academy single link tracks

[streetfighterjeff]

guys, i'm building the academy tiger 1. it's got single link tracks and i have never used them before. whats the best way to put them tgether? the flat runs are ok,but how do it so i get them round te drive sprokets and idlers? to be honest i'm scared of doing them in case i bugger up a kit that have spent 3 years on and off building

jeff

[Graham Boak]

I'm about to go upstairs and face my first link and length track too, which I've been putting off for so long I forgot what green I'd painted the hull and wheels with - Humbrol 117 as it turns out. I guess my Fujimi JS2 hasn't had the same effort/emotional load behind it as your Tiger. Can I suggest doing a test run with a soluble adhesive to check how easily they fit around the sprockets and idlers? This will allow you to rotate these slightly to get the right distance for the long runs. Once it has worked and you're happy wash out part of the adhesive at a time and replace it with the proper stuff.

Obviously not years of experience there, but it seems logical to me. I only hope that I haven't frozen the sprockets on mine with paint....

Edit: No-one else come in yet? Well, I can say that I have made my first Link and length track, and apart from being pretty tedious I can't say it was worse than just being rather fiddly. These links are tiny in 1/76. The kit came with a single long bottom length, and with the top length made up from a number of lengths and links to get the sag. This top link I'd premade so it was solid. I then started at the top of the sprocket, worked around, and lo they fell into place remarkably well. It didn't help that the instructions had swapped two of the lengths around, but fortunately I spotted it before I began. I did try it their way - and it didn't fit. I didn't prefit with soluble adhesive, but charged straight ahead. Certainly this is not a job for superglue: the slight adjustability of the polystyrene glue helped a lot to get the right overall positions - given a certainly amount of language when a piece moved on the other side of the sprocket from which I was working, It helped to keep the idler to last, as there's no positive location for the links. You can perhaps glue a few of the links together but not to the idler, leaving them free to rotate around to get the best fit - I didn't need that fortunately.

No doubt the geometry and tooling of your kit will be different, but I suspect that my comments will be generic enough. Good luck.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Graham Boak

[Kiwidave4]

I have used them several times and never found them to be much of a problem - mainly Trumpeter and AFV Club but also Academy M113.

I use a home made jig which is just a couple of pieces of wood with a gap between them to accept the guide horns. (It is actually my home made wheel alignment jig which I modified - like to get my moneys worth out of my free tools!)

I always use styrene cement, a sparing application of thin cement to get the lengths assembled, and then it can be strengthened with an extra application as necessary and/or CA if you prefer.

Running around the sprocket and idlers I first lay the length I need flat and apply some cement, then when it has started to set a bit just wrap the links around the wheel.

The only real problem I have encountered is partly of my own making. I tend to do mainly scratch conversions, so the track I use is often for a different vehicle or kit, ie Academy Panzer tracks on a Tamiya based Charioteer, or Trumpeter T-55 tracks on a Tamiya T-55. In these cases it is possible to end up with a half link situation, but it can usually be got round by carefully reducing the size of three or four links, or simply hiding the join under the track guards.

The above can also cause problems at the sprocket as pitch and thickness can be wrong. Simplest solution to the pitch problem is to cut the teeth off the sprocket, attach the track, and glue teeth into the sprocket where needed!

Hope that helps.

Regards Dave

[Peter Roberts]

First, a caveat - I have only built two tanks, and am into my third.

However, one was a Pz IV with individual track links. I found the best way to assemble these was to do segments, and use thin Tamiya cement. Assemble a length and let the glue start to go off, so that it holds the assembly together but the length of track is still malleable. Then, if it has to sag or conform to a wheel, it can be bent around. If needed, I held the assembly in place with masking tape until it had set. For me, the trick was not to try to do too much at once.

HTH

PR

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I only build small scale stuff, but I'd guess the same priniples apply.....If the links are neatly cast and even, go with Dave's suggestion of jigging up the links, letting them bond and then fitting around the sprocket/idler. Always pick one starting point and work in one direction, don't make your flat runs completely flat, allow for the sag of the track. I aim to make the final connection under a roadwheel out of sight.

If the links are shonky, adding them one at a time is usually your only hope!