JackG

Out of curiosity I decided to do a count . . . So 234 links plus an extra little baggie that contains another 23 links which their instructions indicate these are provided to "close the circuit" of links. Overall that just leaves seven extras after which I guess good luck is suppose to take over. Decided to compare them to the Airfix tracks to supplement the printed ones - and matters just got worse! The QuickTracks are 1mm narrower than the injected ones, obviously someone dropped the ball. Turns out Airfix got them correct as 14inch width scales down to 10.16mm while the 3D printed product is just a hair over 0.9mm.

@Knevi Thanks for the new link. The method appears to be join one side and pivoting to the other end and they snap in place - which is how I tried. Mind you the Cromwell set is not shown during construction so they may be more fragile. I note too the set I received is a translucent black while those showcased in the video are solid grey. Hopefully they supplied more than the 250 links labeled on the packing as the Cromwell requires 125 per side.

@Kelscale Just got myself a set of Cromwell QuickTracks - but what is the trick when assembling so they don't break? Got seven links together while another two are broken. At that rate I wont have enough for both sides. Their instructions are only two photos showing either a straight edge metal tool (or is it pliers??) pressing down the middle of the track to snap in place. They provide a link to youtube but that video is gone.

I went laser too after many years of inkjet printers. Main reason was the option of white ink which is available separate but is quite pricey. Another benefit is powdered inks do not dry out - am certain I wasted way more ink with the inkjet just trying to unclog the print heads than printing an actual sheet. I don't print every month let alone the required weekly or even daily that some inkjets require in order to avoid issues just described. Lasers have also gone up in quality so that they too can be used to print photos.

One outfit that did custom decals on a small sheet is located in the Netherlands though you do have to provide the artwork. I think it was vector format I had used but I wasn't thrilled with the final product as registration was out. Maybe it was just isolated incident as they have been mentioned here before and people seemed to be happy. http://www.blackliondecals.nl/customdecals.htm

The TREX wheel set arrived the other day and as mentioned earlier, they only provide the outer set. So only half the requirement if one intends to do a full swap. They are also without perforations on the rubber facing inside. The edges could use a swipe or two with sandpaper, though they are not as sharp as those found with Airfix. A couple problem if trying to mate them with the Airfix inner wheels is the surfaces do not fit well, and require removal of resin of about 1mm - otherwise they would sit too far apart. Wheel thickness looks for the most part equal but are a bit smaller in diameter. Probably noticeable more once sitting on tracks.

The colour samples in the Chory publication are actual painted chips - just like Mike Starmer did with his pamphlets for British vehicles. Not sure what Historycolours.DE will provide once they publish their proposed title "T h e p a i n t i n g o f t h e G e r m a n A r m y e q u i p m e n t 1 9 2 0 s - 1 9 4 5" . Apparently already has 1400 pages written as Jens Mühlig has been doing research since 2015.

Hataka may have used the same information that Tomas Chory had in his publication which was first published in 2000. I have the the 3rd edition from 2016. Feb/March 1943 - first Dark Yellow was without a number - Dunkelgelb Nach Muster which had already existed as a base colour for farm machinery April 1943 - Dunkelgelb finally registered with the number RAL 7028. Its tone was also changed to what appears to be more greyish. To me the Chory paint chip looks like a shade of taupe. It is more grey than the Grau 7027 in his paint chart. 1944 - another revision of RAL 7028 but its source is a document from January 2nd 1945. Looks the most olive of all the five Dunkelgelb paint chips in the chart provided in the Chory publication.

The Panzer IV also expanded production in 1941 with two additional factory locations - VOMAG in the city of Plauen, and Nibelungenwerk in Austria. I'm not one of them but some die hard modelers go to the trouble to research the variations in factory builds in order to make a specific representation. Some can even look at a model kit box and contents and determine which factory it is trying to represent and what needs correcting . . .

Alight tried a colour study. One small adjustment applied to the roundel blue before applying the film emulator software. Made half the blue a bit brighter for possible sun fade, though seems more prevalent on the upper wings - main focus is to match grey tones on the fuselage side. All digital colour values from a posed thread from Casey. Both film types do seem to indicate a TSS background produces a better contrast match with the roundel.

Glad I don't have to make the call ... another look at what could be a number 8 instead of a 1 and partial 2. Z3580 IIcM XX27MU 7-6-41 48MU 10-6-41 Abbotsinch 19-6-41 'HMS Furious' (Nordic) 22-6-41 Malta 6-41 ME 8-7-41 returned Malta damaged 249Sq MNFU Damaged by Bf109 and belly-landed Luqa SOC 24-2-42 [see Z3570]

Hurricane Q does look to be serial ending with a visible partial 2 and not 5 - could be a 7 but that does not match the style of 7 in the background of Hurricane M. Zooming in even closer and then pixels start playing mind games - strap obstructing an entire number 6 or 8?

It has been a long time since playing any flight sims. One of the last I tried was Rise of Flight. It still has a free download but only includes three plane types - Spad 13, Albatros D.Va and Nieuport 17. There are expansion packs of 36 other aircraft that can be bought individually. https://riseofflight.com/

Thanks @JOCKNEY Yea I had never planned to build a Cromwell, and certainly not like this ...

The 40 appears to be on a disc so probably its bridge classification.