Building the "standard" wheels

[Wtshark]

I am finishing up pack 4, and building the wire wheel as part of the assembly process, this is the second wheel assembly, and I am half-way through. This seemed to be a bit easier than the first, though I still have to do it in 2 parts, (front section first, a break, then the back section). My eyes get a bit too tired. I see pack 5 has the third wheel build, so as I finish this one in the next couple of days, I'll (and assume the rest of us) will be half way through the wheel building.

I find I have to zen myself out a bit and just relax, enjoying the process, rather than getting frustrated at the spokes, which rarely seem to "want" to cooperate. As a model builder on YT said, "that's model building", with an image of a tiny part pinging out of tweezers and sailing across the room, never to be found again presumably. 

I hope the rest of you are finding this build as enjoyable as I am. 

[Jo.Mora]

In parallel, I am currently building the Bugatti 57SC form IXO Collection...  My thoughts on the IXO spoke wheels; Although they are larger than those on the DB5, the quality and consistency (size wise and finish) of each individual spoke is not as good as Agora's. This is probably why they do include a few extra spokes for each step. Nonetheless, I had to "modify" several of them to make them fit. The rest of the kit is truly amazing though! They also do include an "easy wheel" option in the kit if you don't have the patience... 😉

Seeing this, I can only salute the work done by Agora on their spoke wheels and how well they come together when compared to other manufacturers...

[Wtshark]

That is amazing, that model looks great, given the differences in technology and wheel building for the times, that wheel looks great, even with your issues, your skill seems to override it. 

I agree, adding a few extra spokes (as we've discussed on previous posts) would be nice. Knowing, if I lose even 1 spoke, I'll have to either order more, or follow your lead and fabricate one out of a sewing needle, (that's still pretty amazing btw). Slow and steady wins the race, using our fingers to set, mount and thread the spokes into the wheel, then using tweezers to manipulate, cajole, harass, etc. them into their final place seems to be the key. My trouble is my fingers seem to stick to every other spoke, knocking them out of position as I insert the next, and I wind up chasing the rabbit around and round, replacing/resetting the previously installed spokes.... as I said previously, deep breath and ZEN. 😅

This morning I tackle the front of the wheel and the remaining 48 spokes, wish me luck

[Wtshark]

And done, went ok, I made a mistake, threading a "B" spoke through the same diamond as an "A" spoke, and that took a few minutes figuring out how to undo it. But, once it was done, the wheel was finished and the tire went on easier, using near boiling water, it made the tire a bit more pliable. 

[Jo.Mora]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:16 AM, Wtshark said:

That is amazing, that model looks great, given the differences in technology and wheel building for the times, that wheel looks great, even with your issues, your skill seems to override it. 

I agree, adding a few extra spokes (as we've discussed on previous posts) would be nice. Knowing, if I lose even 1 spoke, I'll have to either order more, or follow your lead and fabricate one out of a sewing needle, (that's still pretty amazing btw). Slow and steady wins the race, using our fingers to set, mount and thread the spokes into the wheel, then using tweezers to manipulate, cajole, harass, etc. them into their final place seems to be the key. My trouble is my fingers seem to stick to every other spoke, knocking them out of position as I insert the next, and I wind up chasing the rabbit around and round, replacing/resetting the previously installed spokes.... as I said previously, deep breath and ZEN. 😅

This morning I tackle the front of the wheel and the remaining 48 spokes, wish me luck

Nice work! I feel the struggle here to... my fingers aren't as agile as they used to. 😒Do, oups! Undo, redo, DAM! Redo... 😭But when finished, 👌

[Wtshark]

15 hours ago, Jo.Mora said:

Nice work! I feel the struggle here to... my fingers aren't as agile as they used to. 😒Do, oups! Undo, redo, DAM! Redo... 😭But when finished, 👌

Thank you so much, I have admired yours as well. 

Ha ha, Yes! Do, undo, redo, redo again, take a break. Glad I'm not the only one who appreciates the struggle. 😁  As this is my first 1/6 scale model, and my first model in the last 20 years, it's been fun to build. Frustration does visit, but as long as I stop, remember why I am building this, it does stay fun and if it isn't fun, what's the point? 

I am looking forward to part 5, which I received email has been shipped, I was thinking I may skip directly to building the 3rd wheel, since I just built one with some relative ease and it's fresh. We'll see when it arrives. I'm also looking forward to more photos of your build (they're excellent inspiration), so thanks for sharing!