Hello!
Title says it all really,I don't want to use the kit DS track so am canvassing opinion on the individual link sets out there,the Bronco tracks look insane,the AFV Club tracks are cheap but 'old', white metal will be considered so Friuls or Easy Metal Link ( but I haven't seen any reviews for their offering)
So any help greatly appreciated
Any insight that other modellers have or experienced will be gratefully accepted :-)
Steve.

I used the bronco set which took me the best part of a week to build because of all the trimming and clean up but, with care, they can be built to move. They look great and fit the kit sprockets perfectly

Hi Steve,
you have many options, but in my opinion your best options are the AFV Club which still hold up well but require cleanup of a lot of ejector pin marks, or the Bronco which are a lot of assembly and cleanup. I omit the friulmodel/spade ace metal tracks because i firmly believe that for US tanks with live track (supported by return rollers), you cannot tension them enough because of their weight. You will not see a photo of a Patton with slack track. With metal you will at some point have to deal with unrealistic sag to some degree unless you make the track tension idler workable. That's why metal is best suited to dead-track vehicle designs (M113, M551, M109, T55, Tiger, Panther, etc).

The US has used live track for nearly every armored vehicle since the M1917, including the vehicles you list. "Live" tracks are those with rubber bushings around the pins such that the track tends to curl in short lengths. The vehicles you list use suspension designs (sometimes called "flat" tracks) with no return rollers or where the upper track run rests on the road wheels. The tracks themselves are certainly live (rubber bushed), however.

Nevertheless, I agree with your opinion on metal - or even plastic - individual links on roller supported suspensions with live track.

KL

Perhaps the better description for Fruili track is that it replicates single pin live track well. The double pin track is best replicated with the plastic track sets that are out there: AFV Club, Bronco and Trumpeter.

All three of the plastic track options require varied amounts of work to assemble (Bronco) or correct (AFV Club & in some cases Trumpeter who apparently bought the old ATM molds). I am with Brian and actually like the AFV Club US track sets, warts and all... They are a bit fiddly with having to slide the end connectors to the individual track shoes to make the track lengths but you can adjust the end connectors to make it conform to the sprocket and idler. The Trumpeter/ATM sets are similar but also have a center guide that needs to be added to the mix. The Fruili double pin tracks have the end connectors cast in a fixed spot that does not always corresponds with the curve going over the sprocket or idler.

I built a set of the Bronco T-158 track for a M1A1 model and I will not do that again. Those things about drove me insane with sandwiching the inner and outer pads between the track pins and having to be very careful with the glue to make them work. No thanks, I will stick with building track like the 1:1 versions with end connectors and track shoes...


John

What is the big hangup with making the tracks workable ? I would never ever even consider worrying about the tracks being workabe or not. I consider it to be a gimmick. Sure, it might be nice for a little while when wrapping the track around the idler or sprocket wheel but that little piece of fun doesn't make up for all the work with keeping them workable. I make nice solid lengths for the upper and lower runs and shorter pieces for ground to idler and ground to sprocket wheel, the little curved bits around the idler and the sprocket are done separately and shaped before the glue sets solid. Making solid lenghts makes it possible to use indy-link track for live-track. Gluing white-metal track links solidly enough might be a problem.
Robin

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

I think I can safely say I'm ruling out white metal tracks,and so far leaning towards the AFV Club offering,the review of the Bronco set on here had me breaking out into a cold sweat
Its not that I'm anti 'rubber band' tracks,I just don't like DS and so having built Panda Plastics Sherman track I thought I'd give Indy links a go on some Post war armor.Maybe somebody someday will come out with the ideal track pack when I've finished the build!!