Im working on a tank atm and I need some suggestions on tank tread. Either making it from scratch, using some "other use product" or a good scorce for bying it. It will need to be 1/2" x 1/8" or 1/4" x 12"+. Tanks...I mean thanx.

Depending on the complexity of the tracks I've found that scratchbuilding is possible for the more simple kinds (or the more complex if you're interested in spending the time).

What I do is to cut a piece of styrene that is just slightly larger than the required dimensions and proceed to cut the basic shape from there. After that, sand down any sections that need to be rounded and finish by scribing in details and added bolts and teeth if need be.

The result is a track that looks quite good if faithfully reconstructed. To get that track droop effect you could also cut up each track into many separate track links then glue them back together to get the desired effect.

Alternatively, you could also cruise Ebay and other sites looking for cheap or on sale versions of the type of vehicle you need and just buy that and kitbash it. Also, the "Buy, Sell, Trade" forum might be a good place to ask if anyone has left over tracks that they don't need and might be willing to sell.

Hope that helps,

-Thi

Thanx for your reply! I have put this part off for now so I have a chance to figure it out. I may try scratch building some to see how it works. Im lucky in the fact that I have armor on the sides, so I dont have to show all the detail of the wheels and such. If I use thinner styrene the cutting wont be as bad (I hope), but still 24"+ of tread.....arggg! -D

Gday coldwarrior
Come on, out with it! What tank are you making? Could help in your responses...
Cheers
Brad

Hello again...I had tried to post, but lost power here. So im going to try again.

I dont mean to disappoint here, but Im not doing a traditional tank. What Im doing is for a 40k Imperial guard army. I call it an AMCP (armored mobile command platform). Here are some wips....







I could order the tank tread sprue from Games workshop, but its really a matter of wanting to build them. I know it will be a lot of work and I probably wont try again, but I do want to try it out.

Ok so I tried it out. Here is my first try at tank tread. What do you think? More detail, am I missing something drastic?

I should probably rename this post or make a new one. Anyway here is another pic of the tank Im working on.



Also is a quick mini guide as to how I made my louvers.

Start with a plate and cut over sized fins. Attach each one about 1/2 way overlapped over the last one. The first one will need to be cut off as it will not have any angle to it.



Next trim the sides of the fins down to the plate width.



Lastly trim the whole thing out. Do 2 opposite sides then the other 2 opposite sides.



Once I paint this model I plan to highlight the areas under the louvers as if they are ambient lights.