Hey all, since no one really wanted to help me figure out proper American Uniform colours of WWII, I wont wait with baited breath on this one either, but I need to know how to put together the Friulmodel tracks I just got for my Panther G… It’s a completly new thing for me. The tracks came with a wire, but is that to hold the tracks together, or do I use super-glue? Please help me with this!
here you go i took this from a related topic which I posted in and posted it again here
Also, I found my instructions, here is a copy:
General instructions for correct process of metal tracks
- First, check all the links. Note: left and right side or additional links are treated seperately. You can find a detailed assembly instruction guide attached to the tracks.
- Casts have to be trimmed from occuring barbes by a sharp craft knife. After that, you have to drill the bore in the link by a 0,5 mm drill Note: you needn’t drill the bore open to its end open. Bore has to lead beyond the next connected link, but does not open on the other side of the link. That’s the reason left and right side are separated.
3.Wash the casts slightly in warm water with a few detergent. - Cut pieces some mm longer than link bores from the attached wire, these will be the track pin.
- Push these into the link bores connecting them together.
- Drop a few cyanocrilate adhesive into closed bore to fix end. When the adhesive fixed remove the excess part of pin.
- Painting
I typed these instructions EXACTLY as they appeared, and yes, that is how they spelled cyanocrylite(i dont even know if i spelled it right![%-)])
-Tigertankman
Heres the link to the original thread
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=44640&REPLY_ID=451174#451174
I couldn’t help with the uniform colors but I can offer some advice with friul tracks. Drill out the holes using a pin vise and then either use the kit wire or use .020 brass wire. I use the brass wire as it is stronger and doesn’t get bent out of shape like the kit supplied wire. It is also a snug fit and once you trim off the excess amount, you shouldn’t need any super glue to hold the wire in place. HTH
I did some searching over on Missing-Lynx and found a post which has links to a 'how to" complete with pictures. I used this article to get a sense to how to assemble them. I’ve done one set for my Tamiya Wespe. They’re a bit of extra work but well worth the effort in my opinion!
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=95064&messageid=1108419463
The above message will lead you to a 3 part “how to” article on assembling Friuls. Work your way thru all 3 parts. Well worth it!
Glenn
Thanks guys, you’re awsome! Heh, it’s funny that these tracks are worth DOUBLE the price I paid for the Panther lol. Can’t beat 19.00 for a kit though, and it’s old and I guess I just want this to be sooo close it’ll blow your mind heh…
It may be mentioned in one of those links but some have had good results using straight pins instead of the supplied wire. I haven’t tried it myself but plan to do so on the Chaffee I’m doing for the Korean War GB.
I have used the straight sewing pin approach on a number of my builds and have had great results. Steve Crockett, has posted his technique a number of times here! Made a beleiver out of me. I think you’ll grow to really like the fruil tracks inspite of their cost. Good luck on your project. (Just a side note James) I’ve had a hard time nailing down the correct colors for American uniforms in WWII also! I’m hopping that eventually I’ll find a good reference book that I can purchase. Semper Fi, Mike
I use staples, they work great. I straighten one side and using plyers push the staple through. After I have done all the links I adjust the track length then trim off the excess staple. I don’t drill out ahead of time and I don’t need the super glue. I would try several methods (they all will work) on 3or 4 links to see which way works best for you. Greg.
Thanks Mike, I think I’ve figured the uniform colours out anyway… I think I’ll try the straight pin method, it was what the LHS owner suggested, but he didn’t have time to tell me how to do it. The pin seems to be bigger than the hole, so I figure I’m going to have to bore it out a little with a pin vice.
I’ve become a true beliver in the straight pin method too, as the wires supplied with the kit had an annoying habit of popping through the super glue plugs. I use Dritz dress maker pins and seek out pins with the smallest possible head diameter. On most tracks I’ve done so far with the pins (Panther, Panzer III, Tiger and Tiger II) they have not looked oversized. I sand the tops of the pins flat with about 400 to 600 grit wet/dry paper double -side taped to a piece of plexiglass after assembly but before painting by rolling up a section of assembled trrack and sanding the heads flat if they are the high points (like on King Tiger track (ATL-16) or by using a sanding stick to flatten out each head individually where they don’t protrude, like on Panther track (very tedious, but worth the trouble). Sanding the heads flat makes the pins look more like real track pins and also provides a surface that holds paint better than the electoplate that is on the heads normally. One essential tool to cutting these pins is a Xuron Hard Wire Cutter. It cuts through these pins like a hot knife through butter. After the pins are all in place, I pull each one out a couple of mm and apply a toothpick of gel super glue under the bottom edge of the pin head and then push the pin back in place. I clean off the excess super glue and move on to the next pin. It’s also useful to make up a little length jig when you’ve determined the proper length to make your pins for a particular type of track link and then use a permanent marker to mark your cut line on the pin. This way you can do up a bunch of pins ahead of time (empty prescription pill bottles are great for storing your pre-cut pins) so that when you get the link holes drilled out you can really go to town assembling the little beasts. It’s enough to make you crazy, but when they’re all assembled, painted, weathered and installed, all the busy work was worth it. [banghead] [banghead] [banghead] Chuck
On the subject of the right uniform colors. They varied a lot due to different manufacturers making different items and the effects of dirt, fading, wear and so forth. Since I paint my figures with oils and use my own color mixes, everything looks different most of the time anyway. Your best bet for getting a general idea of what colors to approximate would be to look over survivng uniforms at museums or military collectors shows and to check out the various volumes published by Osprey on different military units. The Osprey books are widely available and generally pretty informative with black and white photos and color plates. Windrow and Greene also publish a number of books that are pretty reasonable with color photos of reenactors wearing uniforms, both originals and good replicas. The two volumes on German Camo Clothing are absolute musts to get the various patterns right. There are also more expensive volumes by Bender Publications and Fedorowicz. Lots of good out of print stuff floating around too. Just remember that uniform colors are pretty much never really precise or the same from one figure to the next. Chuck [xx(]
wow… thanks for all the info bro! heh… I still have a few days to find out, the shermie GB doesn’t start for a couple more weeks… 
but thanks, I’m going to definately come back a few times to this thread!
With an attitude like the above line from your first post, I’m surprised you got any help at all. We gave you our input and ideas on uniform colors, you just didn’t like the responses.
By the way, I personally think Fruils (and all other metal tracks) are a huge waste of time and money. You can get the track looking just as good with indi-link plastic ones or even kit supplied vinyl ones if painted, weathered, and sagged correctly. But to each his own.
HeavyArty Wrote- With an attitude like the above line from your first post, I’m surprised you got any help at all. We gave you our input and ideas on uniform colors, you just didn’t like the responses.
Actually Arty… there is no attitude in that comment, infact, the truth is, not one person offered their help on that, I was pointing that out. So, you can take your condecending tone and take it somewhere else. Where do you come off talking like that to me… heh, if you can judge TONE by reading an email of sorts, you should get the nobel prize, because that’s the thing about this internet, there is no tone, it’s all in YOUR interpretation of how YOU read it. The highlighted sentence is in a bad tone FYI, anyway, all that is trivial and [#offtopic
I guess I confused you with someone else. I did answer a post recently about uniform colors and the guy just kept asking more questions. He wasn’t satisfied with the answers that I and others were giving him that there were no specific colors, just guidelines since they did vary so much.
yes I think you did, but that’s cool… I don’t want any negativity with the people on here… And I definately have the IQ level to know when someone is answering the question LOL but thanks for replying![tup]
[8D] But Gino, my man, You miss the real reason… the excuse to throw another $40 at a $35 kit (along with the other $300 spent on three PE sets, resin corrections, decals, accessories, figures, and an extra kit or two just in case you loose a crucial part in the middle of the night (not to mention another $300 on references). It’s all about supporting several Pacific Rim countries’ GNP ! Keep smilin’ my man and don’t let life grind you down. [swg]
I totally agree with you Gino about the tracks, all of my other tanks have the kit tracks, but I want this Panther to be something legends will be written about, and well, boring out all of the guide teeth on the tracks is too tedious… yah, the tracks were double what I paid for the tank (I payed 19.99 for the Panther G Night fighting, 37 for the tracks, and 45 for the Verlinden PE Set). THis is the first time that I will be doing any SUPER Detailing sooo… I thought I’d try it, besides, I don’t go to bars, don’t do drugs, why not use my “excess” money for something creative [:D]