I just opened my new Tamiya M1A2 OIF Abrams to discover that one of the vinyl (or whatever it is) tracks has broken almost clean in two at the point where it was folded over and placed in the box. What options do I have to either fix it or replace the tracks? I'm relatively new to tanks.

If worse comes to worse,AFV-35012-T-158 Workable Tracks for M1+M2 Abrams,from AFV Club.

Available from Gretmodels+Spruebrothers.

thats if an effective repair can't be made

Where in texas are you John? Kings Hobby down here in Austin where I am at had a set of those AFV tracks the last time I was in there and that was about two weeks ago. if you go that route, give them a call.

I'm in Katy, TX. I didn't know about the AFV Club indy tracks. I'm in the process of building my first model with indy tracks (Tamiya Tiger I Late), so if I'm successful with that, I might attempt the AFV Club tracks. Or, I might just try to repair the broken tracks, and then hide the repair behind the side skirts. One more question, the tracks seem to have "memorized" the bent-in-half shape they were in while in the box. How do I get them to lay straight and flat again?

Good question John. I would try taping it flat on something and maybe sitting it in the sun for a little while or maybe using a blow dryer on low heat.

You may want to try to contact Tamiya America for a replacement set of tracks. As for the kink in the tracks, you could try putting them in near-boiling water for a minute or so, then wrapping them around the wheels and sprockets. Let them cool in that position and it should at least soften the sharp kink, if not get rid of it altogether.

The nice thing (if there is one) about the rubber-band tracks is that the "memory" isn't permanent. If you put the tracks on the model and leave them for a bit they will reform themselves to the new shape.

The M1 uses "live" tracks (meaning there's no slack) so unless they are really loose, I wouldn't worry about them.

Greetings from the other end of Houston, by the way...I'm out Champions Forest way

sorry to hear bout your problem john..

if you check out the bottom part of your tamiya instructions, the ones with the japanese words, you'd see a part order sheet.. if you have an official tamiya distributor near your place, just cut out the form, check what you need and give the list to them..

we have a tamiya factory near my place and a lot of tamiya kits are now made here.. so that's what i did when i ordered replacement leopard 2A6 tracks.. kinda cost me around $4 for a pair of vinyl ones.. a whole lot cheaper than buying indy tracks... hope this helps..

The tracks which come with this kit are the later "gluable" type, not the old rubberised vinyl ones which had to be melted together with a hot screwdriver. You may be able to simply glue it back together. If this fails, as suggested above, the AFV Club tracks are a good alternative. These should be simpler to assemble than your Tamiya Tiger indys, as they are more or less snap-together (no glue required)

Staple it.

I agree, if its close enough to the intended joint that the repair and the joint can be hidden under the skirts, you can be a little 'ugly' about fixing it. With the Dragon indy tracks in the AIM, I didn't even bother to do the links between the upper guide rollers, you can't see anything.

I've repaired vinyl tracks by using two 3/4 " long sections of stiff wire or (straight pins from my wife's sewing supplies), make sure both ends are sharp. Sitck the two pins in the thickest part of the broken setion of the track, like where the track pads are. Push the other section on to the other end of the pins. You can put a little super glue on the top side where it will not be noticed, to help hold it. I've had good luck doing it this way.