Quick question/help with Friul tracks

Reaper

I'd build 100 then see how they fit. The last few leave the pins long just in case too. Dont be surprised if you have different numbers on each side that can happen. There are always more than you need but dont forget the amount of sag you need on a tiger.

Phil

What Phil said, though I might even go a few shorter initially.  I built the Tamiya Tiger several years ago and if I remember, I needed about 95 per side.  I find it easier to add links rather that remove them, but you can do it either way.

Don

Another idea: I assemble Friuls and SpadeAce in groups of 10 links, just to make them easier to handle, then when I'm ready to install them, put groups of 10 together until I need fewer than 10 links to complete a run, leaving one long pin for dis-assembly and painting.

And yes, for torsion bar suspended tanks, it's common to use more links on one side. Also, expect to have numerous un-used links, great for spares.

But wait, there's more!

Friul-supplied wire for the pins is soft and holds the curvature from being coiled for packaging. I have much better results using appropriately-sized steel or brass wire, commonly available in good hardwate stores and model shops. It's cheap, straight and usually can be inserted without having to open the holes in the links with a tiny, expensive and easily broken micro-sized drill bit.

Sorry for the wordy reply, but I use Friuls and Spade Ace metal indies a lot and have finally worked up some pretty good methods to make them as painless as possible.

I've got a pretty nifty painting method too, involves the use of a pool toy........  ;)

Gladly given!

Depends on the size of the track link and how much "meat" there is for a hole, but most  I've done have taken .020" wire. Exceptions: the Merk4 links from Spade Ace are fairly thin, and .015" is working fine. Friul's M18 Hellcat links need smaller wire also, probably as would most links of similar size. Friul KV tracks work great using .020", no drilling required. The SA M113 tracks I did a while ago needed .015" wire.

When I go to the hardware store, I bring my calipers and measure the wire, as it's often mis-labeled: what has a .020" label can be anywhere from .017" to .022" from most suppliers. I generally buy all they have that's between .020" and .010".

You may want to experiment with brass wire as well, as it's easier to file the ends of the clipped-off lengths flat.

Here's another wrench in the werks: Spade Ace supplies a slightly stiffer wire than Friul, and because I couldn't find my required .015" wire at my regular supplier the other day, I tried SA's wire. It actually works nicely, stiff enough to insert easily and soft enough to quickly file the ends flat.

I can't take full credit for my pool toy painting tool, I read about someone using a round cardboard tube to drape the track runs over, which makes it easy to paint the portions of the links not visible with the tracks straight. I tried it and as I rolled the tube to paint, the tracks slid off the tube unless the exact same amount of track was over-hanging the tube on each side. Am I describing this well enough?

So to prevent this from happening, I grabbed an old "pool noodle" (it's a pool floatie toy made from extruded closed-cell  foam in about three foot lengths, usually about 5" in diameter) out of the garage, cut about a foot off of it and draped my track run over it. The closed-cell foam is coarse enough that the teeth and outer "cleats" on the track links prevent the runs from sliding off, allowing me to roll the "noodle" to get to the ends of the runs. Old noodles that have been exposed to sunlight for a while work best, since the outer layer of foam is breaking down, giving a more coarse surface for the tracks to "bite" into.

Works better than it should........

You're welcome!

Reaper420

I just wanted to add some more "flash" and weight to the model.

 Easy weight can be achieved by picking up a cheap and "weighty" old phone at the thrift store and tearing it apart.

The handset usually has solid lead ballast to keep it hefty. I usually load up all my tanks.

According to the Speilberger Book on Tiger Tanks there were 96 links per side.