What drunk German Physicist thought this one up ?!?!?!

I hear you. That's why I bought the AFV limited 251/D w/Pak 40. They have the individual tracks and they have these beautiful one-piece glueable type like the later Tamiya kits. Excellent detail. I will probably dump my indies on ebay or something.

Dont be too quick to dump your indy links Tigerman. The AFV one piece tracks I have used so far have all disintegrated within a year or so of being painted and put on a kit...

stikpusher

Dont be too quick to dump your indy links Tigerman. The AFV one piece tracks I have used so far have all disintegrated within a year or so of being painted and put on a kit...

Say it ain't so. (sorry Karl).

How do you paint your tracks? That hasn't happened to me..........yet.

Speaking of whom... there was a big Ardennes dio in the latest FSM where the guy used baking soda for snow.

Somewhere a redheaded guitar player is (gently) weeping....

Fear not the Dragon 251 indy track.  Make this easy little jig with 2 strips of balsa glued to and piece with the space just wide enough to hold the guide horn snug.  Assemble all the links then go back with a tiny drop of glue in each hole for the pad. Fully workable tracks in a heartbeat.

A little heads up.  When you glue in the front axle, do it with the wheels on and, most important, on the tracks as shown.  If not the front wheels may float in mid air.

The Drunken German Physicists Union takes issue with the title of this thread!!

Every so often I catch myself checking out some crazy piece of German armour, and then I think... but do I reallllly want to assemble tracks??

VanceCrozier

...The Drunken German Physicists Union takes issue with the title of this thread!! ...

I agree.  What would a physicist of any nationality, sober or otherwise, have to do with your aftermarket tracks?

maybe he means a psychic ?..

bondoman

Speaking of whom... there was a big Ardennes dio in the latest FSM where the guy used baking soda for snow.

Somewhere a redheaded guitar player is (gently) weeping....

Its revenge for the results of WWII (The Big One).

wing_nut

Fear not the Dragon 251 indy track.  Make this easy little jig with 2 strips of balsa glued to and piece with the space just wide enough to hold the guide horn snug.  Assemble all the links then go back with a tiny drop of glue in each hole for the pad. Fully workable tracks in a heartbeat.

A little heads up.  When you glue in the front axle, do it with the wheels on and, most important, on the tracks as shown.  If not the front wheels may float in mid air.

That is wicked cool. I cant help but hear  " when you can take fly from hand, Grasshopper...."

"... while my guitar gently weeps..."

oops, different band...

Well I had read about how enamels and their thinners attacked that new gluable soft stuff so I went with acrylics. Model Master Acryls IIRC. I think I used different methods on those, hand brushed and airbrushed. Thinned with distilled water for hand brushing and with Testors MM Acryl thinner for airbrushing. And within a year (sometimes less, sometimes longer) or so, the tracks had contracted and snapped in a few spots. This has happened on to me Tamiya and AFV gluable tracks. Not too nice to see your work needing replacement tracks well after construction is done...

I usually prime mine with Tamiya black out of a rattle-can and then use acrylics over that. So far, so good.

stikpusher

Dont be too quick to dump your indy links Tigerman. The AFV one piece tracks I have used so far have all disintegrated within a year or so of being painted and put on a kit...

I have been raving about this very often in the past. I think the formulation of their tracks also with those wheel inserts they use reacts with paint specially with enamels. It causes hem to melt not only the material but also during the reaction which gives off heat, it also melt the plastic around them. The same goes with Academy. The idea of black plastics instead of the vinyl type was a very good solution.

brutus1175

wing_nut:

Fear not the Dragon 251 indy track.  Make this easy little jig with 2 strips of balsa glued to and piece with the space just wide enough to hold the guide horn snug.  Assemble all the links then go back with a tiny drop of glue in each hole for the pad. Fully workable tracks in a heartbeat.

A little heads up.  When you glue in the front axle, do it with the wheels on and, most important, on the tracks as shown.  If not the front wheels may float in mid air.

 

That is wicked cool. I cant help but hear  " when you can take fly from hand, Grasshopper...."

I'm so stealing this.  I've got several Bronco Workable track kits and they don't seem to be terribly workable.  I'll use unpainted original kit tracks until I can master these.

Thanks for the tip and the photos.

constructor

It causes hem to melt not only the material but also during the reaction which gives off heat, it also melt the plastic around them. The same goes with Academy. The idea of black plastics instead of the vinyl type was a very good solution.

It's not so much a  matter of heat, - it's the plasticiser (which keeps them flexible) in the vinyl parts interacting with the "regular" styrene parts around them, softening and apparently melting those parts.

Phil_H

constructor:

It causes hem to melt not only the material but also during the reaction which gives off heat, it also melt the plastic around them. The same goes with Academy. The idea of black plastics instead of the vinyl type was a very good solution.

It's not so much a  matter of heat, - it's the plasticiser (which keeps them flexible) in the vinyl parts interacting with the "regular" styrene parts around them, softening and apparently melting those parts.

If we know the answer how come they dont do something about it? Don't they test their products? It's us finding out about it the hard way. Thanks for the info Phil.

@ MAJMike - THAT WORKED LIKE A CHARM !!! Thanks so much for sharing !! 

brutus1175

@ MAJMike - THAT WORKED LIKE A CHARM !!! Thanks so much for sharing !! 

I wish I could take credit, but that was Wingnut's idea, method, and photos. Credit where credit is due, please.

you're right, and I totally apologize for not paying closer attention. Wingnut - fully workable tracks, thank you...

Glad it helped.

Like any German  physicist could invent something that simple

Wingnut, I looked @ your Ausf C, she looks really good. Nice "n" worn....