Hi everyone. A couple of days before i had to be somewhere stuck for a whole day, with not anything really to do, so i took a kit with me. I decided to take a simple kit and build it in a day. Something is wrong with me lately.... So after a look in my stash, this one was an obvious choise. Simple and with few parts. Great kit i must admit for its price. The kit's tracks were bad, (the only thing i did'nt like in this kit). To fix that, i decided to use the rubber ones provided by Trumpeter in their KV 1 (model 1941) kit. It also has plastic track links. Last night i managed to paint it and next step is to get it weathered etc... you know the drill....

Hi guys. Does anyone know which is the best way to glue rubber tracks in order for them to shag?

I have seen cotton used to tie the track to the roadwheels and also fine metal rod through the body holding the track in a sagged position. I don't know of any glue that will always hold rubber track down.

Metal rod to physically push them down is the best answer, ESPECIALLY for the VERY BAD italeri and Zvezda tracks. I would recommend getting new tracks if at all possible...if someone has some spare DML IS-/ISU tracks, they are great.

Hi John

Have you tried 2 parts epoxy glue?. Usually is the best glue for the most difficult cases. Your bonding will be elastic, you won't have any problems of durability
To replicate the sag you can use some metal pins stick in the lower hull and hidden under the fenders which could force the track links in the right position

Anyway, great job so far. Considering how expensive is the Tamiya kit,the Zvezda one looks like a cheap and good alternative

cheers

Thank you very much for the responce guys!
The tracks are not from the Zvezda kit. I used the rubber tracks that Trumpeter gives as an alternative to the KV-1 (model 1941) Small turret kit. They have good detail. Most of the work is done, few details remain. Here are some pics, although this time at night it's a little diffuicult to get good ones. I'll try some epoxy glue first as it seems easier, if that fails i'll go for the metal at the hull sides. We'll see...

If you are going to use only the epoxy glue, dusring the drying time you can put some tissues between the fenders and the tracks to obtain the right sag.

I really envy you! You can manage to make a model in three days...for me three months are usually not enough

Apart from rubbery looking tracks, very nice build.

Yet again, the inherent problem with slogans that would make a Russian speaker smile. "Besstrashnyi" is actually one word which means "Frightless". "Strashnyi bes" would be rather translated as "Terrible Devil"

My two cents

Thanks a lot Raivo 74. The tracks now have their shag although they can't be as good as linked ones....

Now for the writing on the turret, i'll take your word for that! I don't speak Russian so, i trusted the Russian company... . I mean that the decals came from Zvezda's T34/85 so i didn't think that they would have it wrong. Next time i'll ask before i use them!

On the other hand the decals are of excellent quality! They were placed with no problems at all and without additives on such a bumpy surface, no silvering whatsoever! Maybe they can make us all a huge favor and share their secret with Hasegawa on the matter?




Yep, but i bet that if someone sees it finished from you he'll hardly look at my kit again....

Here are some pics. Thanks for looking and for all the help guys!

I really don't think so!

Good job indeed, congrats! And you're right, the decals look very good

Have you used the epoxy glue in the end?

Mauro i didn't use an epoxy glue. I remembered i had a Loctite Attak Flex. I have used this glue on rubber before with nice results and it worked again. It took me about 4 minutes maybe? They got glued nice and fast. That was a big relief.