Hi everyone.
I'm starting my third armored build since 1985. All my previous builds have had rubber band, or most recently Friuls. Now my Marder has Magic Tracks.

I saw a build recently where some guy had the tracks glued to the running gear of his Elefant in a way that they were an assembly that could be removed from the hull in one piece. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to talk to him about it.

The sprocket-to-roadwheel joints on the Dragon Marder IIIH are very sloppy. I already have nightmare images of roadwheels tilted at all kinds of crazy angles once the cement has dried.

I think that assembling the tracks around running gear which is only held to the hull by blutack will allow me better opportunities to keep all of those parts aligned properly.

Does anyone have a better method? Or, a link to a better method.

Thank you very much for your considerations.

Gary

I wish Dragon would do poly-caps like Tamiya,it wouldale things easier for sure.What I do is hold the wheels with bluetak as you describe,but I assemble the entire run of Magic Tracks in one shot using Tamiya Extra Thin,allow it dry for about 30 minutes,then I flex them around the running gear adding the desired sag,and allow them to dry overnite.Then I remove the tracks,paint and weather,then reinstall.here are some examples







Hope this helps,just Google indie track tutotials and you will find some more step by step.

Do it just as Anthony C. does. It works great for almost any styrene or resin indie-link set in almost any tank.

Depending on the sprocket, I usually keep that loose as well, and just set it into the track-run after all bits are painted and basic weathered. The sprocket should "lock in" without any cement. Depending on your druthers, you cement that sprocket into or onto its mount pin or hole when you install the run onto the hull and gear.

The idler may be handled the same, if desired, or, if there is sufficient clearance around and over the idler to fit the track-run onto it, I attach the idler to its arm or pin and cement in place before adding the finished track-run.

I always fix the road wheels in desired places and let fully dry before adding the track-runs. This way, I can ensure that all wheels and return rollers align with each other and all sit level (or displaced for rough terrain if that is what you are doing) as desired.

IF you have operable bogies with enclosed or attached wheels (like with Pz. IV, or the Pz. 1A /B, or the Pz. 38(t) variants...), you need to mount and position the bogies as desired before adding the track-runs.

In all cases, I weather the lower hull and fully-paint and weather those wheels before assembly and before adding the painted track-runs. That way, all that needs doing after the T-R is final weathering and mud application - best done to the assembled beast!

Cheers!

Bob

Guys,
Thank you for your helpful responses! All of the kits in my stash have magic tracks, so I want to get them looking good.

Cheers!

Gaz

Gary, for tanks with little wheels and separate return rollers I do the same as the guys above. But for "big wheel" tanks like Tigers, Panthers, etc where the track rests on the top of the roadwheels to make a sort of "sandwich" I tend to glue the tracks to the wheels, and add this "lump" to the tank after painting. Either push-fit the wheels onto their axles or use blu-tak to temporarily hold them while assembling the track. Be sure to let it dry a few days before removing from the hull! (Need to be sure it is solid and won't warp - otherwise getting it back on could be a challenge...)



HTH,
Tom

Tom,
Thank you for the reply! Now I understand a lot more of how and why when it comes to tracks like these. Now I have a much better understanding of the different methods.

I used to always paint before glue, but finally got tired of pieces falling off, or trying to scrape away the paint just-so to get the part to adhere.

Best wishes,

Gaz