Realistic Wheel Disc with nut for Lego McLaren F1 42141 or Mercedes 42171

I was not happy with the wheel disc design on the Lego McLaren F1 Car released in 2022 (Kit 42141). Designed these as a replacement. The model you see printed in the pictures was done using a variable layer height of 0.2 at the base all the way down to 0.07 on the top side of the disc to handle the gradual curvature.

You will want to use as low of a layer height as possible for your nozzle in order to capture the gradual curvature of the disc. If you print the top part of the disc greater than 0.15mm you will not be happy with the result - recommend 0.07mm or lower for the disc face for the best results. Using a craft resin to seal and shine the print and hide the layer lines is ideal - I used https://amzn.to/3II8TYA (Craft Resin) on the final product (picture included) - I chucked the axle lightly into a cordless drill and rotated the part while applying it with a brush to get a nice smooth coat and then let it set for an appropriate amount of time (24 hours, or 3 hours if you place the part in a food dehydrator or similar oven at about 45 degrees C, 115 degrees F).

The design prints in three pieces, intended to be glued together (I used https://amzn.to/3qthE2o Starbond CA Glue to hold the pieces together). First glue the base to the disc, and there is a keyhole for a technic rod to ensure the parts align. Once complete, glue the nut into place over the keyhole - for this, you will want to use tweezers or similar to properly position the item in the center of the disc.

I then used art epoxy on mine to give them a shine and cover up the subtle layer lines, and then the printed technic axle should fit right in to the center of the provided rim for a better overall aesthetic on the final kit.

Included are the RAW stl files for slicing on your own, or the .3mf files with my presets for printing the disc and the disc back with generic PETG and variable layer height, and then printing the wheel nut out of PLA using a single color swap between the top of the nut and the spindle. I used AmazonBasics Black PETG (https://amzn.to/35tQbpP) for the base and disc and grey PLA (https://amzn.to/35tQbpP) and silver PLA (https://amzn.to/3iTMjSb) for the wheel nut.

Please post your makes - I would love to see how things turn out for you :) Enjoy!

UPDATE This also works just fine for the Lego Mercedes F1, kit 42171. On that model, the lego rims are larger, but mainly just lower profile so these can be printed without any scaling and work just fine (see pics).