Hi guys Can anyone help I am making the Italeri U.S.M.C.M4,whilst trying to fit the tracks both Idlers have snapped off.I referred to my Shep Paine bible and re glued them as he suggest,but the way they are attatched to the hull and the tightness of the kit tracks i doubt this is going to work.have any of you guys had this trouble with this kit, any remedies . I wont consider after market tracks they cost £28.00 the kit cost £9.00, can anyone help.

What are the tracks made of? I Remember reading on here about someone stretching there tracks While they where heated a bit to get them to fit looser and not put on so much Force. Cant remember who posted it and how to do it though :

Try with thick superglue the one that sets in 15 to 30 secs. If you didn't glue the upper hull yet you can try, prior of using the superglue, to drill a small pass through hole through the lower hull and the arm holding the wheel, cut a nail to a matching all (leaving the head on) and supegle it all together it should give more strenght to with the head of the nail stopping against the side of the lower hull

Thanks for that help guys, I had a look at putting a steel pin thruogh the hull that may work.tha tracks are the vinyl type so hot water may soften them enough (guess who painted and textured them before fitting) I might try both methods,many thanks

I'd try the brass rod/brass tubing idea to repair the busted axle for your drivers and sprockets. You can work with 5-minute expoy here and give yourself more time for the alignment as well as a super-strong bond. Clamping here is important to set the alignment - your hands will get tired...

A secondary method would be to use superglue and accelerator applied with a brush. However, you've gotta be sure of your placement and nail the alignment before you hit the joint with accelerator...

Good Luck!

Gunnie

Careful with hot water on the tracks! You can get the opposite effect, I mean to loosen them too much that involves much more help and headache to mend.

hi guys Im not sure but I think the brass rod may not work on this kit.The rear Idler is attached to the rear plate of the hull by a small axle the glueing point is only about a quarter of an inch not much considering the tension that will be put on it. at the moment I have super glued the axles in place I have joined the tracks with staples so the fixing points are moved back about a quarter inch I have the tracks fitted and the super glue seems to be holding,the staples are at the bottom and as I will be showing the tank coming ashore it would sink in the sand and cover the repair.any advice will be most welcome.

I had an Italerie M4A1 and the tracks just disintegrated. There are some aftermarket from I want to say DML that cost less than $10. They are a bit long so this would be perfect for you as they wouldn't stress your broken parts. the guy who runs Disount in Michigan Hobbies helped me www.discountmodels.com