# Pulley sets



## BABYBURR (Nov 4, 2021)

What are you using for pulleys on your cars? Just using the usual three molded to the belt or making your own or buying after market pulleys? Trying to make pulleys and fan belt more realistic.
Thanks


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## Andy Oldenburg (Feb 16, 2021)

This is a hard one. Until now, I haven´t had the need to replace the kit pulleys. But giving it a thought, why not try? For more complex builds (power steering) I have added extra pulleys to the sides. I cut the belts off a spare pulley and replaced them with 1mm diameter square styrene. Thing is, the belt wheels are hard to get detailed, so I grab existing material out of my scrapbox.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I also scavanged pulley systems from other builds back in my build days. But now days you can probably get 3d printed set ups in most scales. 

I also used floss (a little different than thread) to recreate belts. If you use white glue to stiffen them they looked a little more like rubber and stayed tight!


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## BABYBURR (Nov 4, 2021)

Thanks guys. Good information l


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## Andy Oldenburg (Feb 16, 2021)

This challenge kept me thinking and I found a solution. I have a different punching tools and styrene in different thicknesses. 









The bigger circles are of 0.35mm and the smaller one is of 1mm styrene. I glued them together to make something resembling a pulley wheel (is that what you call em?). Sorry that the closeups are not so sharp.


















The axle is a simple sewing pin, would work fine to connect to the pulley. For the belt I tried a 0.7mm kevlar string. nothing is painted yet, so the finished result would be much closer to reality. This is a quick shot, and I will try it with more TLC with my next model. Of course it ramps up my building time again, but the effect seems to be worth the invested time.


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## BABYBURR (Nov 4, 2021)

Very ingenious! Thanks for sharing this method.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

If you decide to use the white glue to stiffen them - you can also shape them a bit as they dry using the appropriate sized groove of your pliers into more of the 'v' shape they have. I used black floss but you can also mix flat black paint into the glue to get a closer (better) rubber color. 🤙


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## Andy Oldenburg (Feb 16, 2021)

I was eager to try this out on my next model, pimping my model engines with "real" pulley wheels and a more realistic belt. I´m working on an Plymouth `Cuda and adding much detail to the engine. To start out with, I tried to get as close as possible to the look of original pulley wheels. I cut slices off styrene tubes and punched discs out of 0.5 and 1mm styrene:










The hardest bit is to get them a round as possible. Magnified as in this pic they still seem odd, but painted and on the model, you can hardly notice.


















The axle is a sewing pin cut to length. This makes for a sturdy connection to the block. My "belt" is a 0.7mm string. I tried Miltons hack with white glue, but the belt got too stiff and woundn´t wind round the wheels that smoothly. I switched to artist paint and am happy with the results of this first try, but I see potential for a better look. Next time I will try a different string or that floss Milton recommended.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Looks pretty good to me! Nice work and adaptations.


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## BABYBURR (Nov 4, 2021)

Looks very good. Thanks for sharing your process.


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## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

Nice pulleys..... personnaly, for the belts, I use Tamiya tape in 2 or 3 layers and paint them flat black.....


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## Andy Oldenburg (Feb 16, 2021)

Thanks for that idea! Making square shaped belts is my next step. I´m going to replace this round string.


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## Andy Oldenburg (Feb 16, 2021)

Eureka! I guess I have finally found the "perfect" solution for my needs. 1mm thick synthetic rubber sheet mat. I found this at my local arts and crafts store that also sells items for architecture models. I had to buy over a square feet, so I have enough for a lifetime. I can cut it down to 0.7 mm and the square shape makes it look "real".


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Excellent! Looks really nice and the most accurate I have ever seen. 🤙


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