Hello,
I was recently watching a youtube build on Dragon Tiger 1. And it had track links that snapped together and no gluing.
Are there any companies offerening these type tracks?
Dragon magic tracks are designed to snap together for ease of assembly and then can get some liquid cement to hold them together.
Some Model Kasten tracks can snap together, but again must be glued once set in place.
There are also metal aftermarket tracks such as the ones by Friulmodel Tracks which require a metal rod to connect each track link together.
As Rod suggests, sounds like they are useing Dragon Magic tracks. Unfortunatly they seem to have stopped putting them in many of their kits now. I like them.
If i get AM tracks, i tend to go for metal ones.
Hmmm;
My personal choice for what Armor I have chosen to build, is or are Fruilmodel. Why? Well, they are very good as to quality( at least the ones I’ve gotten ) and The pin holes are there already in the ones I have. It’s just wise to clean up the pinholes Before trying to assemble them. They look pretty BadA##%* on my " German Self propelled gun known as the “Dicker Max”. I think there were only two built and deployed.
My King Tiger looks about to Kick Butt and take Names with her tracks and the One and only Abrams I have is awesome to see with the track sag all where it’s supposed to be Especially on a Diorama. Plus, and this is nice. They add weight to the model making it less likely to get blown off the shelf by an errant breeze from the air conditioning vent!
I am looking for the easiest way possible of installing tracks. I really dont want to have to install pins on metal tracks. I like the rubber tracks in a Tamiya kit I just got, but lose the ablity to sag.
I ordered a set of metal tracks on ebay that were preassembled for my RFM Tiger (not yet received). But thats gonna get expensive and I can’t do that for each kit.
There seems to be a lot of different tracks that each of these manufactures are including in their kits.
The problem I always have with most of the rubber tracks is that there are molding type nubs on each of the links that need to be removed. With the time it takes to do this I can have a set of Fruilmodel metal tracks made up. Also with the Fruilmodel tracks there also seem to be plenty of spares that you can use for more realistic spare tracks that most tanks carried.
I guess I’ll just have to learn how to install metal track. What is the skill level required, will a beginner like me figure it out.
That sort of belies the question.
Individual track links that are plastic are great, but the selection is limited. Try AFV club.
Metal links are really not comparable to much else other than a one-off back when.
A Tiger One really needs to display track sag. Friul will make you happy. A night at the bench listening to Physical Graffitti on the headphones isn’t so bad?
Before writing off metal tracks, take a look at the tutorial in the current Video tab. All the track types have pros and cons, and require some benchtime to deal with them. My last exersize was a set of Rye Field individual track links that took “forever” to clean the sprue nubs, and a learning curve to assemble, but they look great and now I know how. For me, that’s a big part of the fun.
Ok I found a set of the Friul model tracks for my Tiger.
I will let you guys know if I have any issues building them.
Wait a minute. I just watched a youtube video on the Friul tracks and you have to drill out the holes? The hell with that way too much work.
No,some might need to be cleaned out,but usually the pin or the wire does the job.
I agree, the holes in the Friul tracks do not need to be completely drilled out. The holes are either .4mm or .5mm depending on the track and just need to be “cleaned out”. Most times just inserting the pin will clean out the hole. I just finished completing a set of Friul tracks for a Panzer III and spent about 3 hours cleaning and assembly
No.
I just used my first set of Friul tracks. They were great and they were easy. I used a trick I picked up from Andy’s Hobby Headquarters by pinning them together with staples. Just straighten one end of them, use nose pliers and push them in. I had to drill out nothing. The natural sag of the tracks looks fantastic, and their weight adds a realistic dimension to the tank. I will never use anything else.
Next anticipated question,how to finish them ?
There are a few different options,some companies produce a Blackener thst weathers them,it could be tricky to use as the tracks need to be thoroughly cleaned,I scrub them with a toothbrush and acetone,if they are not cleaned right the process wont work.Some weather individual links,some assemble and weather.There are also a lot of homemade brews and alternatives that I have not tried,but if done right they look good. Then add washes and pigments.
I have also painted Fruils with regular paint,washing,and weathering with good success.
With either method you have the option of sanding the wear areas to expose bare metal to simulate wear.
They are fun,look great if done right,but not cheap.
There are a few other metal track companies,used to use Spade Ace,also Master Club.
Have fun sir
Sector 35 makes some metal tracks that are already assembled. They come from the Ukrain and it’s a crap shoot some times. The spare tracks could be anything. I bought some for a T 55. The tracks came OK, but the spares were for a German Pnzr IV.
One model I did a few years ago, an Amusing hobby Conqueor kit came with individual track links that snaped together. I did not need any glue. All the comments are correct. The Amusing kit was the only one I’ve encountered thats been like that.