Wheel sets for military vehicle models replace two-piece plastic mouldings with one-piece castings that look like tyres carrying weight. Resin and 3D-printed sets for wheeled armour, trucks and halftracks reproduce the tread pattern, the sidewall markings and, most importantly, the flattening where rubber meets the ground, so the vehicle finally sits on its wheels instead of balancing on them. Scales run from 1:72 up to 1:16; below we go through how to identify the right set for your kit and how to fit it cleanly.
A plastic wheel comes as two halves, which leaves a seam straight across the tread. On an aggressive off-road pattern that seam is close to impossible to clean up. A cast wheel is a single piece: the tread runs unbroken, the sidewall carries moulded lettering, and a weighted or sagged version has the underside flattened and the sidewalls bulged exactly as the vehicle's mass deforms them. Under-inflated and shot-out versions are made as well, for dioramas where a vehicle has had a bad day.
One thing worth saying plainly: these are wheels for military vehicles, meaning armoured personnel carriers, staff cars, halftracks and heavy tractors. Tyres for civilian car models have their own category in the Cars branch.
Sets are designed around specific kits, and the listing names the vehicle and the tooling they suit. Hub diameter and axle spacing will not necessarily transfer, so check both before ordering.
The same vehicle ran on several tyre types during its service life, and road and cross-country treads are told apart at a glance. Photographs of the unit you are modelling are the only reliable guide.
Saw the casting off its pour block, sand the stub flush and seat the wheel on a drop of cyanoacrylate. The flattened section always faces down, which sounds obvious until you are halfway through an eight-wheeled carrier. That is why it pays to fit the wheels in sequence on a flat surface.
Match wheels to a subject in 1:35 military vehicle kits and the other scales beside it. Every other kind of upgrade waits under military vehicle detail sets.
