Having seen some discussion on the building of the tracks for the Meng M1A1 AIM and having just completed them myself, I thought I would offer some tips for those of you who are considering this build.

The tracks consist of four parts: an upper and lower track pad(E3 & E4), a cross bar with end connectors(E2), and the guide horns(E1). The cross bar with end connectors are trapped between the upper and lower track pads and the guide horn glued in place. A jig is provided to allow you to build a run of six links. Instructions call for 81 links per run.

Following the instructions will only cause anger and frustration. The main problem is with the jig. The indentions that hold the lower track pads are not deep enough to hold the pads firmly in place so keeping 12 pads aligned while trying to place the crossbars with end connectors while still connected to the sprue is nearly impossible. You are better off snipping the crossbars with end connectors off the sprue and adding them individually.

A word of caution. The cross bars with end connectors are very fragile and brittle. 7-10 were broken on the sprue and I managed to break about 10 more trying to remove them and through handling them. I found that it was best to remove them as a unit from the E sprues then remove them individually. There are extra, although when I finished there were only 7 left.

To begin the assembly I placed 6 lower pads on the jig(3 on each side), added the crossbar with end connectors then trapped it with the upper pad. Doing this only makes one complete link, but continue to add lower pads in pairs, crossbar with end connector and upper pads till you have a run of 6 links. I built 4 runs then connected them and added the guide horns. The guide horns can be added while connected to the sprue and are easy to place. Just be careful not to over do the glue as this might get into the pads and render the links unworkable. The finished runs look good and are workable. While they are not what I would consider fragile, take care when handling them.

My completed runs were 80 links, one short of what the instructions call for and are a tad loose. I opted not to shorten them as the suspension is workable(torsion bars)and I feared that if the tracks were too tight they might compress the suspension too much.

Overall building tracks is a time consuming and tedious process. It initially took me about 15 min to get a run of 6 off the sprues, cleaned up and assembled. After a while I was able to cut this down to about half the time. It still took about 8-10 hours to assemble the 2 complete runs. Patience is the key. Trying to rush them will result in more pain and frustration if not disaster.

Hope you find this useful and eases some of the pain in building these tracks.

Thanks for the heads up on my next hemorrhoid.

Thanks for sharing,will be helpful

Funny, but I found them WORLDS better than the Bronco AM tracks. No glue needed to get the pads together!

No experience with Bronco indy tracks. These weren't necessarily hard once I decided not to follow the instructions. I didn't use glue on the pads just pressed them, but those d*** crossbars were fragile and easily broken.

Well, you might want to consider getting/using DEF Model's T-158LL track, which is what I will use when I get around to my Meng M1A1. They assemble similarly to the AFV Club track with separate center guides, end connectors and track pads. I was able to do two sides of track in less than an hour, with a lower level of fiddliness and frustration. The cost for Def's tracks were between $15 and $20 at Sprue Bros.

After building one set of Bronco track and being about halfway through Meng's similar Leo I track, I would not touch either company's indie link type track again.

John

Good info John. I was not aware of the DEF offering. Thanks.

I bought a set for my Academy M1A2 SEP kit. I am very impressed with the molding and ease of build. The price is pretty good, too. I was lucky enough to find them for 50% off on sale ($8.99). I am kicking myself for not buying at least 4 more sets.