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Individual
Track Shoes Assembly |
| Many modellers seem
to ask how to assemble individual tracks and track and links more often
than a lot on forums.
For years I have
used the method I am about to explain, it may not suit all but it works
for me and I have now perfected the method with German overlapping wheels
assemblies. See the two scans I have included to show them removed from
the models ready for priming and painting and weathering. The T 34 is
the Maquette Stalingrad kit and the Italeri German Sd Kfz 7 |
| Let us start at the beginning, you must firstly study how the tracks are fitted onto the wheels; only and I must stress this after a great deal of thought on your part are you ready to begin. |
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Maquette's T-34 Stalingrad laid out, assembled and ready for painting. |
| The logical
way is to start at the bottom and work to the front and back as you go along.
Let us stop there, firstly you must decide on how many links you will assemble
at a time, I try to work in groups of 5 or as many as will span two wheels
at a time so I end up with two matching pairs of 5 links drying. This equals
to one set of 5 per side. I clamp the rule seen in the scan to my workbench
and use the straight edge of it to assemble the tracks against it. This
allows me to make several groups of 5 all at one time to harden off.. Before
I glue any links to the wheels I gently rub the axles with a fine piece
of emery cloth to make sure that the wheels will not bind on the axles.
This is important later on. If I am working on a T34 then I make sure the front axle part no 10 in the Italeri kit; the one that is off centre is loose in its hole and I never glue this in as this is used for the adjustment of the tracks just as in real life. |
| The overlapping wheels and tracks of Italeri's German Sd Kfz 7 halftrack |  |
| Then working both sides at one I slip the first pair of wheels on and sit them on the bottom run of track , then glue the rim of the wheel to the tracks and leave to dry , after a day I then start all over again till I have the bottom run completed. It is then a matter of working towards the rear sprocket and up over to the top run in stages. Till I get to the last front wheel not the drive sprocket. The whole assemble is left to set up hard; only after I am satisfied that both sides are at the same stage do I tackle the front links, this is were leaving the front axle loose pays off as you can adjust it to take up any slack or to make sure you have the correct pattern of links matching each other. I only work on one side at a time while doing this. After both sides are completed and left to harden off you can then safely lift the whole track and wheel assembly free of the kit axles ready for priming and painting and weathering. |
| I hope this has along with the scans answered some of the problems associated with individual tracks or track and links etc. |
| The German set was a little more complicated as you have to make sure that you have all the interleaving wheels in the right order and the tracks are fitted in the correct method i.e. pads are facing the right way. Having seen a preserved one last year I can say that Italeri have got the illustrations printed the wrong way round. The pad should be at the rear and the link points forward. |
| It works for me and to be honest that is all that matters, but give it a go it may just work for you, it just needs a little longer but the end result is worth it. |
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