Okay guys ... I.m really out of my leaque with this modern stuff ...I do know that the pads on the outside of the tracks is rubber but what about the inside ..I was cleaning up the spare tracks to add to the back and don't know how to paint them..rubber or metal?? That is the question.

Rick

If I'm not mistaken the insides are all metal as well as the ouside edges. I painted mine with Testors rubber then hit the thing with a wash of rust. After that I went back and painted the pads with an off-black color.

Thanks ..I needed that! I just thought of another question or two or three...How well were these challengers painted for Op Telic..Would the inside of the road wheels have been painted sand? would they remove the spare tracks before repainting or would they paint over them ? What about the red fire extinguishers would thet have been painted over in the sand color? What color do I use to paint the glass?

Rick

Well....... for Op Telic I can't say what color the tanks were painted but it's probably a safe bet that the wheels were painted the same color as the tank. As for the rest of the gear on the tank I'm going to have to go with my WWII Axis armor experience and say that everything hanging on the tank was just painted over. Red fire extinguishers make great targets against a sand background.

As for the glass I'm assuming that you are refering to the tinted mirror-ish look of modern ranging glass. I can't say what color the glass is on British tanks but once you find out what color it is I would use Tamiya clear green, blue, or whatever to tint the glass.

Hi Rick,
Yep, the inside of the tracks are metal just like Monte said. As for your other questions, from the pics I have seen it appears the C2's got pretty quick paint jobs. It appears, again from the pics I have seen they masked off all the optics and sprayed everything else. Because of the dust skirts you really can't tell much about the inside of the road wheels but I would guess they were still green, with some overspray. In most cases from what I can tell they removed the fire extinguishers, I have seen some in a green color. About the only thing I can't say for sure is whether or not they painted the spare tracks, (I don't have a good clear pic of the rear) but from what I have seen that area was so dust covered you probably couldn't tell anyway. The paint got pretty chipped up in high traffic areas also. Especially on top of the turret and the front glacis areas. As for the glass color, modern tank optics have a reflective coating on them that can appear to be different colors from different angles. I saw a good post on this subject either here or over on ML recently I'll try and find it for you. Last, I have some pics you might find interesting. If you would like PM me your e-mail addy and I'll send them to you.

HTH,
Mike

Thanks again guys...I feel like such a newby here!!

Rick

Don't feel bad. I just started a thread on Polly Scale paints asking what you thin it with. Don't I feel like a doofus!

I'm sorry to say that, but what you wrote is not true! The inside of Challanger 2 track has rubber inserts in it, like most modern tracks. Here is a photo:



Pawel

Rick, check out this link to a post on the ML modern DG concerning modern periscope glass.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=47209&messageid=1116866649


Oh well, I learned something new today.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks guys you guys are great!

Rick

Oh well.......I never claimed to be a modern armor expert.