I usually leave the idler unglued so that it can be adjusted to fit the track.

I used 74 MT links per side on kit 6424. This is a sister kit of the one you described, both based on kit 6418, so I'd have to think that the count would be about the same.

I'm with Tojo72 though. You should leave the idler unglued until you've achieved the look you're after with the track. That's what I did on this kit and it worked fine. If I recall, I had to wrap a small piece of tamiya tape around the stud on the idler arm where it mates with the hull. That helped hold it in place on the hull well enough to build the tracks, but it still left it so that I could fiddle with the idler (and I did, quite a bit) in order to achieve the track sag I wanted.

With AFV's that have two link track systems like the T-34 or King Tiger for example, you really need to leave the idler loose enough to account for the track run. You can sometimes get away with an ill-glued idler on a tank that uses a single type of track link (Panzer III or IV for example), but not on something like a T-34.

Here's how mine turned out.

I built this STZ 41 Cyberhobby kit years ago, can't remember any problem with the tracks, on T-34s I always play with the adjustment of the idler arms to compensate.

Cheers,

Christophe

I usually don't glue the road wheels together until later. I do the entire run and fit it on with the idler, sprocket, and inside half of the road wheels. Once the glue on the track is dry I slide everything off and paint. Once painted I slide everything back and at the very end glue on the outside halves of the road wheels.