Tank Tracks

[JED]

as and when I get around to it what is the best way to paint the very flexible rubber tracks, 1/35 scale. The majority of the tracks will be covered by armour and it should be pretty easy to paint the tracks in place but I'd rather not. All suggestions accepted and thanks in advance Jed

[JCON]

I am patiently awaiting the experts as I only use pastels on them to dirty them up and I'm sure there are much better ways to deal with them...

[Beekster]

I don't use rubber tracks. Since I use enamels rather than acrylics, I don't trust the longevity of band tracks over time. Though the effort is substantial, I always build link-to-link tracks for my models.

[JED]

I've looked into tracks for the kit but I can't really justify the cost, I nearly fell off my chair,the cheapest I could find were £35 😳 Probably worth every penny but not mine 😂😂😂😂

[tojo72]

What's the kit

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Stay with acrylic paints, because solvents will quickly destroy rubber.

[JED]

Feb 24, 2021 10:41:48 GMT -6 tojo72 said:

What's the kit

Hi Tojo, it's a 1/35 Academy Warrior 

[tojo72]

Feb 25, 2021 9:57:54 GMT -6 JED said:

Feb 24, 2021 10:41:48 GMT -6 tojo72 said:

What's the kit

Hi Tojo, it's a 1/35 Academy Warrior 

I'm more familiar with the Tamiya and Dragon types,but as was said before,the acrylics would be a safe bet,pigments would be okay if you fix them with anything but enamel thinner.also I prefer to glue them together,and paint and weather off the vehicle,then install.

[JED]

Feb 25, 2021 10:39:41 GMT -6 tojo72 said:

Feb 25, 2021 9:57:54 GMT -6 JED said:

Hi Tojo, it's a 1/35 Academy Warrior 

I'm more familiar with the Tamiya and Dragon types,but as was said before,the acrylics would be a safe bet,pigments would be okay if you fix them with anything but enamel thinner.also I prefer to glue them together,and paint and weather off the vehicle,then install.

Thanks for your advice,what is the likelihood of the paint coming off as they are very flexible?

[tojo72]

You can always touch up a little and dress it up with some pigments of diffrent colors,not too uniform,look at construction equipment on a site the color of the mud or dirt on the tracks is varied.These are rubber band tracks note the variations in the mud and dirt

[ogrejohn]

If you are careful it shouldn't flake off. I haven't used vinyl or any rubber like tracks in a long time. I like indy links myself  be it kit plastic or aftermarket metal ones. For the vinyl, like everyone has said, solvent based paints or weathering stuff for me is a no no. I usually base coat with a flat black or Tamiya dark iron XF 84. Paint on metal areas in a earth brown of choice and hit any rubberized parts on the track with a brushing of Vallejo dark rubber 306. Dry brush steel on the guide teeth and then add pigments to your liking. After all painting is done is when I join them together. This can be tricky as most vinyl tracks won't hold very well with any type glue, super or otherwise. Carefully melting or using staples or even sewing them can work. If you get flaking this is likely when it's going to happen. Then and when you fit them to the tank. If the flaking isn't too bad you can touch them up after fitting them.

This is an Academy M18 Hellcat I did almost 13 years ago, it has vinyl tracks.





That's how I've done them and, of course, your results may vary. Others likely do it different but what ever works is good. 

Somewhere on this site is a Tamiya 2A6 Leopard of mine with rubber tracks. I think that was the last one I did with those kind of tracks. 

Hope this helps. 

[JED]

Many thanks Tojo and OJ, that's a great help 👍