I'm stuck trying to get the Academy vinyl tracks joined together for my M3A1 Stuart. I tried melting the two vinyl pins with a heated screwdriver, but when I stretch the tracks over the drive and Idle wheels they just popped apart. So I next tried to CCA glue them. That turned out to be a complete waste of time as the glue won't bond to the vinyl tracks. It just flakes off.

That left me no other option but to try my hand with the individual links. I've been able to build a set of DML magic tracks that worked quite well. Each track was built up in 3 sections, and one link glued directly to the next. No clean up was needed.

With the Academy links you need to cut off every link and joiner, then clean them up, which is a long and boring job. Unfortunately, I drop and lose more of the parts then I finished cleaning up, but I tried to build a small section and it was a exercise in frustration for sure. The links just didn't line up. Is there a right way to build these tracks?

I checked out Sprue Brothers for tracks, and there are two sets for M3's from AVG. I don't know which one is the proper set, but I'm concerned about joining the ends of each track together will be another failure once again.

There is also a link set but at $45 it's just out of my budget.

Thanks for any and all help.

Joel,

What are you using for an adhesive? I like to use a white glue, such as MircoScacle's Liquid Tape.

Once the pieces are cleaned up, I put 1 end link on a block, then add another block. then add the 2nd end link. Then add another end link to my section of 2 blocks, and on and on. The glue remains tacky yet flexible and the parts don't fall apart.

If end up losing too many pieces, I've got spare sprues of tracks. Let me know.

The other nice thing is that the plastic tracks take paint and weathering a lot better than vinyl does.

I've used the AFV Club T-16 tracks for the Stuart and they are relatively simple to assemble. I did it this way:

1) Clean up the surface of the links, if needed, prior to removing from the sprue (I found this a tad easier than doing them one by one).

2) Remove the links and end connectors from the sprues & clean up the sprue connection points.

3) lay the links and end connectors on masking/painters tape and paint them with an airbrush.

4) turn them over & do the other side.

5) assemble the links dry, without cement in a long chain, not a loop. As I'm building I make sure the end connectors are evenly pressed agains the sides of the links to make sure the tracks stay relatively straight. There should be enough friction in the joints to ensure most links stay together as you assemble the tracks (next step) but don't play with them as they will work loose. But they are easy to put back together again, so just keep plugging onward.

6) drape them over the road wheels & sprockets (the wheels and the sprocket should be moveable but it's not a killer if they're not).

7) complete the last links to join the chain into a loop.

8) use liquid cement to glue the track pins to the end connectors. I do this by touching the glue to the exposed pins within the end connectors. It doesn't take much at all. You can do this link by link if you like to make sure the track looks like it is under the correct tension. Don't worry if you can't get to the inner end connectors on some links.

9) weather your model from there.

As an alternative, you could post a message here on Armorama asking if anyone has a spare set of rubber track & I 'd bet dollars to doughnuts that someone will come up with a set for you for the cost of postage.

HTH

Paul

Thanks guys for your help.

What I'm going to attempt to do as the vinyl tracks are on hold, is try the Academy Indi links. Going with Jesse's suggestion of using white glue to hold the links together, and yet remain flexable. I'm assuming that since there are 4 sprue trees, that two are for each track. Hope I don't have to take you up on the offer of extra links.

Paul, thanks for the tips. I looked at the AFV tracks, but since they're also on sprue trees, the work seems about the same. I also saw that they make a vinyl set, but don't want to go down that path again. Also thanks for the suggestion of asking the guys for an extra track if I eventually need one. Hopefully I won't have to go back to the option again.

Joel,

Actually, I'll have to take back the offer on the tracks. All my spares are the AFVClub ones, which I believe are different enough to not be interchangeable with the Academy pieces.

Good luck! I like to do sections of the track during my build times so I don't go crazy doing all the tracks at once. Each night at the end of my session or whatever, I'll work on the tracks for 15 mins, or just set 20 links aside and get those done. Tracks are certainly not the most fun part, but they do add to the model IMO.