track question

I've got a similar question. I've just bought an Academy Tiger I tank and this has individual links. I assumed they would clip together to make a flexible track but the instructions say that they must be glued. Can't get my head round how that will work nor how the tracks can be effectively painted.

Am I missing something ?

Any advice welcome.

Cheers,

Nigel

You glue them together in *run's* Like one around the drive sprocket, a long run down the top and up to the idler wheel, one 'round the back of the idler to the first road wheel, one back towards the front and maybe a final one to meet up with the first segment you started.

Each run is several track pieces glued together to make the right size in length for said run.

Use slower setting cement, and have a ruler handy to make sure they are true. Tenax, and ProWeld will work fine, don't use too much glue no matter what !

For gluing I use Revell Contacta Liquid cement it takes several hours to dry ,you can assemble them and place them on the model . I use a piece of aluminium angle iron to assemble the runs and push them back against the up facing angle to keep them straight .For small track links I use a piece of stiff card and glue two icypole sitcks parallel with a gap between to take the guide horns on the track links .I place the first link in and put small dab of glue on the spots where the next link is mean to go and slide the next link up to it ,until I have a run of about 10 links ,and start again make two runs per side (top and bottom) long enough to complete each side. Carefully place them on the model to set them up but don't glue the ends of the runs .Let them dry and carefully remove them the next day (they will still be reasonably flexable) and paint , place them back on the model and glue the ends and touch up with paint when dry .

The only hard styrene tracks that clip together are the optional ones for the AFV Club M41 Walker Bulldog. The simpler link to link tracks must be glued together with a slow-setting cement (like Testors Liquid) and draped in place before they are fully dry. The workable aftermarket plastic tracks from Model Kasten and a few others are pinned together with incredibly fragile plastic pins that must be cemented in place individually (usually two per link) and cement must be applied sparingly or the joint will cement as well. Friulmodellismo makes white metal workable tracks that are pinned together with aluminum wire, but it too must be secured with a dab of superglue. A company Downunder called Anvil made individual link resin track that snapped together, but good luck finding them. Apparently the line was bought out by World War 2 Productions (IIRC), but they don't even have a website, let alone a proper distributor. GPO

You can go to the local pet store and buy a small tube of aquarium sealer. Used sparingly this will allow some flexibility in the finished product. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)