TRACTOR PART V - WHEELS

The invention of the wheel totally revolutionised the world as we know it suddenly making it possible for people to broaden their horizons through travel. I’m hoping my tractor wheel design will totally elevate these MDF boxes to another level.

Begin by working out the diameter for both pairs of wheels remembering to keep these in proportion with each box.

Using the leftover part of your MDF sheet, cut out 2 x large circles with a 46 cm diameter for the back wheels and 2 x smaller circles with a 28 cm diameter for the front wheels.

Components for tractor wheels

To give a 3D dimension to the wheels, I’ve used a selection of small sized circles for a central hub and as wheel nuts.

Once you have cut out your wheels, draw another circle radiating out from the middle point of each wheel to create a wheel hub.

Stick your smaller cut out circles onto each wheel hub arranged as below:

Adding 3D elements to the wheel hub

Drill a hole in the centre of each wheel through all MDF layers large enough for a hex bolt as one of these will be used to secure the finished wheel to the body of the tractor. More about this later on. For now, I’m just going to concentrate on decorating these wheels.

Hex bolts used for decoration and fastening

Bolts give a nice industrial look to the hubs

Once everything is dry, prime only the wheel hub then paint with two coats of bright yellow paint. 

Prime the wheel hub

Paint hubs yellow

I’ve used a lovely rich yellow colour called Bonjour available as a Valspar matt emulsion from B&Q. You should need no more than a tester pot of this colour.

The perfect shade of tractor yellow

Mix up a slightly darker shade of yellow by adding a very tiny bit of brown paint and add some shading to your wheel hub to create the illusion of depth.

Add some shading to the wheel hub

Turn your wheels over to paint the whole of the back face in black (2 coats) then when dry continue on the front face, painting what looks like a ring doughnut for the tyre.

Paint wheel backs in black

Paint the front tyres in black

Repeat on all the wheels

Mix up a slightly lighter shade of black by adding a tiny bit of white paint then add some shading to your tyre to create the illusion of treads.

Add shading to create treads

When everything is completely dry, varnish the front face of each wheel then set aside ready for fitting later on.

Finished wheels ready for varnishing