I finally got around to finishing the Sherman, one down and one to go . I have built 4 vechiles in-between wirking on the Sherman.
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Is that the new Takom kit,your build looks great,how did it build up?
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Yes, not bad. I would recommend after market tracks. The tracks were terrible.
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This looks really good!
Cool,I built the 1/16 Takom/Andy’s Easy8, probably similar
And spellcheck as well lol
I’ve never built a tank but I have one in my stash (Tamya Sherman). What makes good tracks from bad ones, so I know what to look out for?
Usually Tamiya has rubber tracks. Different brands have different style tracks. It’s the builders preference on what style tracks they want. I know some people only use metal tracks. Hope this helps you. The tracks on the Takom kit were terribly designed.
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Rubber band tracks,or one piece tracks that come with newer kits are okay for tanks with no sag,think Shermans,Abrams or ones where the skirts cover the entire top run,i mean if your on a budget,they’re okay.They glue with CA glue and paint and weather well.
If your building a tank with heavy metal tracks like Tigers and Panthers,or Soviet tanks,nothing beats indie links to achieve that sag.
As far as idies go,there are workable,clickable,metal,plastic,resin and 3-D printed.
Some companies enjoy making insane choices,I’m working on a Paladin that requires 1000 pieces to assemble,I will be replacing them.
This is only a small sampling,Google and read up on the differences and advantages.
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Okay, so help me out here, these look like they are just plastic as they are on the sprue trees. Any good or should I go looking for something better?
Ahh,okay,forgot about Link-and-Length Tracks.Many guys love them,but for me,they are a bad mix between one piece and indies,you see everyone has their own personal favorites.I usually dump those,so I have no construction advice,but plenty of guys will,plus there are videos on just about anything.
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Really nice build! Congratulations
The best tank builders out there will generally assemble and paint the wheels and track separately, and only fit them quite late in the overall building and painting process. This maximises access to the undercarriage for adding and painting mud effects and the like, or simply getting coverage and consistency over hard to reach places
Track like your Shermans can still be assembled separately. If you dry-fit your wheels, you can use the model as a sort of jig to get the shape right as you glue the track sections together and then slide the whole thing off once the glue sets. The problem is you then have to paint and weather a rather large and potentially brittle 3D shape, and the fit between parts almost always results in some localised over-angling of track sections
Link and Pin aftermarket tracks eliminate these concerns as they can be laid out for painting and weathering and then “fed” onto the undercarriage. Gravity assists with providing a realistic track sag between return rollers before gluing to close the loop and fix at key points.
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Thank you for the information
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Your welcome,there are a lot of choices,and a lot of info out there too.
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My pleasure! Just having a look at the instructions for this kit from scalemates (I’m assuming it’s https://www.scalemates.com/kits/takom-2205-m4a1-76-w-hvss--1613186), I can see why you found the tracks in the box so frustrating to work with. You’ve done an amazing job getting them together under the circumstances! Looking forward to seeing what you do with your next one!
That is the kit, i also have another Sherman from Takom. I received the Sherman box for Christmas. M1 SUPER SHERMAN
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