Hey Guys,I'm doing Revell's 1/76 Jagdpanther kit #03232.It's my first Braille Scale build and I have a couple of questions.The kit comes with rubber tracks and I was wondering how and with what I should paint them with so the paint does not flake off when I put them on the hull.Also,where can I get a couple of track sections to hang on the sides?Thanks,Jeff

Jeff,

I'm not an expert but I have built 2 former Matchbox kits that Revell produces and the tracks worked out ok. I read somewhere that these vinyl tracks should be washed well with dish washing detergent and one person even suggested using a dilute solvent and primed with an enamel paint. I washed them with the dish soap and after dry I base coated them with Humbrol flat black enamel. After that I used acrylics and have had no issues with flaking paint to this point even after two years. As for spare tracks I'll have to leave that to someone more knowledgeable to answer.

Regards,
AJ

I spray soft vinyl tracks (Revell, Trumpeter, Airfix and Dragon - DS tracks) with Tamiya TS-6 flat black and use acrylics thereafter. A final wash with Mig pigments finishes them off, ready to be installed.

Easyist way to get spare track is to use some pieces of the kit track, if its detailed enough . Cut a few links out of the track and hide the gap behind the side skirts . I've made my own for a Roco 1/87 Tiger by finding Evergreen plastic strip the right width and adding very tiny plastic teeth and drilling very small holes . I had to make about 2 dozen to get a half dozen that looked OK . And nobody ever notices

How to paint them:

Wash them thoroughly with a hand-safe degreaser (like a mechanic might use to get oil off their hands) or TSP to get any mould release off them. Then spray of brush paint like normal.

What to use:

That's up to personal preference. A dark grey is generally best for rubber track pads and I like to use Tamiya Chrome Aluminum as a base for the metal parts of active vehciles and then I burnish them with graphite to dull teh aluminum while keeping the metallic sheen. In service these parts are realy burnished steel, so a bright look is good. I then dirty them to match the ground they're sitting on.

Paint not flaking off:

Sorry, that you're going to have to live with, Nothing will make the paint really stick to the vinyl of the tracks. It will always flake off a bit. Use a good paint and have clean tracks prior to painting and less will come off, but you are going to have to touch up/cover with dirt to hide what will eventually flake off. There's no way to totally eliminate it.

Limit the number of times the tracks are on & off the vehicle after painting and you'll limit the amount flaked off.




I'd make a silicone mould & cast my own. If you don't want to go to the trouble of making a large mould box for a few track links, then there are a couple brands of RTV putty available(Smooth-on makes producte called Poyo Mold Putty that works well).

HTH

Paul

If you paint the tracks and try to place them on the hull afterwards they will probably flake no matter what you do because the material (vinyl) is stretched while you try to pace it on the wheels and the paint that is on it, cracks and flakes.

What I do is place the tracks on the vehicle unpainted, glue them to the final position with sags etc and then prime and paint the whole model. Once you get used to this approach you'll stick with it.

Check this out :
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww272/PanzerAlex/Revell%20Tiger%20H/DSC_0349.jpg

This way the primer will be applied on the final position of the tracks where no further changes will be made. Therefore the paint behaves just like on any other surface.

I would not use enamel based primer as most washes I use contain either white spirit or turpentine that reacts with enamels. Instead use Vallejo acrylic primer which is absolutely safe and very very strong.

As for spare tracks it is a matter of spare box. Once you've built enough models you'll have quite some lying around. Else you can check aftermarket kits with spare parts.

To make a long story short.

Place the tracks on the modelglue them on their final place and prime-paint them after. Even paintbrush will do the job.

Use Vallejo Acrylic Primer.

Hope this helps.

P.A.

Thank you Gentlemen,this gives me a few options and ways I hadn't thought of.Jeff