Wow, where does the time go?  Work continues on the M3 Lee.

I got in a set of running gear from Asuka (formerly Tasca), because Miniart's set was not available from any of my usual sources.

The bogies have sponge rubber inserts above the volute spring assembly, which allows the suspension to function.  But I replaced the sponge with some sheet plastic stacked to make 0.050" thickness, which just about locks the upward travel.  I left the suspension arms free to teeter-totter, as this will help level everything when all the bogies are attached.

The sprocket, of which three types are provided, mesh perfectly with the Miniart tracks.  But the sprocket halves need to be spaced around 0.015" or so to match the track width.

I remember getting this for Christmas in '84.  I also got the "Hunting Tiger". Many carpet battles ensued!

I never got the old Tamiya Jagdtiger, but when I visited the Tank Museum in Bovington, I noticed the box art camouflage was based on the museum’s specimen!  Yes, even in 2015 it was STILL painted in a spurrious grey with dark yellow spots!  Too funny.

How are the tracks coming along? 

Nice!!! The replacement running gear looks good!!

BTW is the KV still in the box? Looking forward to seeing more of her too.

Gamera - Modeling has been very slow over here, but I did assemble two more bogies.  Those VVS suspension units are most fiddly - give me torsion bar suspension any day!

The KV is hibernating until I feel like getting the weathering paints out.  But I am like a dog with a squirrel fixation, and am easily distracted.

Greysnake - No more tracks have been made, but since I have been able to get them to work with the Asuka running gear, I should be resuming production.

Real G

I never got the old Tamiya Jagdtiger, but when I visited the Tank Museum in Bovington, I noticed the box art camouflage was based on the museum’s specimen!  Yes, even in 2015 it was STILL painted in a spurrious grey with dark yellow spots!  Too funny.

 

You have to watch the stuff in museums, they're human, too, and just as prone to mistakes, like the way they had their Porsche turret King Tiger painted with a three color camo scheme until it was pointed out that their tank is a pre-production model with the soft steel Porsche turret and should have been plain dunkelgelb. They have it corrected now, but it was wrong so long and I liked it so much I'm thinking of doing a KT in the original, incorrect paint and marking it as such. Besides, that's the only way I know to get a three color paint job on a Porsche turret KT with no zim. 

Are you sure that Jagdtiger was based on the box art? It could have been the other way around, with the box art based on the Bovington JT. It wouldn't be the first time a model company used an incorrect paint scheme based on what they saw in a museum. I guess it depends on which was painted first! 

I’m pretty sure Tamiya used the Bovington Jagdtiger’s paint job as a reference for their box art.  Well, it was the 1970s, so both can be forgiven.  I guess it might be too much to haul the JT out to the paint shop for a refresh.

While at the Tank Museum we did get to watch an EBR-75 getting driven out of the display area, probably destined for the restoration shop.

As for the M3, I finally assembled the last two Tasca bogies and fixed them in place.  I added some extensions to the drive and idler axles to get them to align with the new wider road wheels.  Funnily, the Tamiya kit tracks actually fit the wider Tasca wheels.

Now the dreaded task of assembling those infernal tracks.  They do look nice though.

Photos to follow once I make headway on the tracks.  Or if I get bored and start painting the tank.  Actually I can do that right now.  A long weekend is approaching so...

Looking good RG! 

The Miniart track set is turning out to be a pain to assemble.  The sprue stubs all need a lot of clean up, the flash on the end connectors is too heavy to chase away with the edge of a sharp knife, and it's like herding cats to get everything together.  After several hours of work, I only have this to show:

It's not enjoyable at all and is really killing my motivation.  And so like a squirrel with ADHD, I decided to try a Modelkasten set for a Type 3 tank I have in the Shelf of Doom:

By stark contrast, the M-K set went together very easily.  I had started a few links many years ago and got stymied.  But I figured out a system (by following the instructions!) and in just a couple of hours I had almost one run completed.  The scant flash is the wafer kind, so it easily scrapes off, and the sprue attachment points are fewer and smaller than the Miniart parts.  Modelkasten's instructions say you should snap off the track links like when you were a little kid.  It kind of works, but you still need a liitle bit of trimming.  I think I'll finish the Type 3's tracks for a sanity break before going back to the M3.

Here is where the S.O.D. Type 3 is currently at:

GreySnake,

Yeah, I had to resort to metal files as well.  Not fun at all.  

In contrast, the Modelkasten Type 3 tracks fairly zipped together in about four build sessions.

My only observation is that the center guide teeth sprue connections are best cleaned up after the teeth are attached to the track shoe.  And of course the tiny pins make the assembled track terribly fragile.  Perhaps it is best to glue the links after the proper run and sag are set.

Okay no more excuses, back on to the M3's tracks...

Those tracks look good Real G! 

And I know the feeling, the snap together type tracks are pretty idiot-proof (even I can assemble them) those with multiple parts are a royal pain. 

I have a couple of sets of replacement tracks for Type 97s and related tanks like the Type 1 from Vision Models- funny these look like the same thing. Wonder if it's just the same design or the same parts repackaged by Model Kasten? 

Gamera,

If I were to do another IJA tank, I'd spring fot the Sector 35 preassembled metal tracks.  They might not be as crisp, and their factory workers get CA glue all over the place, but the labor savings is worth it.

As for the M3, as well as M4 and other similar tanks, I would rather suck it in and do plastic tracks, since some have rubber shoes and all are of the "live track" variety with little to no sag.  But I am thinking the glue assembly ones are preferrable over infernal workable types like Miniart's.  I have glue together track sets for my Tamiya M10 and AFV Club M5, which I now consider them to have been the right choice.

With the advances in "rubber band" tracks, I'm completely solld on them for most "live" track designs, and am quite satisfied with Dragon and Tasca, even the new Tamiya M4 tracks. I'm old, don't want to take the time to do multi-part Sherman tracks any more, but that's just me. Kudos to you on the Miniart tracks, they sound onerous.