plastiksurgeon wrote:And one more thing ! Keep "scale contrast" in mind.... if you look at a photograph of a real car, (the whole car) that has random tire markings, you probably didn't even notice them until you went searching for random tire markings....and I think your model should be the same way.... the markings shouldn't stick out or be heavy. They should be a second awareness when someone looks at your model. They should see them only when they look closer beyond the first look. And after you finish, maybe a wash over them to knock them back a little. I never leave white lettered tires full on white. What led me to that was photographing models where the process of photography adds contrast. Dark areas render darker at the same time that light areas become even lighter than what our eyes can see on both ends. Thus my tires in pictures were neon white, almost looking like they glowed from within. So, I started washing back all bright white tire logos, which led to washing back a lot of things on my models. That led me to think of the concept as "scale contrast".
Below is an example of what I mean. The Michelin tire logos on this MFH 20th scale BT52 were heavy and bright white, which alone, would have made the model look like a model....especially in my photographs with photography's added contrast.
BRABHAM-BT52-hinder-portrait-FIF-needs-the-world.gif
Now, back to those random markings.... It might help you replicate those markings if you know how they get there in the first place on the real car. As a Formula One shooter for 16 years, I've witnessed it first hand. So, Let's say the Williams team shows up at the Mexican Grand Prix ready for the weekend. The first thing the crew does is mark all of their wheels and then take them over to the Goodyear compound to get fitted with the weekend's tires, picked just for this event, sometimes even manufactured just for this event. (That is why there are random markings on the wheels as well....but usually in the center under the tire). The weekend staff at the temporary Goodyear compound fits the wheels with tires and marks them as to which team and any other markings necessary. And when it gets right down to marking a tire, here's what to picture in your mind as you create them on your model tire....as this is just a reminder of something, and since the person marking the tire is only doing it for reference, the time for him to do it perfectly is just not necessary. Plus imagine how scribbling you would get if you had a stick of chalk and your mission was to mark three hundred and twenty tires from twenty teams, ....you'd be scribbling ! So, as he holds a tire in place, or it lays before him on the ground, he grabs a stick of chalk and literally scribbles on the tire sidewall, at whatever angle is presented....some times the tread, but of course that would be gone by the time the tire turns three revolutions once on the car. His scribbling is not uniform, not heavy and not bright. Then the tires/wheels go back to the paddock where the team now scribbles their random markings as to which car, which driver, which corner of the car, which session.... that kind of thing, so that by the time this tire sees action, it looks like it's been devoured by a renaissance artist.
Point is, keep the markings thin and random, at off angles. Since the real tires are marked with chalk, why not use a chisseled pointed shard of white or yellow chalk...? Nothing looks like chalk, ...quite like chalk ! But if paint, fine brush, not much paint, (water it sown, ...chalk is almost transparent) the real guys mix some white words, some yellow words, ...depending on which stick of chalk they grab, ...but keep the yellow toned down just like the white...you can erase and practice a thousand times if necessary until you get where you want to be. Then wash them to knock them back. Scale contrast....
Thanks for the listening ear gentlemen.
Cheers,
Steve Mohlenkamp
FWIW, I think at least in Formula 1, the GoodYear logos were sprayed at the factory from at least 1989, not by the teams. We used to attend Grands Prix at Silverstone from the 70's, '80's and '90's and many tyre test sessions too. As kids, my pal and I used to go to the GoodYear transporter where the tyres were fitted and blag handfulls of the machined valve caps. I distinctly remember seeing mechanics spraying sidewalls with templates in the '70's, and at one test session ('89) we asked the GoodYear guys if we could have a spray template. The reply was that "all logos are applied at the factory these days".
I think if you look at images of the mid to late '80's onwards GoodYear tyres, sure, they're not perfectly sharp-edged by any means, but you'll struggle to find a significanly mis-matched template-applied logo. Of course, the later yellow logos were printed on at the factory, not sprayed, and are much better defined.
Also, I never saw chalk being used to mark a tyre. Usually it was a thick yellow or white wax crayon, with the teams applying more specific information (and the tyre/wheel slip tell-tales) with finer paint pencils. Interestingly these marking are quite opaque and distinct - they are required for evaluating wear after a session, and need to remain clear.
I've got a '92 Jordan F1 rear tyre (Stefano Modena) here in my office. It's still complete with the hand written markings - chalk would be long gone. Ignore the wheel, it's an old F3000 item that I had and decided to use for a table. Hopefully it illustrates what I've just described (notwithstanding some underspray, note the perfectly aligned edges of the Good Year markings) :
This one has the remains of a run-over yellow wax crayon still stuck to it:
Here's one of those '90's F1 tyre valve caps I mentioned. All my cars and bikes, and friends cars and bikes had them at one point. Note the perfectly aligned marking:
And a few more I took back in the day:
1985:
1991:
Contrast these with this 1979 Ligier; the team applied logo on the front isn't even concentric with the wheel
Here's my own effort at wheels for my current MP4/6; I used decals for the logo and white and yellow acrylics applied with a fine brush for the rest. You can wipe it off with thinners and try again if you make a mistake. Not perfect, but there we go!
One other thing to note is that removing the central mould line from Tamiya tyres is a popular pastime, but the real tyres had them too, so if you're depicting a 'sticker set' leave them on.
Cheers!
I tried putting decal softener on them and it was no help. 
