CB Model Products

Scale Aircraft Wheel Sander

Available from cbmodelproducts@hotmail.com for $25.00

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Dec 10 2010

 

This new Tool from CB Model Products is a Scale Aircraft Wheel Sander.  This is a tool that is long overdue as far as I'm concerned.  Modellers have been sanding the tires flat on their model kits for quite a while to get that added level of realism, but it has always been something that has been less than accurate, especially on tires with landing gear that are on an angle such as the Bf-109.  This tool comes with a variety of rubber washers of different sizes to protect the delicate detail on the side of your wheels.  For this article I used a 1/48 Hasegawa F/A-18 tire wheel, which will give you an idea of the size of this tool. 

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You simple sandwich the wheel/tire between the rubber washers and slip it into the clamp and finger tighten the brass nuts.  Now you attach a piece of 320 grit wet and dry sandpaper to your work surface with white glue or spray adhesive.  Apply a little bit of water to the sandpaper to keep the dust under control (resin dust is very bad for your lungs).  Another possible option might be to thumbtack a longer stripe of sand paper to  a scrap piece of wood on your work surface.  The sand paper must remain perfectly flat for best results.  Now flip the tool over and begin sliding the wheel back and forth on the sand paper.  I've made a simple little video below to demonstrate.

But that is not all....say you're working on an aircraft like the Bf-109 that has landing gear legs that aren't perfectly vertical.....no problem.  You insert the wheel into this tool and loosen the big black knob and rotate the clamp holding the tire until you get the correct angle for your landing gear.  Then tighten the big black nut and begin sanding.  This ability to sand the bottom side of a tire at a certain angle is something most of us just can't accurately eyeball.  But with this tool you will have no problem getting your tires sanding perfectly every time.

I like this tool very much......it is very sturdy being made from Machined aluminum and should last for decades.  This tool takes an often hit and miss task and will give you accurate results every time.  That makes it a valuable tool in my opinion.

You can buy this tool directly from CB Model Products at cbmodelproducts@hotmail.com 

Steve Bamford

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford