250 GTO Pack 5 - Stage 31. Front right wheel 1.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 31 gives us the front right wheel, which is identical to the front left wheel.

Start by placing the inner wheel rim on the jig.  There is a pin on the jig that goes in a hole in the rim.

Place the plastic hub type B on the centre of the jig.

Now press the type A hub in position.  There is no alignment pin, and you will probably need to rotate it a little to get good spoke alignment.  More on that later.

When I started assembling the spokes I found that some of them were difficult to insert in the hub.  So I ran a 0.5mm drill through each hole in the hub which cleared out the odd bur and made the spokes easier to insert.

Start inserting the spokes (type B spokes) so that they lay on the rim neatly.  Insert the spokes in the bottom row on holes, and leave a hole between each spoke.

Looks like this from the top.

Carry on until you have completed the layer on spokes.

The instructions suggest either using double sided tape or glue to hold the spoke in position while you assemble the wheel.  I chose to use PVA glue since it is flexible as will allow the spokes to move a little.  I wouldn't use superglue; it's too rigid for this application.

Now start fitting the second layer of spokes (type A spokes).  These are inserted in the top row of holes, immediately to the left of the first set of spokes.

Complete the layer of spokes.  Now you may need to twist the hub slightly to get nice even triangular pattern in the spokes.  

Take the spoke retainer ring and note the arrows on this and the rim to help align the spoke retainer.

Carefully place the retainer over the spokes making sure the arrows still line up.  Press it home carefully then check each spoke to ensure that none of them have jumped out.  They can be put back with a pair of tweezers of necessary.  No need to remove the retainer ring.

The retainer ring isn't glued so store the wheel carefully.

This completes the stage.