TAKOM shares images of their upcoming release.
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/t28-from-takom
This is partial text from the full article (usually with photos) at https://armorama.com/news/t28-from-takom
5 Likes
This is gonna be wicked cool!
Awesome!! I want to get one of those. I remember several years ago in the old Military Modeler magazine there was a modeler that scratch-built a T28.
2 Likes
I have pictures of me during graduation from basic training at the Patton museum at FT know in front of this beast so I might need to deviate from my chosen genre to build this.
1 Like
5 pieces to every track link,4 runs of track. Aye Yai Yai!!!
5 Likes
Yeah. No on those bogies and tracks. That model is a guaranteed build fail for me. Very disappointed.
1 Like
3d printed tracks for sure.
1 Like
Wimp
3 Likes
See other thread.
1 Like
2 Likes
Bronco, Gecko, and Miniart use the same basic part breakdown for US tracks with two pins per link. (Though designed for VVSS M3 and M4 tanks, the part breakdown and construction method are very similar.) In my experience. Bronco tracks are the worst. They break in many places after assembly and are very difficult to repair. Gecko and Miniart are somewhat better. They break much less often and are easier to repair.
I have not built a set of Takom two pin tracks. It is all about the piece serving as the track pins. If the model designer tried to make those pins scale, they will be extremely fragile and many will break. If the model designer made them over scale and robust, the tracks could be nice and strong.
My concern is that the movable bogies will not have keys, allowing the builder to easily lock them into neutral position. That will create a severe danger of floating wheels. That will lead to tracks conforming to the floating wheels. That will lead to breakage. That breakage may happen after the tracks are on the model with the wing pieces installed. Trying to make repairs beyond that point will be super ugly.
The people at Takom are usually pretty good at doing things to help the model builder get a good result. I am really disappointed they went in the opposite direction here. I conjecture they did it to one up the Dragon T28, thinking the movable bogies would be a selling point. For me, the opposite is true. I doubt more than 10 people on the planet will use that feature.
I already have a Takom M103A1 and T58. They use the same track construction system as used on the T28. I have built lots of the Bronco, Gecko, and Miniart tracks as described above. On this specific model, I think combining weak, fiddly bogies with weak, fiddly tracks was a super bad idea. A proper T28 was my number one ask for 15 years. In general, I really like Takom stuff. I will buy this model. However, I think the model designer created a hellish built challenge for nothing.
Edit: I really dislike making critical comments without offering a solution. In my opinion, the problem with most injection molded, individual link, two pin tracks is that the model designer attempts to make the track pins in scale. Those track pins are hidden inside the track pad after assembly. Therefore, make them as robust as possible. This will make the tracks much stronger.
Second, when offering any sort of working suspension, always include keys allowing the builder to lock the suspension in the neutral position, rock solid. That will help builders avoid floating wheels and the horrible interaction floating wheels have with individual link tracks.
3 Likes
In my experience, that does not address the problem. It that stuff is used on injection molded, individual link tracks, it will make the problem far worse.
1 Like
“In my opinion, the problem with most injection molded, individual link, two pin tracks is that the model designer attempts to make the track pins in scale. Those track pins are hidden inside the track pad after assembly. Therefore, make them as robust as possible. This will make the tracks much stronger.”
I wonder what the magic formula is on adding thickness to the pin, at some point that extra thickness will make it bend differently than real track would. the outside edge of a thicker pin means that the pivot point of the pad is shifted outwards which would make the track look goofy going around the idler and the sprocket exposing more of the inside edge of each pad.
I’m pretty sure that nobody has ever come close to making a scale sized pin in plastic, they would probably just be so frail you wouldn’t be able to manipulate them long enough to build them let alone paint and everything else. I’ve used a lot of Panda Plastic tracks over the years and they look really convincing mounted on the tank, but it’s pretty obvious that the pins are oversized so there must be a threshold or a point where you can make the pins bigger without distorting the look of the tracks at 1/35 scale.
1 Like
The solution is to use a different material for the pins - one that has more strength and maybe more flexibility? If we look at Bronco tracks, where the pins are full-length with end connectors moulded in place, could these be done in a sort of ABS plastic? The tedious way of metal pins and plastic end connectors is the other option, but folks aren’t too keen it seems…
6 Likes
Definitely on my interested list …. lots of what if weathering / stowage/ dio options
2 Likes
Umm… like metal? Titanium, or even unobtainium.
4 Likes
Apparently it’s got a release date of May over here at Jadlam models ? And an A1/A2 version with a main gun spotlight and rear fuel drum on a deck platform …
1 Like
I do like a bit of unobtainium! Mixes well with thatllbehandium…
2 Likes
There is no single solution to tracks. Different model builders want different things. No matter what gets stuck in the box, someone will be unhappy.
I decided to start building my Takom T58 and see for myself. My initial impression is that everything I wrote earlier is true. Cleaning up 1,000 track parts is extremely obnoxious for a very minor gain in detail. The resulting tracks will be very weak. A Takom M47 does the same thing with about 80 parts, producing much stronger tracks that build up in two hours instead of 40+ hours. Obviously, that is my personal opinion. A person seeking fidelity at all coasts will come to a different conclusion.
Fruil metal tracks are extremely durable, especially if the provided wire is replaced with piano wire. Unfortunately, they are very heavy and stress suspension parts.
3 Likes