Just a few pics of my ACE RSO w/PAK 40 under construction. Ace kits take a lot of extra attention as they are short run kits. But they build up nice and they have some interesting subjects. Roden PAK is also very nice and if you are careful you can have the recoil mechanism actually operate.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/Dobarr/CIMG4029.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/Dobarr/CIMG4030.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/Dobarr/CIMG4028.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/Dobarr/CIMG4031.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g75/Dobarr/CIMG4034.jpg

Looks good.
What do you mean by ''short run kits'' ?
I know that ACE provides folding PE tracks. These look
good, but I wonder if they look out of scale in heavier vehicles with thicker tracks.
I bought OKB Grigorov's PE tracks but I doubt if I can use them because of the inadequate thickness. The good part is that they have nice teeth (hollow in PZ IV for example)

What's your opinion on the subject?

Alexander

That looks great! I don't think my old eyes could build something that small. I had a hell of a time with a 1/35th scale Model T scout car!

Hello Alexander, thanks for the comments. A "short run" kit is a plastic kit with a mold that can only make a low number of models before the mold deteriorates. I do not know why the mold degrades but I am assuming it is because it is made of softer metal. A short run kit usually does not have the same level of detail and usually has larger areas of flash. It could also have some sink marks, or some "short cast" parts. These kits require a lot of dry fitting and you have to apply the file liberally to make the fit without major gaps. Some parts also require what I would call carving. Large amounts of plastic must be removed. However, after all of the extra effort, you can have a subjetc that is not available in a "normal" long run kit. The PE tracks can appear to be too thin. Especially on vehicles which had track blocks. I built an ACE sdKfz 250 and the PE tracks do look a little under scale. However, on the RSO they look very nice and like you said they have guide horns. The only real problem I had was the teeth on the sprockets do not match up with the tracks so you have to file off the teeth on the drive sprockets where they meet the track. I would not recommend this kit to a beginner as it would be very difficult.

Hi David

your build is looking good.

The ACE Steyrs are my favourite ACE kit. I've also found that the teeth on the front and rear sprockets have to be heavily reduced in size to get the track to wrap correctly around them.

the tracks are good on these, provided you pre heat them, then allow them to cool to 'soften' them before attempting to fit them. Your tracks look good.

I alsofind that pre shape the bends in the track around a piece of rounded rod (like a pen or pencil) of about the same diameter as the sprockets before fitting, to make the job easier & to avoid putting kinks in the tracks. (for anyone reading who hasn't tried etch tracks, or has had a bit of trouble shaping them )

regards
Neil