Several Questions about Friuls

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

  1. My set is for a T-72. The instructions say the left and right runs are treated differently, and sure enough, they came in 2 bags. But I have no way of telling which is which! Help would be appreciated.

  2. A little instruction sheet explained that there would be detailed instructions attached to the tracks, but there are none! Only the little instructions sheet. Am I missing some instructions?

  3. I dont have a #5 drill bit. Can I drill them out with and x-acto?

2
  1. mount them such that the opening where the pin/wire goes in is on the inside wher eyou can’t see it.

2). i don’t think i got a big instruction sheet, they were fairly self-explanatory anyway.

3). you can’t drill them out with an exacto, it’s a long skinny hole. i didn’t drill them out though, the holes were ready on mine. i cleaned them up with a thin tool to straighten them out and get rid of any blockages but otherwise no drill bit necessary except for a few blocked links (which you could just bipass anyway, there should be enough to spare).

3

I agree with goatmonkey

4

Even though they are bagged separately, they are not molded to individual sides of the tank (L&R) the blocks are the same. In order to side and orient them correctly, you will have one side with the pin entering from the inside, one from outside…the blocks are all one mold…


Use straight pins instead of the wire that is included in the box. I did not have to drill as the pins were “pressed” into the base link as shown:

So, on the Panther track here, this pin ,entering from the outboard side would be for the left track strand, just reverse it for the right:

Clip off the pinhead with the side cutters and apply a little CA to seal it:

I made a little jig with a router to peed up the assembly process pictured here:

Please feel free to e-mail me on the side with extra questions.

Good luck,

Steve

5

Thanks for clearing that up. One last question. Why do you reccomend using the pins instead of the supplied wire?

6

The pins, being stonger, make for much stronger joins. Also, they are MUCH easier to use than the wire. I used the supplied wire for my first set of Fruils (PzII) and swore I’d use a brass wire the next time. Then the idea of straight pins was presented and I tried that. I’ll never use “soft” wire again. I used dressmakers pins (with little colored, plastic heads) from Wal-Mart. They worked very well (save your fingers a bit) and were cheep. (88 cents a package, it took 1 1/2 packs) on the Friuls for my Firefly. However, after inserting the pin and cutting them off, I gave each pin a LIGHT tap with a small hammer to set them better. Then put a small drop of thick (don’t use thin) CA on the end.

One thing, no matter what and how you do it, be very careful when cutting the pins or wire off. They, especially the pins, can launch with quite a force.

7

thanks. I’ll be sure to use the pins then.

8

I agree with Bill, the soft wire is a loser. Kaleu has recommended using brass wire which he says he prefers. Basically, the larger diameter pins or wire make for a better assembly, easier and more durable. I will add that for small Fruil blocks, such as the Hannomag, drilling is required. This is because the block will actually deform when "pushing " the pin into the soft metal anchor link. The larger tank size track is robust enough to resist deforming when pressing the pin into the soft metal.

I will add that the Karaya metal track has all the link bosses molded with through holes! This is the BIG advantage to the Karaya product, no drilling at all and the pins just fall in place. I hope Karaya expands thier line beyond just the late and early Tiger1.

regards,
Steve