I have almost finished the Tamiya 1/35 Cromwell tank but I am having trouble with the tracks from the kit. I went to do some more on it and noticed that one of the tracks had broken. I glued it back together but it broke again after a few weeks. I replaced it with a spare I had and everything seemed ok but then the other one did the same thing. Luckily I had another spare from a kit I ruined. I was wondering if anybody else has had this problem. I thought it might be because of heat and humidity down here in Australia but wasn’t sure. Any help/thoughts would be appreciated.
I’m having the same problem with an Italeri Panzer IV. Here in Wisconsin we have almost no humidity or heat at the moment. Winter is coming on soon. Glue isn’t an option with these old tracks, I sewed them back together with rigging thread, but they just don’t look right. It’s a let down because I wanted to put this model in a show this weekend. By the time I get some after market tracks it’ll be ready for next year’s show.
Did you paint your tracks with acrylics or enamels? I seem to remember reading in FSM a while back that if you paint vinyl tracks with enamles, the enamel sovents can be absorbed by the tracks which weakens them, perhaps causing them to even fall apart years later.
Sorry to hear of the trouble…I must have 50 tracked armor models (most Tamiya) whose tracks were weathered with MM enamels . So if that is correct I’m in big trouble some day. I just finished the Tamiya Sturm III and washed the tracks heavily with 50/50 MMrust and thinner. My old models some 25 years old show no signs yet of degradation yet. Interestingly enough I have a Hasegawa F-14 in 48th scale whose rubber tires look like flat tires now after about 8 years. There were little pools of an oil like substance where they flattened out. Plane was weathered with mineral spirit wash as well.
From what I’ve read, the problem is mainly with the newer, glueable tracks. This formulation seems to be more susceptible to the solvents used with enamel paints than the older ‘weld to join’ type.
I actually never painted the tracks!!! The first time I used Revell Contacta to glue them together and then I used Tamiya CA glue to glue them to the road wheels. Second time around I used the CA for gluing together and also gluing on wheels. First time it broke was on the small front wheel so I just glued it back on. It then broke in another spot so I ripped it off and redid it. Then I go to finish off some minor detail work and what do I find?the other track is broken only this time it is underneath the road wheels!!! I am really !@##$% off as I think it is the best model I have built!!!
I went to my model cabinet to look at my cromwell. I do not have a problem painting tamiya tracks with enamel but I had problems painting the vinyl inserts of my academy merkava but not with the tracks. I think they use a different compound for those vinyl inserts for the road wheels. The problem I encountered with the cromwell tracks is that they are rather tight so care should be observed when installing them. I personally do not install the idler or the sprockets beforehand but instead put them on the tracks and install them together. It works for me.
Hi, haven’t had any problems yet with my Cromwell but have had other vinyl tracks break. Doesn’t seem to make any difference whether painted with enamel or acrylic paints. I’m going to do another Cromwell with Polish markings and intend to use Model Kasten indy link tracks this time. I think they will look lots better, besides the new kit I have was given to me complete except it had no tracks at all. I think we might have a long term vinyl track problem here but not sure. Sorry about your problem. I’ve used MK tracks before and really like them even though they’re kinda pricy. Rick “Marty” Martin
Hi everyone. Sorry I haven’t replied but have had other commitments. Unfortunately, the spare tracks I put on have done the same thing. I fed them around the drive wheels and sprockets THEN glued them together but they broke again!!! I am going to see if I can maybe get some metal tracks as suggested by Rick. I am really disappointed as I think it is the best model I have built. I would like to thank you all for your advice and will let you know what happens.