T-55 Damaged Roadwheels
T-55 Roadwheels with Raised Ribs

Trakz
(A Division of the VLS Corporation)

Reviewed by Brett Green

Trakz has released two sets of replacement road wheels for the fabulous new Tamiya 1/35 scale T-55:

TX 0076 T-55 Damaged Roadwheels

This set comprises a full set of roadwheels with the inner and outer wheels supplied as separate parts - 20 parts in all. The breakdown of the wheels is identical to the items in the Tamiya kit, and the Tamiya polythene caps fit perfectly between the inner and outer wheels. This means that the resin wheels may be press-fitted to the kit axles after the hull, tracks and wheels have been painted.

The tyres on Trakz' roadwheels are fairly heavily "damaged", suggesting a destroyed or abandoned vehicle. There are at least five unique "damage" designs on the wheels, so you won't notice any repetitive pattern when the tyres are fitted to the vehicle and rotated to different positions.

Each wheel is connected to a small casting block. I used a pair of side cutters to initially free the wheels from the resin block, then sliced off the excess resin with a sharp hobby knife, and finally sanded the circumference of the tyres with a coarse sanding stick. This clean-up process only took a minute or two for each wheel.

The detail and quality of Trakz' resin parts is the equal of Tamiya's styrene wheels; and the pre-damage to the tyres will save plenty of time for modellers who want to depict a war-weary or destroyed vehicle.

Recommended.

TX 0077 T-55 Damaged Roadwheels

All the examples of T-55 wheels that I have seen close-up feature noticeably raised seams on the sides of the tyres radiating from the hub to the edge. Tamiya depict these seams as recessed lines.

Trakz is offering a set of resin replacement wheels with these seams cast as raised ribs.

The wheels are provided in "as new" condition - no damage to the roadwheels or tyres. This will be entirely appropriate for a vehicle in service.

Apart from the raised ribs and new condition, the parts breakdown, quality, fit and detail are the same as set no. TX 0077.

I have already cleaned-up, assembled and fitted these wheels to Tamiya's new T-55 kit and can report a totally trouble-free experience.

Recommended.

Thanks to VLS for the review samples

These and other VLS products may be viewed at the VLS Website

Review Copyright © 2003 by Brett Green
Page Created 30 June, 2003
Last updated 25 August, 2003

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