Aber or Eduard

I agree with Bill. Eduards instructions are easier to understand compared Aber. I will be using a Aber pe set for my M4A3 Calliope build for the first time. I will leave feedback on how it goes.
Mark956

Hi Box, I personally think indy tracks aren't that difficult. I too, was scared to try them. Now I almost feel guilty doing vinyl, which are less accurate. On a tank that needs some sag, indy tracks are the way to go. I have not yet built Modelkasten or Friul sets. Just do the tracks in sections. I usually build one set that wraps around the drive sprocket and another that wraps around the idler. Finally, link them up with a long stretch of track on the top and bottom. Use slower setting glue to ease construction. Try it, you'll be glad you did.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

My 2 cents worth...

I wholly agree with everything that's been said. Aber does some fantastic work, but after it's on the model, often, I'm not sure the result is worth the frustration level. For example, an equipment clamp in an Eduard set is made up of two parts. Those in Aber, three. Not much difference in two parts vrs. three. You won't say that once you've done an Aber clamp! I worked for over a half hour last night trying to get one Aber clamp put together. After tweezerpulting 3 of the 4 parts I'd cut off the fret, I gave up for the night. (I did manage to find 2 of the 3 parts!!) But their parts are beautiful.

Also, I feel that Eduard's instructions are usually much more comprenhensive and the illustrations clearer than Aber. Expect with Aber to put a lot of time into pouring over research to find out what an item is and where it went.

My recommendation would be to get a few more PE sets under your belt before going with an Aber set.

Good luck with whichever way you go,

Bill

I echo what J-hulk said, I have used both and the aber is better if you can decide what you want on the model, but you really can't go wrong with either, so if money is an issure, then use Eduard and you will do fine. I have never used single links, I will on my next model.

Eduard is more pragmatic, simply put. Easier to use, less frustration, with good choices of what to etch, in my opinion.

Aber etches almost everything, a lot of which, in my opinion, is wholly unnecessary. Way over the top. And what they choose to etch (again, almost everything!) is overly complicated, and very difficult to assemble. The frustration factor is very, very high with Aber.

But, if you can get it together cleanly, the Aber PE is fantastic. In fact, even after giving the above opinion, Aber is what I usually buy.

The reason is I can choose what I think will benefit from being replaced by an etched part. If I think the kit part is fine (if it even exists!), then I have no problem not using the Aber part. You can build a pretty good PE spares box that way!

As for individual trax, aftermarket sets like Friul or Modelkasten are good options, but you can certainly get good results from some kit trax, too. I'm not familiar with the kit you have, but I've done several Dragon kits, and have had no problems getting good results from their link trax. You just have to deal with sink holes and other clean-up problems.
The key to any of them is just doing them, I reckon!

Good luck with whichever path you choose.

Hey Box, I persoanlly feel Aber frets are of much higher quality. Don't get me wrong Eduard is great, and I use them often, but the detail you can achieve with Aber is fantastic. The only problem with Aber is they are known to split there frets into seperate packages, unlike Eduard, who include everything you need in one.

As for the individual tracks, I stay far away from them, and opt to use ModelKasten workables or Fruilmodel Tracks.

Good luck Box, the Sturm is a great kit.

Cheers

Rob

Aber is going to give you a lot more on a p/e set and that's usually the difference in the cost. However, Eduard usually has the main items you need to add and less of the tiny stuff. So just decide how much you want to do on it.

On the indy tracks, I haven't built any yet but I hear the main thing is to line them up against a straight edge whe you glue them to keep them straight. Good luck on it box1.

Eric