Track painting question

Dark steel.  In desert environs, steel tracks will have little to no rust and will be highly polished by the sand.

I like using Model Master Jet Exhaust for that look. Like HA said, the desert scours  the tracks clean of rust. The steel tends to take on an sandy tone from the scouring and MM Jet Exhaust looks pretty close to what I have seen steel tracks become.

Thanks gents.  Just what I wanted.

Perfect timing for this question.

In planning for my Q1 2012 builds what color would the tracks be for a King Tiger in France and a Sd.Kfz.7 8 ton Halftrack?

Depends... They running cross-country or on the hardball?

Cross-country, they'll pick up the dirt and pack it into the areas between the pads on the 8-ton, the KT will have even more... The tracks on either one will tear hell outta the ground just driving over it...

On the hardball, the steel will be a dark rust/dirt color, while the trackpads will lkely be a nice dark grey as they're rubber... On theKT, same thing, except the cleats will be nice & shiney... Unless it's a dirt road, in which case they will pick up the road color...

IBuild148

Perfect timing for this question.

In planning for my Q1 2012 builds what color would the tracks be for a King Tiger in France and a Sd.Kfz.7 8 ton Halftrack?

Humbrol used to make a color that they called Track Colour, a dirty brownish gray that if you drybrushed with steel after using as the base coat, was excellent for exposed metal like tracks, shovel heads, etc. Unfortunately that color was discontinued long ago. But!!! recently Model Master came out with a very similar color of the same name (spelled American style), Track Color, that works very well in the same roll.

Here is MM Track Color on a recent build before dry brushing

and after dry brushing

with a coat of pigments or an airbrushed dust coat afterwards to tone it down and tie everything together, the color really works.

In a temperate environment, the steel portion of the tracks that are not in direct contact with road wheels, drive sprocket teeth, or idler wheels, tend to take on a brown burnished look over time when in use. When they sit still over night, a fine coat of bright rust sprouts up. But as soon as the vehicle starts moving a few feet, that is ground off. Like HvH said, the rubber pads on the Kfz 7 should be a faded black/dark gray color.

Look at the tracks on this ITV on a dirt road in Germany for an idea on tracks with rubber pads...

Thanks Hans for the tips on the Kfz 7 rubber pads.

Stik - I will check my local HS for the MM Track Color tommorrow.

I want to finish my PZ.WF.42 that has been on the floor for to long by 31 December. I spent the last 2 days putting 170 ModelKasten track links together not to mention all the pins that hold the links.

Just so I have the steps in order:

1. Paint with MM Track Color

2. Afix to road wheels

3. drybrush or pigments

Again Thanks

in my experience, (Bradley Driver) tracks do not get a light coat of rust over night.

look at this picture of a Bradley that has been a motopool for over a month. We just finished painting it for a family day event. No rust on the tracks even after a month.

I wonder if those track shoes were made from something other than steel. But MM Jet Exhaust would do real good for whatever metal they are made from

I agree with that theory!