I'm building the old Dragon Imperial Grille Ausf. H and I want to replace the kit tracks with a set from Friul. Is ATL-13 the correct set? Bonus points if you know how Friuls fit this particular kit ... seriously, thanks for any help!

Hello Bill .. I've used these tracks before on a 38T i built years ago and the good news is you wont have any real problems at all just a hell of a lot of drilling lol ..i cant remember if i had to do any mods to the axles to get the drive sprockets to mount but even if you have to its easy anyway .. one thing is ..these tracks make a 38T look so good once on and really worth the effort

Cheers

Phill

Thanks for the confirmation on the tracks. The kit is not that bad for its age, just needs a bit of care. Unfortunately, the links just don't wrap around the suspension properly. I'd keep moving (or bin it), but I'm building it for a friend of a friend ... so we'll see if the Friuls spruce it up.

BillG;

Hi!

Just as an alternative thought... have you considered putting on some Dragon MagicTracks or those really nice-looking Tristar styrene links as found in the 38(t) E/F and G kits? Either of these could be a lot easier (at least in my experience, as they don't need drilling and are actually really crisp and mostly-free of stuff to clean off) and will produce very good-looking tracks with proper sag once done.

Just a thought/suggestion

Cheers!

Bob

Hey again Bill ,,, Bob is on to the thing here mate .. Friul. tracks as awsome as they are do require a hell of alot of work ..you MUST make sure the holes you drill are prefectly straight ,,i found with the dozen or so sets i have used that if the holes ain't straight the tracks won't conform to the road wheels ,they look twisted and even bent ,,they do look great when done but man it takes alot of work ,,Dargons magic track is super easy and clean as hell I love the SDKFZ 251 half track ..i've got 16 of them (trying to build all 25 verisons) ,,the magic tracks are a pleasure to work with even for a model with tracks that small.its a doddel for the bigger machines and ya i think if you want ease on the 38 smart tracks is the way to go .

cheers
phill

I've only done 3-4 sets of Friuls, but I've never had any trouble with them. In fact, I've never had to drill out links and the flash (where you find it) is easy to clean off. There are so many spare links in each set that if I have trouble with one I just toss it aside.

The other reason I'm going with Friuls is I attached the fenders before putting on the tracks. Wrong move in this case, but easy to understand when you consider my last few builds have all used Friuls. Anyway, there isn't a lot of clearance, so I'd rather go with what I know will be a sturdy set of tracks.

OH i've done that ,,its pure Bugger moment ,,why dont ya just wrap the track around the drive sprocket and then slip that on ..warping the track around the road wheels as ya go ? thats what i had to do when i glued the guards inplace on a 8 ton half track i built,,worked out rather well
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/585/dsc0038er.jpg/

I specifically left the drive sprocket loose to do this, but no luck. This has been maximum pain so far, since these are the older style individual link tracks that need to be cut off the sprues and cleaned up. I tried putting them on pressure fitted, since they fit together tightly, then with glue.

I know the Fruil track is a pain to build, but it is worth every bit of trouble. I don’t drill the links individually. The way I do them is drill as I put the links together. Put two links together then drill the link pen hole that keeps them strait.

Can I get some input on the easiest way to drill out SMALL Friul links? In the past I've used 0.020 brass rod or 0.015 piano wire with flat tipped pliers and simply pushed the wire through the links. If they really gave me trouble, I'd run the wire through the links individually before lining them up to make sure the holes were clear.

This approach isn't working this time because the links for the Pz.Kpfw. 38(t) are so small that even 0.015 piano wire is a tight fit. The smallest bit for my pin vise is too large and the wire that came with the links is soft and buckles when it hits any obstruction.

Does anyone know of smaller diameter wire or a more efficient method? I spent 1.5 hours last night assembling 12 links and I speared myself at least 2-3 times. There's got to be a better way ...

BillG;

Hi!

Well... I could be tiresome and say again "do the Dragon Magics" - a lot less painful than getting wired and speared doing those tiny metal links!

I DO understand and even appreciate the metal link enthusiasm - few things will look and act as much like metal links as... metal links. But the 38(t) links are TINY. You are having the same painful problems I experienced when doing some Fruils for a French Hotchkiss H39... Maybe even tinier than those 38(t). Took me a total of about 8 painful hours to assemble one side. Came out looking just the "sexiest", but I never did the other - simply too much painful frustration!

For what it's worth, I had my best success, after going down drilling (and breaking tiny bits) and trying to force the thin soft Fruil wire thru links (and into my fingers), with using some "minutin" insect pins. These are very thin, very strong springy steel enameled pins which are extremely sharp. They do have little heads on them for better grasp... They work very well and are actually pretty easy to simply force thru - but you can drive one thru a finger, too. Did that. Like with larger dress and fabric "straight pins", you shove these in and clip off the parts you don't want (heads and points, in my case).

"Minutin", or tiny, "size 000" insect pins are a standard entomological supply used by collectors and museums for pinning and mounting bugs. They are available from lab and academic supply houses and come in packs of 100 to 1000. Insect pins come in a wide range of sizes. "BioQuip.com" is where I order mine from. Depending on what you buy, expect to pay up to several bucks for a packet, so not cheap - but they will work quite well.


Cheers!

Bob

I'm committed to using the Friuls for this model, but in the future I will probably avoid using them for vehicles with such small tracks. I tried the "force the wire through" method last night, so tonight I'll try drilling out the links with a pin vise and see how that goes. These tracks are going on the model if I need tape to do it ...

Hey again Bill ..The only good way i know to sort out those links is to drill out each and every hole ..i've done it now to 5 SDKFZ-7 8 ton half tracks and of course my 38t ,,because the links are so small its the only safe way to really get the holes done .. since here we use millimetres and not inches i am not sure which size bits you will need but heres a helpful tip ,, buy aleast two or more bits ..they break easy .
Cheers
Phill

Just wanted to come back to my own thread with a tip for others who might be struggling with Friuls. I bought this tool from Micro-Mark and it's perfect for the job:

http://www.micromark.com/Special-Offer-Precision-Power-Screwdriver-and-Universal-Chuck-Combo,9714.html

I easily managed to drill out and assemble 35 links last night while watching TV and another 20 this morning. And since the links are drilled cleanly, the run is going together without any twisting and warping. Just a heads up in case any Friul newbies might be looking for a useful tool.

@:)