Geo1966 Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Hi Ed, That makes sense. Thanks for the info. George 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 Hi there folks, I have now completed assembling the MasterClub track links. The best way I can describe the assembly of these in a word is fiddly. I read a few articles regarding the assembly and so I decided that after sanding off the gate pips which only took a few rubs of sanding paper I used a 0.5mm drill to run through all the holes to clean up any flash. You have two different types of link, one with a centre guide and the other which is without. When I first started to assemble I found that the fit was very tight and that some of the links with the centre guide needed extra sanding between the teeth. The links without the centre guide, I just ran a file on the insides just to clean up any small bits of flash. That made the fit much better and I did these a few at a time as I carried on assembling so it wasn't really an issue. The fiddly bit was in adding the resin pins to secure the links, one pin has a round head the other is straight but has a very slight taper which when inserted fully would grip the tracks together. I added a small spot of CA to each pin before finally pushing the pin home. Some of the tracks had a slight warp which was easily bent back to flatness but sometimes getting the pin to fit into the holes took time as you needed to line up the holes perfectly, so some pins went in straight away while others you had to keep moving the link in order to line up the holes hence the word fiddly. As a side note the round headed pin goes on the inside of the track nearest the tank body. The design of the T-34 tank track is such that if the pin starts to work loose as the the track moves round, the pin hits an angled plate at the front which knocks the pin back into the track link. Although MasterClub supply resin pins to assemble the tracks the holes in the tracks go all the way through so you can use wire if you so wish. I have to say I really enjoyed assembling the tracks, once I got into a method of working, as I have never done metal tracks before I found It all went ok and would definitely use these again for future builds. Some photo's showing the tracks in position, I have taken the front plate off to give a better view, I really quite like these. So next up is to start assembly of the turret interior, will be back when I have made some progress. Thanks for looking in , all the best Ed 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 That's looking tremendous Ed, really great work! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 That's a great looking job that you've done so far Ed. Nice work with the track. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor L Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Looking great. As you say, tracks can be quite fiddly but satisfying when you get into a groove with them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1960 Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Very nice👍 Fiddly tracks? 😟 I bought two set of Master Club tracks (Elefant and Panzer IV), Are they fragile, too? I mean, they can resist to an heayy mud weathering process? PS: Your pics are fantastic! Ciao Filippo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 6 hours ago, keefr22 said: That's looking tremendous Ed, really great work! Keith 4 hours ago, Bullbasket said: That's a great looking job that you've done so far Ed. Nice work with the track. John. 2 hours ago, Trevor L said: Looking great. As you say, tracks can be quite fiddly but satisfying when you get into a groove with them. Thank you all for your kind comments, really appreciate it.. all the best Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Superb! I really enjoy watching you work. I’m glad I took the place in the front row Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Phil1960 said: Very nice👍 Fiddly tracks? 😟 I bought two set of Master Club tracks (Elefant and Panzer IV), Are they fragile, too? I mean, they can resist to an heayy mud weathering process? PS: Your pics are fantastic! Ciao Filippo Hi Filippo thanks for commenting, Don't worry the tracks are really excellent and I will definitely use again for future builds, I really like them. They are no more fiddly than the workable Miniart tracks that you get with the Panzer III. They also have pins and you have to line them up properly if you do not have a jig. About being fragile, that depends on the tracks, I'm not sure about the ones that you have got but I would imagine the T-60 would be quite delicate. The tracks are made from white metal which is soft so if the tracks are slightly warped you can easily bend them back again. Also because they are soft they are easy to clean up. Regarding the weathering process I'm going to use AK Burnishing fluid, see this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hutkFf3M7I You should be able to use your normal weathering techniques as you would normally do with plastic tracks. I would do a sample though before you commit to the whole tracks just in case. all the best Ed 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 6, 2021 Author Share Posted May 6, 2021 12 minutes ago, vytautas said: Superb! I really enjoy watching you work. I’m glad I took the place in the front row Vytautas Hi Vytautas, many thanks for your very kind words, I really appreciate it, I'm glad you are enjoying it. all the best Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaastav Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Looks great and very satisfying. Lovely work. BTW, would you recommend Friul or MasterClub for a T-55? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 7, 2021 Author Share Posted May 7, 2021 1 hour ago, Vaastav said: Looks great and very satisfying. Lovely work. BTW, would you recommend Friul or MasterClub for a T-55? Many thanks Vaastav for your comments, sorry I can't comment on the Friul tracks as this is the first time that I have attempted metal tracks, maybe someone can comment on this. I have a T-54 with Dozer Blade which I purchased recently so I would be looking at getting the MasterClub tracks for that as well. all the best Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 12, 2021 Author Share Posted May 12, 2021 (edited) I have now started to build the internals of the turret, first off was the gun assembly, its doesn't look like it but quite a lot of parts went to make this, nice detail though... Then I started to make up the rack for the shells and the shells themselves, the rack was quite a delicate bit of construction but everything fitted quite well... I have now started the construction of the base of the turret, just positioned the shells for now to show how it will look, quite a few more bits and pieces still to construct and add to this. Next stage is to start painting these bits and then slowly start to build and paint everything up. Will be back when I have got some paint and a bit of detail added to these... thanks for looking in Ed Edited May 12, 2021 by edjbartos 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 Looks very neat. Lovely work! Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 11 hours ago, vytautas said: Looks very neat. Lovely work! Vytautas Many thanks Vytautas, much appreciated, not far now from completing the model... all the best Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 14 hours ago, edjbartos said: its doesn't look like it but quite a lot of parts went to make this But it's Miniart, they don't do few parts. Nice work Ed. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 13 minutes ago, Bullbasket said: But it's Miniart, they don't do few parts. Nice work Ed. John. Thanks John, your dead right there mate, why do a part in one when you can do it in six... all the best Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Looks great so far, lovely work Ed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil1960 Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Great work! and what a pics 🤩 Ciao Filippo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 13, 2021 Author Share Posted May 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Carius said: Looks great so far, lovely work Ed. 1 hour ago, Phil1960 said: Great work! and what a pics 🤩 Ciao Filippo Thank you both for your very kind comments...👍 all the best Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IGKent Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Looked at all the pages ..... Excellent work Ed! (as always) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share Posted May 17, 2021 6 hours ago, IGKent said: Looked at all the pages ..... Excellent work Ed! (as always) Many thanks Igor, really appreciate that , busy painting those items now and will post in a few days time when I've completed that stage... thanks again Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IGKent Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 1 hour ago, edjbartos said: really appreciate that , busy painting those items now and will post in a few days time when I've completed that stage... thanks again Ed Great! Well done, Ed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edjbartos Posted May 19, 2021 Author Share Posted May 19, 2021 Hi there folks, hope everyone is well. I have now had the chance to paint and construct the bottom part of the turret. Again some of the sequence steps that Miniart have in constructing is a bit off. The instructions get you to add various bits to the gun assembly, like the fragile seating assembly and various other bits. The problem is that in order to get the gun in place you need to position it at an angle and then twist into position because its a tight fit which you want. But by doing so you end up breaking the bits that you have just glued on. So for anyone contemplating doing a similar build it's best to add the parts to the gun after you have the gun in place. A few photo's showing my progress so far... An overall view of the tank with the bottom half of the turret in place... that's pretty much completes the construction of the bottom half of the turret, now for the rest... thanks for looking in Ed 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Perfect work! I really like all the little things, everything looks very realistic. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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