Thanks for the quick & plentiful replies! I do like the Friul tracks and have a number of them as well, but it gets a bit much to drop $50+ per kit :-)

I might try the tip of sanding down the pins a bit. I don't need them to be workable per se, so in that sense the pins are more of an assembly helper.

There's a way to glue up plastic indie link tracks. Set up a pair of wood or whatever strips on the bench the width of the track. Put down as many links as you'll need. Flow Tamiya Thin into the joins. Let it sit about fifteen minutes. Apply it to the vehicle while still pliable.

I always glue indi-link tracks.  I don't see the point in making them "workable" unless you intend to roll them around the floor making vroom, vroom noises.  I will usually make an upper and a lower run, split at the front and rear, then join them when I attach them to the vehicle.  If there are side skirts, like an Abrams or a Bradley, I will only build what can be viewed when the vehicle is sitting under normal conditions.  This usually means no track above the drive sprocket and idler wheel, which is usually anything up inside/behind the skirts.  When glued and properly sagged (or not), well molded indi-link tracks look just as good as Fruils in my opinion, and are much cheaper.

On a HobbyBoss tank I built a few years ago with them I just stuck in the ones you could see and cemented the whole track length together. If I'd tried to use all of them and make the track 'workable' I'm sure it would have either ended up back in the box or slam-dunked into the trash.

Friuls on the Tamiya Tiran 5.

Those look to be about as much fun as jabbing forks in my eyes.

Depending on how snug the fit is between pieces, if they don't go together well you could probably snip the pins off and glue the pieces together.

I built my Tiran 5 with Friul tracks and they are great.

My experience with them is a lot of work and pain wit hthe pins pinging everywhere and breaking.

Yes... I am an experienced builder and when I see these or the rubber band tracks in kits I immediatly go lookiing around Ebay for Friul tracks. Easier to put together, hang realistically and is a much less stressful way to spend an evening or two!

For my RFM Panther G build I have used Master Club tracks for the first time and they are metal tracks (very soft metal... you can dent and bend them out of shape with a fingernail and not much pressure) and resin pins that break easily. I will be speaking with them about my experience at IPMS show at Telford!

you might think it is an extra expense, and it is, but it is so worth it!

James

Hello Kyle!

I don't think I have much experience here, also because after I complete two lengths of complicated tracks I try to avoid tracks altogether for a long time...

But I have seen stuff like this, and so I say you might go the easy way or the hard way... The easy way might be filing the pins down a little, to make them shorter and less prone to crushing. The track might get pretty fragile after something like that.

OR you might drill the holes out and use catual pins made of wire. I know, a lot of holes to drill, it's a chore... But tank modellers sometimes HAVE to do that.

Anyhow, good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł