best way to detail tracks

I am working on my first AFV kit and it is going real well but I am needing advice on how to detail/paint the tracks to make them look realistic. The kit is a Tamiya M1A1. ANy suggestions would be appreciated very much.

I searched here in the forums but didn’t find anything.

Thanks
Ed

The way that I do my tracks is: Give a coat of flat black with a bit of gunmetal mixed in (if airbrushing) I will let them dry for at least 12 hours (especially if they are the flexible ones) Once fully dry, use Steel color in drybrush technique and give a coat of flat or matte to protect. The best way to do all this, for the flexible tracks, is to masking tape the ends to a long piece of cardboard.

I don’t add any rust or mud color to mine until they are finally on the armor itself.

The method that I use depends on if the track is an all steel track or one that has rubber pads.

For All Steel:

  • Paint a base coat of Model Master Gun Metal
  • Dry brush with Model Master Rust
  • Dry brush with Model Master Steel
  • Burnish with ground pencil lead
  • Dust with pastel chalks with the rest of the model

For Tracks With Rubber Pads:

  • Paint a base coat of Tamiya Flat Black
  • Dry brush end connectors with Model Master Rust
  • Dry brush end connectors with Model Master Steel
  • Burnish end connectors with ground pencil lead
  • Dust with pastel chalks with the rest of model