Also my thoughts, Peter!
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Fan base support for Disney’s version of Star Wars has taken a savage beating over the past two years. Best thing they had going was ‘Mandalorian’ and they managed to F that up as well.
New product no longer has that built-in guarantee of big payouts as it once did.
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LOL thank you! Much fun
64 links per side of the Fat Frog tracks. 63 is too tight- I think if the track is properly adjusted the top run should just touch the top of the middle road wheel. Real thing is 65 per side.
To quote @Armor_Buff , “4 hours 16 minutes assembly time.”
And if anyone cares, this is a Dragon M113 final drive:
And this is basically what Academy, old AFV Club and Tamiya’s M113 final drive looks like. Tamiya has a blind hole, but the depth and major inner diameter are the same.
Modified Dragon drive sprockets.
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FINALLY!!! Two weeks after I received the TakomM48/60 tracks I have both runs together. The Magach build stalled while I was waiting for them to arrive but then real life intervened and really cut into the bench time. Like I always say “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” If you have high end nippers i.e. God Hand or ZM then clean up is minimal and they go together nicely with a bit of care if you want them to remain workable. There are enough links to do 2 complete runs (box says 78 links each) plus about 8-10 extras in case you lose some or screw up. Decided not to try to reposition the idlers as that that would necessitate not just removing and repositioning them but I would need to cut and lengthen the adjusting rod. I can live with it and they don’t seem to be as loose as I first thought. With any luck I just might get the upper hull finished by the weekend. The DS tracks will go on the Revell West German M48A2.
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Al, the tracks look fantastic to me! Very nice!
4 hours 16 minutes well spent!
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Tracks painted and test fitted to the Magach. Also Something else I’ve been working on.
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Made up fixture to drill arches for horizontal roof members and hold all for soldering…
and experimented with the new resistance soldering unit … works like a charm .
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Well, on the KET-T thread I promised everybody here that I would get the model out of storage and finish it by the end of February. So, that gives me 10 days to finish the KET-T and it’s still in raw paint. It needs lights, and all the weathering and finishing steps - washes, filters, pin washes, dot filters, oil and fuel stains, pigments.
It’s not that I waited too long, it’s that for the last year I’ve had a part-time job that’s been cutting into my bench time. Every Tuesday and Thursday, my wife and I go over to our daughters house and babysit our 1 and 3 year old grandsons so she can go to work. 3 months ago, my wife had a shoulder replacement and has been out of service since. I have been watching the boys on my own!
Now I know this sounds like sheer lunacy, and it is. But I’m Infantry dammit, I can get through this! Yeah, right. I come home totally fried and need the next day to recover. Only 4 more years till they’re both in school. So much for retirement and unlimited bench time.
Back to the models - the Amusing Hobby Centurion MK V was a fantastic build, great kit, but the tracks frustrated me. They’re glue together indy link and the first side has broken 8 times getting it on, so I’ve lost enthusiasm for the kit and decided to go aftermarket on the tracks. In the box it goes and on to the shelf of shame. I was kind of tired of it anyway.
Out of mothballs comes the KET-T. Did a full bench cleaning and vacuuming in between. It has a full engine, wired and plumbed, PE, and resin tires. I’m going for a well used but well maintained look (I know, rare for Russian vehicles) and road dirt / dust. I’ll document my progress on the KET-T Recovery Vehicle Build Blog thread. Back to work!
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Your KET-T was what brought me back here while I was researching it and before I started on the KET-T I ended up building. Your build thread was also how discovered Star Bond super glues.
So basically, my being here is all your fault. 
Anyhow, after being inspired by our own mad scientist @justsendit , I coiled a bunch of evergreen channel and angle pieces around a hole transfer punch, clamped it and tossed it into some very hot water in a Tupperware dish.
This was what it looked like after it cooled. (These remind me of the centering spring found in Harley Davidson 5 speed transmissions)
This took longer than I care to admit.
“Why are you wasting my time with this stuff, Al?” You might be asking….
So here’s where I am:
All this nonsense ate up a sizable portion of the morning and I still have some trimming to complete, but what else do I have to do?
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Love it when a plan comes together. 
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Time well spent in the asylum… uhhh, I mean the laboratory! 
—mike
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Big day in the paint shop. Flat coat on my Humber Scout Car and ASLAV-R, primer and base coats down on the SdKfz 263 and the Landrover WMIK with Milan, and white sprayed inside the Renault FT.
I haven’t laid this much paint since the wife voluntered me to paint the son’s entire house…
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Worked on the Fahrpanzer and started organizing my 3D prints and other accessories in one of those small 30 drawer pullout organizers one has for bolts and such. I might and I do say might have a problem. 
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My problem… the local zoning laws limit me to only thirteen of the wooden high-rise drawers. 
—mike
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