Hi, Newbie here, I am a beginning armour modeler and have a few questions. If someone wouldn't mind helping me out I sure would appreciate it.
First, The current kit I am building is an Italeria 1/35 Jagdpanther and the plastic tank tracks are the pits. How do you "stretch" the tracks to get the sagging look??
Second, Is there anyway to get the individual tracks for this kit without paying a "godawful" price for them and is this the poor quality I can expect from all of their kits??? I was thinking about buying 2 more but this definitely isn't going as smooth as a Tamiya kit.
Thanks,
Harry

First of all,with Tamiya kits, never buy a kit with a number lower than 35125 or so,unless you want to work at it. The higher the kit number the better the quality. The M-26 Dragon Wagon (No. 35244) is possibly the best kit I have ever built. Their quality is really top notch.

As for the tracks, they are the major complaint of most all Tamiya builders. They do not look realistic to me. They are easier, though. You have to work very hard to get them to sag using a combination of techniques from heating them with a hair dryer to tying them down to a suspension piece that is underneath. I just go for the aftermarket stuff. It can be pretty expensive at times, but will always be worth it. Ilike modelkasten and AFV Club because they are workable. This gives them that added touch of realism. DML kits usually come with indi links to, and are cheaper overall than aftermarket tracks, but sometimes lack detail and are not workable.

There are guys out there who can turn a trick with vinyl tracks, just not me.

Rob

Welcome to armourama!!!!!! Italeri has not been the name of quality since the early '80s. I recommend most new kitsTamiya, DML/Dragon, AFVclub,Skybow, and new Academy kits. The track problem is one faced by many over the years. The best method I have seen and used is glueing the tracks to the road wheel tops. This done one or two at a time and help in place with one or dowels placed between the track and the hull to keep the track in place while the glue sets. Now, the builder in me says recommend a set of tracks to him......I recommend Fuilmodel tracks to anyone building armor. these white metal tracks run around $27usd at greatmodels webstore www.greatmodels.com. they are white metal and use a pin made of wire to connect the links together. Another company Model Kasten does the same but with plastic, they cost the same,they use an end connector to hold the links together. now I don't like this i've lost pins after construction with MK's Tiger2 set. i feel i've wasted not only time but money . so if your kit doesn't have indy links i recommend the fruilmodel sets. they also might give you a white metal drive sproket and idler wheel #:-) one point to mention with all indy sets, most tanks had between 80-100 links per sidecheck your refernces for sag and be ready to use more or less links per kit, i know the tiger had 96 links per side, but my tamiya late has 98 on one dise and 97 on the other to set the sag according to my reference photo. good hunting and good luck stug

There is an Austrailian company WWII productionsthat makes a very nice set by all the reviews I have read. You might want to check them out?
HTH Jeff Larkin aka beachbm2

first welcome to armorama
second I normally use aftermarket products for the tracks because the normal tracks are crap 99% of the time
I know this will prolly not help but Im telling you this cause I never bother anymore to make the normal tracks fit
but you can heat them with a hairdryer and then glue em to the wheels with rapid glue

hope this helps a little

I have found a simple answer... I often buy TWO kits... I steal extra links from one kit to extend the length of the other... all you need are 2-4 extra links to get the sag you need. And you will also find that you can often "hide" mismatched track types on German tanks that have side skirts... just be sure to put the mismatched tracks on the top. I have done this, and still won awards after close scrutiny by the judges - it is just impossible to see, even with the dreaded dental mirror and probe light!

As for the second tank... it is fun to build a derelict / destroyed tank now and then... build the base unit, then give it a good 17pound shell hole or two in the side... the tread is blown of the wheels and you can even show a few seperate links laying around.

This may increase the costs a bit, but is still cheaper (usually!) than buying a $30-40 set of white metal tracks, right? Plus, you have a second kit to scrap or put into your spares box! And with Italeri (admittedly not the superior standards of Tamiya, Accurate, or DML - but still nice and FUN kits), you can often find them for under $10. I purchases two each of their Tiger I, Panther, Sherman m4a2, Russin Zis-5, and the Panzer iV... and each kit cost less than $8.00- what a deal!

A final solution to creating more track is to make a mold of a short link, and then to pour a rubber latex casting which can be painted and inserted into the length supplied by the manufacturer... I find this is time-consuming, but it works too!

As for "stretching" track with hot water or a hair dryer, I find it makes the spacing look to obviously wrong, and I've never been satisfied with this method.

There are several decent priced individual track link sets. DML makes several German armor types (unsure if they are for the Jagdpanther) that run $15 or less.

Some Italeri kits are quite good. I'm not a German armor expert, but their old Panzer Mark IV and Panzer 1B were pretty decent kits. Their Leopard 1A4 was their best kit.

Rob gives decent advice regarding old Tamiya. Generally speaking, their kits designed to use motorization (holes in hull, upper hull made to disconnect) are much poorer than their newer kits. They also have a bad habit of tossing in a newer turret or suspension sprue, giving it a new kit number and doubling the price for the same old kit.

To give tracks the sag, drill small holes through the hull and insert straight pins from the inside of the hull (brace the pins on the inside with styrene, epoxy or putty). The pins will go over the tracks and hold them down.

Second, easier method, is to use string or fine fishing line and tie the tracks down to the road wheels, looping the string through the tracks and between road wheel pairs. Use a sewing needle to pierce the vinyl tracks if there aren't any natural gaps or holes in the track pattern.

Wow!! Thanx for the responses.. You guys sure are on top of the ball and I greatly appreciate it.