Tiger 1 treads

My recommendation in this case is to not forget that you are creating piece of "Art", really, and that by embedding the tanks a bit and thereby giving the scene an impression of weight, you're going to have a more effective and impressive scene. Technically, yes--the treads might "float" a bit on some terrain, but I guarantee you that if you "float" your treads as per photographic reference, you're going to have guys going "you should've sunk th treads into the ground more" because it won't look "heavy".

Now, not that you should build for "other people's opinions", but I believe that you will like it better if it conveys an impression that hits home, rather than looking "factually correct". Art is Art, man!

There is a pic of an M48 that Shepard Paine did in the '70s that he modified for a diorama. He preplanned his diorama with some pretty rough, rocky terrain. He then cut the torsion bars on the tank and repositioned them for a compressed effect. He then mounted the wheels and tracks and put a bolt through the dio base and bottom of the tanks and tightened down the nut before installing the turret. It created quite a dramatic effect.

As Bish indicates they dont sink in as far as might be supposed unless the mud is really wet and deep, or sand is very loose and the tank is doing something other than moving forward. It is the whole point of tracks really! If you specifically want to have it embedded I would look at some wet mud as a scene

if you are working on a more dry surface then what I recommend is making a strip of spare tracks on a stick and using it to make a clear set of track indents in the ground material while it is drying, with a slight juggle around to make the marks a bit bigger than the tracks.. very carefully to get the spacing right for the tank (you could press the tank into it but it ricks getting crap on your precious model).. then sit the tank into those marks. The matching of dirt and dust colour/texture on the model to the ground is more crucial.

The flex of the wheels on a tiger is individual and quite substantial. It could give a great effect if you preplan some rocks or undulations and position the wheels and tracks appropriately.

Yes, the axel arms will move up over rocks if they are hard enough. If its in the desert though, I am not sure how it would react with sand stone, it might well crush it. As far as how far it sinks in, again, it depends on the terrain. Some model builders seem to believe that tracks should always sink in, but this is not true. In some cases, the tracks will not sink in, but on sand it would. Your best bet is to look at images of Tigers in the terrain you are planning on replicating.

But here is one example.