A slow, dry tire death.

So recently I moved from a very humid climate to a rather dry one.

Now, my rubber tires are splitting on some of my models. The models affected are the ones wearing the Fujimi Pirelli P7s, which is a lot of my cars since they're the only 15" tires readily available and I use them on most of my Hondas.

Is there anything I can do to combat this? It looks terrible!

So recently I moved from a very humid climate to a rather dry one.

Now, my rubber tires are splitting on some of my models. The models affected are the ones wearing the Fujimi Pirelli P7s, which is a lot of my cars since they're the only 15" tires readily available and I use them on most of my Hondas.

Is there anything I can do to combat this? It looks terrible!
oil?

oil?

No, oil destroys rubber, glycerin might help but it is doubtable since it only makes some kind of "shirt" over the rubber. I have the same problem even thou I don't live in dry area. I am afraid it is inevitable, but maybe I am wrong :lol: .

Is there anything I can do to combat this? It looks terrible!
Air conditioning for your display cabinet? Keep them in a cigar humidor? ;)

More seriously, how about making some resin copies/replacements?

Painted resin CAN look very convincing IMHO. I copied and painted a tire for my 2CV build and it is virtually impossible to tell it apart from the original rubber tire.

My 2cents

This is the first time I have heard of this problem. A real bummer for people living in those kinds of climates :(

Buy an aquarium?! ;)

If I may ask, how dry? Because I live in a very dry place and have no problem. Are you in the desert?
I have a problem with my metal figurines all flaking, but that's because I cleaned the cabinet with too strong a solver and shut the door.

how do you combat this issue on a REAL car?

Armourall! seriously, Ive been using real car tire care products on my vinyl tires for YEARS (like 15 of them) and I have yet to see a cracked tire. it won't repair them, but it will prolong the life.

A tip that a panel-beater gave me for restoring "tired" (matte, grey,etc) black body trim and tyres.

Mix 3 parts lacquer thinners and 1 part clean engine oil, and wipe on. The plastic trim and tyres are petro-chemical products, and the engine oil "feeds" it somehow. The thinners will flash off, leaving a surface that doesn't attract dust.

Try it on your real car - it works (and I suspect it might revive your kit wheels too).

Graham

Is there anything I can do to combat this? It looks terrible!

Do you have pics so I can envy your weather?

is it splitting in the middle, where the two halves of the tyre come together? or is it something totally different?

the oli

Air conditioning for your display cabinet? Keep them in a cigar humidor? ;)

More seriously, how about making some resin copies/replacements?

Painted resin CAN look very convincing IMHO. I copied and painted a tire for my 2CV build and it is virtually impossible to tell it apart from the original rubber tire.

My 2cents

This is the first time I have heard of this problem. A real bummer for people living in those kinds of climates :(
I live in the UK & have quite a few old Italeri car kits where the tyres have split.

I agree with your suggestion about resin though, & I actually think painted resin tyres look much better than most shiny vinyl ones!

Keef

I've been applying low gloss armorall for years and have had less problems with the tires. i'll not take any bets on their condition in another 10 years though.
split: goes from an "O" to a "C". i've had a couple fall into several pieces.

So recently I moved from a very humid climate to a rather dry one.

Now, my rubber tires are splitting on some of my models. The models affected are the ones wearing the Fujimi Pirelli P7s, which is a lot of my cars since they're the only 15" tires readily available and I use them on most of my Hondas.

Is there anything I can do to combat this? It looks terrible!

It is probably not the change in climate that has affected your tires. Most residential and commercial air conditioning systems work to maintain a 50% relative humidity level irregardless of where you live, so if you keep your models indoors then they should be experiencing the same indoor conditions no matter where you live.

Relacement seems the best option. If you can't remove the rims from the model remove the old tires by carefully cutting them away with a brand new blade. Then take your new tires and heat them up well with a hair dryer or food dehydrator. A heated tire will expand making it easy to slip onto the rims. Once they cool they will be secure on the rim just as if they were press fit in the usual manner.

Making resin copies is another good idea, but you'll have to seal the original prototype tire to ensure the rtv rubber will cure properly. Vinyl and rubber will slow the curing process of rtv rubber touching them. Better yet, make a hard mold and cast rtv rubber tires!

i have the same problem with my pirelli p7s, it gets cracks perpendicular to the sidewall. looks ugly in the model. :( the 17" pirelli pzeros and dunlop denlocs of fujimi(the tamiya pzeros and bridgetones cracked too) are still good(10 years in shelf) but the 15" low profile pirellis and advans have cracks and are splitting...


im gonna try the tips suggested here to prolong the tire life