I didn't build the wheel myself, a friend of mine did.
This was the first year we used it. We replaced our old one that didn't look much like the TV version, but it looked like the SIDE of it. People said it looked like "an upright Wheel of Fortune". Not only that, but the damn thing would spin and spin, and spin! We had to put it out for the garbage man, and he was fascinated bu it! I wish I could have kept it, because it would have made an interesting coffee table!
The sides are 1/2 inch plywood, the faceplates are handy panel, and the frame is made of 2x4's. We put 20 black plastic handles on it, and there are numbers are on the opposite side of the wheel (with the handles on one side, there wasn't room for the numbers !) The numbers on the front are cut out of glossy presentation paper and glued on. Glitter would have been too messy!
I didn't like it much before it was painted, but it looks great now!