Israeli M247 DIVAD

[Wardukw]

Yup, aside from the fact I prefer them, IMHO 'live' (under tension) track never looks as convincing with individual links. (other opinions are available.)

Agreed mate..you can't get them tight enough and they always look to thick ..and yep I've even used Furilmodel Sherman tracks on a build ..couldn't get tight enough so I turned the tank into a wreak ..turned out sweet with those tracks 

[Jakko]

it's not easy to find a Sherman with loose tracks to the point where theres alot of sag.

That's because the TM is very specific about checking for track sag and tightening it if there is any. A photo in the TM that shows "proper track tension" has an upper run tight enough that you it's a straight line at first sight — only if you place a ruler along it (as I just did to be sure) can you tell it's actually very slightly curved. Then there's also that when Sherman tracks have a definite sag in them, they probably have "dead" blocks, and those should be replaced ASAP. In fact, all of this is supposed to be done every time the engine has been started and is warming up.

Yup, aside from the fact I prefer them, IMHO 'live' (under tension) track never looks as convincing with individual links.

This is why modern kits with adjustable idler wheels are much to be preferred to ones that have them fixed, IMHO — or at least, if you intend to use tracks that didn't come with the kit. I've had no problems getting AFV Club or Panda Plastics tracks to sit tightly around the wheels on Asuka Sherman kits, for example, because all it takes is to leave the idler wheel arm/axle loose, put the (workable) track around the wheels, flow liquid cement into the idler wheel axle mount, and push the idler back as far as it will go before the glue sets.

With a fixed idler, OTOH, it's pot luck whether the track will be tight enough or will look like it needs half a link removed.

[Gondor]

I used Furilmodel tracks on my Panter F. I Had no problem with them at all.



Gondor

[Wardukw]

I used Furilmodel tracks on my Panter F. I Had no problem with them at all.



Gondor

Al I'm not bragging here but I should have brought stocks in Furilmodel ..if they were on the stock market that is .
I've brought and built at least 40 sets of their tracks over the yrs and there's very rarely a issue..apart from all the cleaning and drilling but that's part of it.
Your Panther uses a different system so to speck than the Sherman's..Panthers have no return rollers and the weight of the track helps to keep it in place and also she's got torsion bar suspension..the Sherman's have a Volute spring system ..which I know you've seen..these work best with a nice tight track and the problem is some 35th scale Sherman kits the tensioners are molded solid ..Italeri do this ..so you can't tighten the tracks which is a pain for AM tracks...this is where rubber tracks come in very handy 

[zenrat]

You can tighten the tracks if the tensioners are moulded solid...

...but some re-modelling would be needed.

I had to modify the Meng D9 armoured dozer to get good track tension.  I had experience of working with RW D6 dozers so I knew where to cut.
But it would have been fairly simple for Meng to have made the kit have adjustable tension.

[Rick Lowe]

As an aside, a lot of the US tracks from WW2 on are what they call 'live' where they are under tension due to wedge-shaped blocks in the connectors, and if laid flat on the ground will, over time, actually curl up.
Russian and German tracks, on the other hand, are 'dead', where they are just lumps that sit there.

I'm not sure whether the usual thing for civilian tracks is to be live or dead, though.

[Jakko]

"Live" tracks work by a combination of factors. The track pins are set into the block in rubber bushings, with a flat cut on the protruding parts of the pins. The wedges Rick mentions then work against those flats to pull the blocks at a slight angle to each other (about 15° in case of Sherman tracks). This makes the track want to curl up, so it wil go around the bends more easily, reducing rolling resistance compared to "dead" track. This is also why dead blocks need to be removed: these are blocks where the rubber bushing has failed, so the block won't get pulled at an angle anymore, and this will increase rolling resistance.

These photos show the difference quite well:

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In the first photo, of a Tiger I getting its transport tracks replaced by combat tracks (or perhaps the other way around), you can see the whole track laying flat on the ground. In the second photo, of an M4 (75 mm) DV having extended end connectors installed, the last link in the track curves upward off the ground.

[Jakko]

Progress on the turret:

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I filled the mounting holes for all the stowage racks on the right side of the turret, because it seems to be the only place where you can reasonably fit a Stinger missile launcher, but I doubt the crew would want their sleeping bags burned to a crisp and blown off the vehicle every time they launch a missile. This also neatly justifies adding a stowage rack to the back of the turret, of course.

On the air cleaners, I removed the clasp because somebody asked why I used the old models instead of the Israeli armoured ones. On investigating, I found the Meng Magach kit has the unarmoured ones but without a clasp (and plus two bolts that I still need to add here), so I decided to go for that style.

The track links are now all cleaned up, but still need to be assembled:

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[Wardukw]

You can tighten the tracks if the tensioners are moulded solid...

...but some re-modelling would be needed.

I had to modify the Meng D9 armoured dozer to get good track tension.  I had experience of working with RW D6 dozers so I knew where to cut.
But it would have been fairly simple for Meng to have made the kit have adjustable tension.

Fred ive built 2 of the Meng D9s ..both for the same chap ..one was a OTB build but the other was a RW one..his one in fact..so I had to turn a military dozer into a civilian one..which meant scratch built cad..air con and the biggest job was swampy tracks 
Good money maker for me but I won't do that again anytime soon 

Jakko mate that's very nice progress..this will look great just from the building alone 😀

[Jakko]

Thanks, I'm now approaching the stage where I will start adding the Israeli bits, as well as some details the kit is lacking.

[Jakko]

After having been sidetracked by the ill-advised purchase and building of a Freedom Model Kits kit of the Nike Hercules anti-aircraft missile (if you find you have an excess supply of filler putty that's going to waste, go and build this kit), I've now turned my attention back to the M247. At which point I discovered that I had glued the infantry telephone on back to front Of course, now the glue had had several weeks to dry, cutting it off from its shelf to simply turn it around proved impossible, so I ended up cutting off the shelf and making a new one:

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I also added some extra detail to the phone box, mainly the missing edges of its lid, as well as the cable protector that runs from the box to the tank's hull:

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This based on the pictures I took of Bovington's M60 some 24 years ago, which has the same type of infantry telephone.

[Wardukw]

Dude I do enjoy your attention to details ...reminds me of me before I got lazy 

[zenrat]

Thats why i don't do research.  Because then I don't know what's wrong and i can ignore it.

[Rick Lowe]

Thats why i don't do research.  Because then I don't know what's wrong and i can ignore it.

Yeah, have I mentioned before that I like the way you think? Well if not, "I Like The Way You Think, Fred."

But I also enjoy a (very) well detailed model. So sue me...

[Jakko]

Dude I do enjoy your attention to details ...reminds me of me before I got lazy 

I'm the kind of modeller who wants to correct details that are clearly wrong (even if "clearly" is only that after doing quite a lot of research ) and that applies to what-if models just as much as to ones of vehicles that did actually exist

Thats why i don't do research.  Because then I don't know what's wrong and i can ignore it.

That's one approach ...