The kit tracks are DS, moulded in tan. (Why can’t they do them in red-brown?) There is so much on the web about DS tracks not fitting, or disintegrating, so I was a little worried – these tracks are unique to the Kpz70, so there are no AM sets out there. After gluing the runs together I sprayed them with a slightly thin mix of Tamiya Red Brown (XF-64) and let it dry a few days. Then I added a “rust” wash made from Pollyscale Boxcar Red (a reddish-brown) and Pollyscale Grimy Black (“warmish” dark grey with a slightly red cast), thinned with “wet” water (distilled water and a hint of Ilfotol to break the surface tension). This was followed by the tedious task of painting all those rubber pads! On the inside there should be a rubber stripe on the central third of each link, while on the outside each pad stands proud. If I was doing an “in use” model I could hide this under lots of dirt, but not for my museum exhibit… (Several evenings were spent with the optivisor and a brush full of Vallejo Dark Rubber paint, testing my sanity!) Then came a combo of dry-brushing and “finger smudging” of Pollyscale Mud (any muddy-beige acrylic would do) to give just the right “dusty” look. This also hid the worst of my shaky painting on those inner stripes – bonus! The final touch was a quick dry-brush of Vallejo Gunmetal on the guide teeth. The tracks actually fit perfectly, and afterwards I glued on the outer halves of the idler and track support rollers.
