M3 Honey track...

[Guest]

I decided that as the Honey was as near to completion as is, I would get on and build up the tracks. So spent a couple of hours yesterday working out the sequence I would use and built up a length of 16 links.... Today I finished off the one side length. I decided to check on the full length to see if I needed to add more links, and that is when this glaring problem came to the fore.
Academy kit, with Academy individual track links to keep you busy on a cold winters day, dropped the track gently over the top return rollers and worked my way forward to the drive sprocket. Now in my defence I will say that I used the AFV Club set of suspension and running gear, and I half expected this....
AFV Club version...
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...So not to be deterred it would simply be a case of take off the AFV Club drive sprockets and add the original Academy drive sprockets....
Academy version...
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As you can see - they just do not fit either manufacturer's product, believe me they just do not fit... I tried the unweildy rubber/polythene tracks and yes they do fit but look awfull...
So be warned. More of this will be reported later.
Mike.

[Jim R]

Hi Mike
Someone at Academy and AFV have made a c***-*p. I have heard of similar problems with track but that looks particularly bad. If memory serves me right I think Simon T had this difficulty a while back. Don't know how he sorted it - probably scratched a new drive wheel :thinking:
Jim

[Guest]

Hi Mike
Someone at Academy and AFV have made a c***-*p. I have heard of similar problems with track but that looks particularly bad. If memory serves me right I think Simon T had this difficulty a while back. Don't know how he sorted it - probably scratched a new drive wheel :thinking:
Jim

Jim,
I thought about the new drive sprocket which should not be to hard to build, but have sent off for a set of fruil tracks, so if push comes to shove I get the metal links and still have the rebuild - some days is it really worth getting out of bed :sleeping:
Mike.

[Guest]

Very strange that AFV Club didn’t bother to make sure the links fit their own sprocket parts … They appear to fit marginally better over the Academy sprocket than the AFV Club one, which is even stranger, really.

Do the end connectors sit firmly on the links? My experience with AFV Club’s Sherman tracks was very poor in that respect, and I’ve been wondering ever since if their Stuart tracks are any better.

[Si Benson]

Well that’s a load of oop: oop:!! Someone at Academy and AFV club need to go back to school !
fingers crossed the Fruils fit the bill :flushed:

[Guest]

Well that’s a load of oop: oop:!! Someone at Academy and AFV club need to go back to school !
fingers crossed the Fruils fit the bill :flushed:

Si,
Calm down dear, it's only a track.... :smiling6:
Mike.

[Guest]

Very strange that AFV Club didn’t bother to make sure the links fit their own sprocket parts … They appear to fit marginally better over the Academy sprocket than the AFV Club one, which is even stranger, really.

Do the end connectors sit firmly on the links? My experience with AFV Club’s Sherman tracks was very poor in that respect, and I’ve been wondering ever since if their Stuart tracks are any better.

Jakko,
Yes they are a tight fit both link to link and the end connectors have no play where you can stretch them a bit. The horrible thing is their b**** rotten rubber type things that want to remain straight actually fit the job. I was thinking at one point of cuttine and c/a'ing a piece to wrap around the sprocket and then just use the other track for the rest of the model, but really the detail is abysmal.
And I fully agree with you and the other guys on here Academy especially want a swift one up the rear, how can you make a mistake like that unless it was a gimmick. I have looked later on the net and there is a few there where they have accepted the fit and it looks as if the tank has thrown a track....
Mike.

[SimonT]

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the kit sprockets look wrong to me - the teeth of the real thing look narrower and more pointy

the AFV one looks nearest but look like they could do with the corners filing out where the track sits

[Guest]

[ATTACH]363997[/ATTACH]
the kit sprockets look wrong to me - the teeth of the real thing look narrower and more pointy

the AFV one looks nearest but look like they could do with the corners filing out where the track sits

Simon,
Agreed. Plus there seems to be more of a gap between the links themselves - methiinks even with the Fruil tracks there is going to be some major slashing and cutting going on. Cheers for the pic, I will get the photoshop working, and as I am going to be playing with photo etching and chemicals and stuff, this could lead to my first trial - Igor ramp up the electric (manic laughter, shuffles back into dark cave to converse with the mirror).....
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For discussion purposes only and to remember what i used to look like...

[JR]

Morning Mike.
At this point I'd have it as a wreak, but quite honestly I can't see this defeating you of all people, recommended tool for this type of conundrum is a large mallet.
Yours Ivor Bodge it.

[Neil Merryweather]

Thanks for flagging this up,Mike
I have one in the stash (it's my grandson's actually.......honest!) and if we ever get around to building it(He's 13 and his interest fluctuates between football, Fortnite, and the occasional modelling session with Grandad),I will remember this.
At least if (when) it goes tits up I will know it's not my fault- I've never done track links before

[Steve Jones]

Its much like amputating a load of figures and horses and then putting them back together again. Should be right up your street Neil LOL

[SimonT]

Something else I just noticed Mike is the method of fixing the tooth ring to the hub - neither kit is quite right (unless there were different versions) compared to the photo

[Guest]

Thanks for flagging this up,Mike
I have one in the stash (it's my grandson's actually.......honest!) and if we ever get around to building it(He's 13 and his interest fluctuates between football, Fortnite, and the occasional modelling session with Grandad),I will remember this.
At least if (when) it goes tits up I will know it's not my fault- I've never done track links before

Hello Neil, Just introduce him to girls, guaranteed misery for the rest of his youth, now that is problem solved, and you can build your grandsons Honey which you will inherit in one of his morose days...

[Guest]

Something else I just noticed Mike is the method of fixing the tooth ring to the hub - neither kit is quite right (unless there were different versions) compared to the photo

Just looked, now seriously depressed :angry:. Right! once the weather improves and I can spend time in the laboratory (man shed) I will use the photo above as my template, get into photoshop (all praise photoshop Ummmmmmmmmmm!) change it to a b/w illustration and then proceed through Plasmo's youtube tutorial on how to etch brass at home. Do not worry folks, if all goes wrong and I turn green, then you know who to blame....
Seriously, it now looks as if the kit was put together to a budget and for ease of assembly rather than have the sprocket seperate from the hub, but that is mass production, and we have to live with it. So more on future development later, it will not be forgotten, it's sitting glaring at me out of the cabinet. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure there was a kit of a tank issued where the tooth ring was seperate from the hub, sure it was a Sherman.
Mike.