#object279

And there's double the number than the usual tracks on a tank....

Four of them.....

I've started with the length that would be in contact with the ground....

And had to make sure I've got the orientation right way. Triangle shape in the tread points forwards underneath and then travels up and backwards to the rear.

I'm going to make them up in sections for ease of painting and weathering before I reassemble the parts as a full length run...

There are a few uneven joins, I can live with it though. By the time I add soil and mud for weathering, it'll be a non event....

Here's a T-64 tank, the running gear is similar enough to act as an inspiration/ reference

Individual, non clickable (friction fit), held together with glue and swearing....

Pita....

I'm not going for the individual cast metal tracks that are ebay for half a months wage...

So manned up, and laid out things, and got glueing, with some help from tamiya masking tape...

Got a top run laid out too...

Plus I'll be adding a 12.7 mm Dshk machine gun to the commanders hatch also... yes, I know that the anti air dakka device goes on the loaders hatch, but seriously, I'm running low on procrastination and have a completion desire...

3d printed too, very fine, quite delicate.

Eyes hurting, enough for 1 session.

Individual track links are fine for posing tracks with sag, conforming to rough terrain as the road rollers travel over rough terrain, or depicting the crew tackling either track maintenance or a broken track.

Building these tracks requires some creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Here the tracks are joined in short lengths, a piece of tamiya tape then applied as a holder, then attach the short lengths to the existing track lengths already glued and set.

Note, the tracks aren't glued to the running gear (road wheels and idlers) as yet. So the tracks can be done separately. As can the running gear.

Just looking at this, I'm seriously thinking of scratch building a mud scraper and mud deflecter in the circled part below.

On a real tank, the amount of mud, crud or snow would be a problem, as the build up would cause problems with the drive sprockets and running gear. So a scraper bar and what will look like a mud chute I'll be adding.

And here's what the running gear will resemble.

Now to get more glue, as I'm nearly out of tamiya extra thin.

And now the slow glue has arrived, time to use the stuff.

Using a bit of marble rescued from a kitchen renovation, that becomes the known flat surface so the road wheels sit level.

The glue has a acetone smell, bit of gel consistency, and will leave fine, hair like strings of glue if too much on the brush.

I used blu-tack to secure the glue to a wood offcut. (Helps avoid spills)

And a refresher on what the beast looks like....