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Fixing the Halftrack

The suspension

I then decided to work on the suspension. It is so inaccurate and toy looking. I started with the front end by wrapping muffler tape around the ditch roller. I do that to hide seams on the roller (leaves only one seam which I try to hide) and it gives the benefit of having a metal finish that looks really cool when you scrap the paint away to expose it or to give a very light coat of paint over to convey that it is metal beneath. I also replaced the springs on both sides with wire wrapped around the green wire used in flower arrangements. The rear suspension required quite a bit of work. I had to drill holes in the roller wheels then square the holes with a hobby blade. I thought about building them from scratch with a jig, but threw that idea out the window. I didn’t want to forget that modeling is fun, not surgery. The rear horizontal shock is a ball pen with wire wrapped around it. I wrapped the end of the exhaust pipe with muffler tape to reproduce the thin pipe on the end.

The other parts

The other parts that I was to reproduce were the fine details that were so heavily molded by Tamiya. I made the jerry can holders by cutting plastic card for a bottom pattern, and then wrapping the muffler tape around the card. I then trimmed it to size with fine scissors I stole – Uh; I mean that my wife donated from her pedicure kit. The same system was used with the storage bins within the compartment. I sanded all the molded in features on exterior walls of the aft compartment and then simply glued plastic card to the sides. I know it throws the scale off, but again, it’s the impression I’m looking for. I should have used muffler tape to slab the sides, but I didn’t think of it until after I had glued the plastic sheet already. I added the rivets with white glue. The last thing I wanted to discuss were the hinges on the vehicle. I create them by sanding the joints flat; cutting a square piece of muffler tape to size and then gluing stretched sprue across the center of the square. I like the look of them when finished and painted.

Conclusion

I painted the model and finished it for the “Move It” campaign. I really like the way it came out. I could have purchased AM parts for the engine and the rear suspension, and the model would have definitely come out better, but the sense of satisfaction of “scratching it” made for a much more fun modeling experience.