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Modeling in General
General discussions about modeling topics.
Track Laying
Rouse713
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Wisconsin, United States
Member Since: February 03, 2009
entire network: 367 Posts
KitMaker Network: 40 Posts
Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - 06:26 AM UTC
Hey guys,

I dont have any photos right now unfortunately of some recent builds I have done, but there is one thing that bugs me. I am getting much better at working with soldering PE and weather, etc... However I usually build on paper towel tapped to a work bench. When I layout track that is link by link, usually magic track, I sometimes have trouble getting it to lay flat on the bottom or getting all the load bearing wheels to stay down. The paper towel doesnt show me right away either

Sometimes the issue is me not glueing the control arms in even with one another, but on lets say a czech 38t chassis, the long spaces between the wheels lead to trouble.

I am getting a million times better in a lot of areas in modelling, but when I look at an old kit and see ~30 thousands of gap between the track and the ground, I freak. I recently got a very nice long needed display curio for my models. The glass shelves leave no room for error. doh.

I am paying a lot more attention to this and I am getting better so it isnt even noticable, but do you guys have this issue, or have old kits with the described problem. It is a great source of frustration for me.


Mark

HeavyArty
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Florida, United States
Member Since: May 16, 2002
entire network: 17,694 Posts
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Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - 07:31 AM UTC
One issue is the paper towel. Get an old piece of formica or a piece of glass to use as your modeling surface. By laying out the track on a flat surface and making sure they are all lined up, you should solve the problem. You can also use a straight-edged ruler to get them all flat by pressing the metal edge along the length of tracks and flattening them as they dry. The new surface will help with your roadwheel arms by making sure they all touch the surface evenly as they dry too.

Hope that helps.
wonktnodi
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Nevada, United States
Member Since: September 07, 2005
entire network: 190 Posts
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Posted: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 - 08:29 AM UTC
Something else you can do is, if your tank has no interior, take some lead weights and lay them evenly inside the tanks hull then epoxy them down. Wal-Mart sells 1/4inch lead wire in one pound coils in the fishing department. Make four or five straight pieces and cut to the same length as the hull floor. This is usually enough to force the road wheels to onto the track and keep the bottom run of track nice and straight for a Panzer IV or a 38t. A larger tank like Dragon’s Kingtiger or E100 will need a couple more bars added. I hope this helps.
Rouse713
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Wisconsin, United States
Member Since: February 03, 2009
entire network: 367 Posts
KitMaker Network: 40 Posts
Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - 05:55 AM UTC
Thanks guys. I am going to stop at the hardware store today and pick up a piece of glass. When I lay tracks, I will use the glass.


As for my previous models, they are a little too messed up to try to fix at this point (at least for my eyes).


I am in college right now and have only been modelling for a few years. I get much much better with each one (I will post pics as soon as I get a camera), but it is frustrating to look at the old ones and see all the errors.

I know I cannot expect my first few model to be as good as my last ones. Some might look at it as a visual progress indicator. And I can always rebuild a kit, I just put unreasonable expectations on myself.

Its funny when one is at work and gets all worked up about hobbies
18Bravo
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Colorado, United States
Member Since: January 20, 2005
entire network: 7,219 Posts
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Posted: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 - 11:03 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Sometimes the issue is me not glueing the control arms in even with one another, but on lets say a czech 38t chassis, the long spaces between the wheels lead to trouble.




Cement the first and last bogies. Let them set. Then add the ones in between, all at once. Sight down along the line of hubs and adjust .
Some kits have jigs for this but I find them unnecessary.

My wife bought all new granite counter tops during the last deployments. Now she wonders why there always wet/dry sandpaper stuck in one area, with puddles of resin residue everywhere.
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