Good morning,

    I was messing around with the tracks and noticed they were about a link to long. Any Ideas on how to remove a vinyl link and still be able to attach them when done. I'm thinking attaching the two ends with either super glue or epoxy. Will either of these work or will they melt the vinyl? Then there is always sewing the two ends but I've never been much of a seemstress.

-Stephen

---

Most barriers to your successes are man made. And most often you are the man who made them. -Frank Tyger

Actually shouldn't have had that problem... But... That doesn't help.. So...

You sew them together with a cross-hatch from one set of connecting pins to the next link's pins across the pad, or you can do it the way it's done on the real deal, by moving the idler wheel.  You can shim the idler wheel mount out a bit farther by inserting some styrene shims and gluing them with a good CA..

Here's a crude sketch of the sewn track..

---

Colonel, 55th FG
Great Plains Wing
Commemorative Air Force

Personally, I'm inclined towards taking a link out as well... I just included the idler thing to give you an alternative to sewing the track..  Were I to move the idler wheel, I'd likely move the drive wheel as well in order to split the difference...

I'd sew it, m'self.. Keep the sewn side at the top to hide the thread, using the return roller too, making sure (if you're going to compete) that you firmly attach the gun to the base..

---

Colonel, 55th FG
Great Plains Wing
Commemorative Air Force

Looking good, good job on the breech and recoil sled.

The diamond plate high spots could be drybrushed with steel with touches of rust on the ends of the plates. Then a burnt sienna & vandyke brown wash for some dirt effect.

Rounds Complete!!

SMJ,

    I'm trying to recreate a vehicle from operation Husky(the Sicily campaign). Alot of these vehicles still had the two tone camo scheme from Tunisia and North Africa. HTH

-Stephen

---

Most barriers to your successes are man made. And most often you are the man who made them. -Frank Tyger

That ineterior is crying out to be weathered

It is, but it's not very likely... During inclement weather, the fighting compartment would be tarped... Only the "Toadies" (Towed guncrews) didn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain..  Not much "weathering" in there... Paint wear & tear, some chipping/scuffing (like Redleg pointed out on the treadplate), some mud and dust in the corners, etc, but overall a gun crew keeps things pretty clean.  I was a 14-karat "Ash & Trash Nazi" on my howitzer... "End of Mission" meant "clean this thing up"... I kept a broom and a mop on board. (Bucket was already there for the bore swab)

Anyway, here's some detail shots of mine as a WIP featuring the breech and handles... The breech swing arms are strip styrene, the take-down pin on top is a piece of rod that was "mushroomed with a cigar, the breech handle from the kit.  There's still one more item to add, that being the trigger that the lanyard hooks into... The flash has "washed out" the breech's firing lock, but it's just a small circle that I cut into the block with the end of piece of tubing, using it in a pin-vise like a hole-saw.

---

Colonel, 55th FG
Great Plains Wing
Commemorative Air Force

Yeah, that's my Academy M7 from the build I was posting a couple a couple months ago... Still haven't started weathering or any dio work though..

The tools are the kit-supplied ones.  The shovel bracket (shovel's off because it'll be in use on the diorama) is a piece of brass...

---

Colonel, 55th FG
Great Plains Wing
Commemorative Air Force