim Modification

Hey, we Brits take our toys very seriously. We cannot have a toy without wheel rims... It is just not according to our high British specification standards... Jeeves, launch a letter of protest to the Royal Society for toys immediately! :-)

I decided to use a silver paint instead of chrome because I think chrome would be too shiny and look like plastic painted in chrome, however, matt silver that is not too shiny and gives the impression of metal. Without the side braces, it appears more like the Mars Rover Curiosity. This is the "in" thing these days. Everybody wants an autonomous intelligent rover, and this is the look I was trying to achieve.

Here is a modification that almost everyone can make. Painting the inner part of the wheel silver is very easy. I used packing tape to mask the tyre.

There is the plastic rim, which is ideal to use as a guide. I made sure that the tape was firmly stuck into the corner groove.

Then I used a sharp blade to cut along the rim edge. Please note, using a blade can be dangerous. Do not use a blade if you are not over the age of 21. You must be experienced to use a blade, and have parental supervision.

Once you have cut along the edge, you should see something like this. It is now ready to be spray-painted. A couple of coats of paint ought to do it, perhaps finishing off with a gloss as well. However, if you make it too shiny, it might look like plastic painted in silver.

Here is one I prepared earlier... In the time honoured Blue Peter style... :-)

Interestingly, the centre tyres are the only ones that connect to the gearbox drive shaft. They are the only ones that drive the toy. The front and rear tyres behave as stabilisers. Whilst all the tyres are made of hard plastic, the only rubber found will be in these O-rings on the centre tyres.

The side braces were also painted silver to give the impression of metal. It seems to have more weight now. However, the braces make it appear more like a tank, than a rover does. The side braces are very useful because you can mount small micro switches on them to detect when the toy hits the wall.

This Article Continues...