Aftermarket individual-link tracks

[ShotMagnet]

Who buys these? What manufacturers, for those of you who do, do you prefer?

 

So I can say that I've done it, and because I think they'd look spiffy, I was thinking about going with a set of the Friulmodelissimo tracks to go with my Dragon Panther, and/or a set to go with my Dragon SU-85. Anyone have any experience with Friul tracks?

 

I know that they're pretty spendy, I don't intend to do it more than once or twice but I want to do it for the sake of having done it.

 

 

 

Shot

[DougRichards]

I generally don't (too much like hardd work) , but I did get the AFV Centurion tracks becaus ethe AFV rubber band tracks just don't look right, and they are more or less clip together.

 

Those track links made up of three or more pieces each - well, forgitit!

[Corinthian]

Depends. If I have an old model whose tracks lack detail (e.g., Tamiya M41), I buy aftermarket indies. Sometimes though, even if the vinyl tracks are very good (e.g., Tamiya's Challenger II kit tracks are very nice), I still buy indies for the reason that they are "more real."

 

Most aftermarket indies I've bought are by Armour Track Models, a subsidiary of Trumpeter. Their M1A1/A2 tracks are better than AFV Club's (in that the teeth are separate pieces unlike AFV Club's which is molded to the track). However, they are of the "old" type, i.e. still Big Foot but the teeth are not hollow (Dragon's M1A2SEP vinyl track with separate teeth have hollow teeth). ATM also has the older M1 chevron-pattern tracks for use of Trumpeter K1 kit. Another set I got are the Challenger 2 tracks (review here), Leo2 tracks, and M41 tracks. ATM's M41 tracks are basically copies of AFV Club's M41 indy tracks. Both sets have the rubber pads separate. However, whereas ATM's rubber pads are made of plastic or gluable vinyl, AFV Club's rubber pads are rubber or glueable rubber making it more realistic. The CR2 indies of ATM fit ok on Tamiya even though they are designed for Trump. ATM does T-55 indies but these are IIRC for the Esci kit and won't fit on Tamiya's T-55 kit (IIRC there is a review at Armorama).

 

Building them isn't real a PITA. The ATM M41 tracks have a jig to help assemble it. The CR2, M1 and Leo2 tracks don't but assembly is pretty easy. It's the cleaning that is tedious, but I can build one side of tracks in an hour or so including cleaning.

 

Painting them, however.... One has to use very mild paint. Lacquer weakens the plastic, although I've had 1 set of ATM tracks painted using acrylic and it somehow made the plastic brittle Odd really, dunno why.

 

Over all, I like them over vinyl. Consider me a masochist

[Guest JamesG123]

For future ref. the "teeth" are called center guides.

[Corinthian]

Thanks James.

[Jacques]

Any track that has natural sag to it really benefits from Fruilisimo tracks, which are metal. Plastic indi tracks for natural sag are ok, but a bit more work. Rubber bands for natural sag are a pain.

 

For track that is tight and has no real sag, ie Sherman, M1 Abrams, etc..., rubber bands are better, so long as they are not too tight. Metal tracks, fruil, add some nice weight to the kit, but they are tough to get right without inappropriate sag. Plastic indie tracks are a waste.

 

Hope that helps.

[Corinthian]

In vehicles with skirts, inappropriate sag can be hidden.

[ShotMagnet]

Another reason to go with vinyl, if you can.

 

Shot

[Guest JamesG123]

In vehicles with skirts, inappropriate sag can be hidden.

 

And even become a source for spare track blocks to hang on turrets.

[Michael Eastes]

I bought some after-market individual-link metal tracks for my favourite WWII tank, the M-13/40. ( OK, it's a perversion of a sort, I know. ) The things came with a roll of copper wire to cut to size and assemble the links with, and the metal links do not have the needed holes drilled for this endeavour to go forward.

 

Needless to say, it's a disappointment, and still sits in the box, along with the brass etch super-detail set for the same tank.

 

There is a lot to be said for just building out-of-the-box kits, and I have a real love for old faves like Tamiya.

 

I have not built a Dragon kit, unless my T-72 was a Dragon, and I just don't remember. I built it years ago, and it came out rather well, I thought.

 

Almost all of the built kits are in storage, and there's no room to display anything new at the moment. The only ones out are my old ride, an Academy M48A5, and my dad's old ride, a Tamiya M-3 Lee. I also had my other ride, an Italieri M113 medic track, on display, but it got dropped and is beyond repair.

Edited August 12, 2009 by Michael Eastes

[Guest JamesG123]

They probably figure that most will just glue the tracks together. And only the masochistic few who have to be 100% accurate or have working tracks will bother to drill the hundreds of holes needed.

[Michael Eastes]

They probably figure that most will just glue the tracks together. And only the masochistic few who have to be 100% accurate or have working tracks will bother to drill the hundreds of holes needed.

 

They also don't fit together.

[bojan]

They probably figure that most will just glue the tracks together. And only the masochistic few who have to be 100% accurate or have working tracks will bother to drill the hundreds of holes needed.

 

For one of the SF scratch built models I did I have drilled ~300 holes for rivets. Then put ~300 pin heads of various size as rivets. It was a sanity loosing experience.

[Assessor]

I tried these once, and came to the conclusion that assembling the bloody things is actually a more soul-destroying process that doing it with the real thing. At least on real tank tracks the bits are big enough to SEE!

[Corinthian]

I tried these once, and came to the conclusion that assembling the bloody things is actually a more soul-destroying process that doing it with the real thing. At least on real tank tracks the bits are big enough to SEE!

 

I destroyed my soul four times then and will destroy it more in the near future!

[Jacques]

I tried these once, and came to the conclusion that assembling the bloody things is actually a more soul-destroying process that doing it with the real thing. At least on real tank tracks the bits are big enough to SEE!

 

I would not agree in that the real things are TERRIBLY HEAVY. They require things like air-guns and tanker bars to move them into place. Doing track work by hand would be terrifyingly labor intensive. I prefer the insane 1/35 stuff, if I must.

[Assessor]

I would not agree in that the real things are TERRIBLY HEAVY. They require things like air-guns and tanker bars to move them into place. Doing track work by hand would be terrifyingly labor intensive. I prefer the insane 1/35 stuff, if I must.

Like I said, I can see the pin holes in the real things - at the end of the day, I can recover from being tired and shagged out with a sit down and a few beer. Cross-eyed and gibbering insane is harder to fix