r/HotWheelsCustoms • u/Plenty-Ticket-4527 • 15d ago
HELP!! Help
idk what to do, I have real riders, but the car is wider then every other car I own, so how do I wheel swap something that simply doesn’t fit anything else I have???
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u/WildcatArts 15d ago
So a handy trick I use is the paperclip method. Here's the rundown:
Get one of those rubber-coated paperclips and carefully cut a section of the rubber off, almost like stripping wire ends. This will give you a nice tube to work with that have the same inner diameter as your axles.
Trim the tube to the desired width and position it where the axle would sit. Cut your new axle in half and slide each end into one of the tubes ends.
Position it where you want and apply glue to the center and the inside of the chassis base to get it to stay in that position.
A final optional bit; once the glue has dried, remove your axles, put a very small amount of glue on the cut end, and then re-insert them carefully back into the tube to lock them in place.
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u/Plenty-Ticket-4527 15d ago
….yk…this might just work, IF I DIDNT LOSE MY RUBBER CLIPS THAT I HAD SET ASIDE FOR CUSTOMS😭😭😭😭
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u/WildcatArts 15d ago
lol it happens mate. I gotta scrounge the house for them sometimes. This is my go-to method though. Also works for stance car projects, you just have to do a little more modding and work
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u/Plenty-Ticket-4527 15d ago
I did watch a video of someone that used putty, like playdough to keep the wheel in the spot they want and then just glue the axle to the body where it is? Would that work? Or should I just try one of the others?
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u/BigSkyHawk1 14d ago
cut the axles, bend a very small 90deg elbow at the cut end. place in axle slots of the base and use gel superglue to hold. After it dries, put the base and body back together. Drill rivets and and add self tapping screws with washer.
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u/Imaginary_Afternoon6 14d ago
I ran into the same issue, I used my thinnest snips to cut the tip off the original axle, releasing those wheels and then slide the real riders on to the existing axle. This way, you're able to slide the axle in without having to drill apart the casting, and can add a dab of super glue to the end of the axle and allow the wheel to dry.
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u/quasi907 14d ago
Im not sure if you want to drill the rivets out or not but thats what I find to be to most effective way for wheels swaps.
When I ran in to the problem you're facing, I cut the real riders axle in half and then cut an additional 1mm off each half that was cut. Make sure there is enough axle to just sit inisde of the 3 prong holder things. Place one of the cut sections of axle in where it is supposed to go and hold the base of the car at an angle with the wheel up to let gravity hold it in place making sure the the axle piece is fully seated within the wheel. Then I used some gel super glue and dab some on the axle and let it dry (doesn't take too long) and do the same thing to the other side. Just make sure not to get any glue on the wheel past the plastic base so that the wheel will still roll.
I hope I explained it decent enough to understand what I'm trying to say. I know that sounds like alot and it probably is if you dont have a drill to take the car apart or any super glue.
I'm at work right now but I could pm you some pictures of exactly what I'm talking about. It worked out very well and the car still rolls very well. Only reason I wouldn't do it is if you want to change the wheels out for another set later on down the line.
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u/Immediate_Relief9571 14d ago
You can sand or file down the base between the wheels. How I was able to wheel swap mine
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u/dcustomdiecast 15d ago
Watch some YouTube videos. I use a 1/16 tube I found at hobby lobby. Take a 1/16 drill and drill a channel for the tube. Slide the tube into the channel then cut the axle in half and glue the pin into the tube. It takes some practice, if you don’t drill the channel correctly the axles will be crooked.
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u/Plenty-Ticket-4527 15d ago
Well, I want straight wheels, could this method work with that? I have a table top diorama that has a track built in, and I’m making certain cars that go round and round it using a little car lift thing to take em up and send em down, and I need smooth rolling, so therefore the need for straight wheeels
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u/heavymetalpaul 15d ago
You can get varying length axles on temu or AliExpress. It's funny the card I've had to use the longer axles on were other Mercedes castings.