Track finish

[John chamney]

Happy Christmas all
Can anyone please advise if the chieftain tracks should be painted and if so what colour or left bare to obtain a layer of natural rust ? Assuming that is what happened on the real thing ? Thanks

Regards John

[John Clarke]

My choice
Other than painting and protecting the rubber block mounting plate and the area where the rubber block mounts on each track link. I'll just be dry lubricating the track pins. The track should hopefully colour itself in a natural light layer of oxidation/rust. Natural shiny bits on the tracks from sprockets, road wheels and terrain surfaces will naturally occur. I'll be lubricating the links with a light spray of WD 40 from time to time to chase out the damp..
I think painting the track will lead to chipping and scratching ending with an unnatural look. As long as the tracks are not left constantly damp/wet, corrosion should be minimal.

[Charles A Stewart]

Hope this helps.
I ran the chassis last, in late September on wet grass and soft ground the tracks accumulating lots of mud.
Afterwards I washed the mud off and left to dry, there was a patina of surface rust the next day, I have since gone over the tracks with a wire bush in a drill which has cleaned them up nicely, to me that is. After which I gave a good dollop of WD40.
The photos were taken today, the tracks have been stored since being cleaned.

Have the best Christmas you can and hope for a better new year.

Charles

[Stephen White]

John

It's a matter of personal choice. The Chieftain model tracks are steel and will need maintenance if you don't choose to protect them.

Rust is inappropriate, certainly for an operational Chieftain. The tracks were made of a corrosion resistant alloy and frequent use polished the surfaces. Tracks were invariably dirty, covered in a patina of weathering effects. The static tanks you see in museums will have a degree of rust on the tracks but it's not typical of runners.

I've written a pretty comprehensive Knowledge Base Topic on the subject, here:

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=5816

Final surface finish is up to you. For realism, you might want to consider where your model would have been operating. If Canada, a dusty finish would be appropriate. For Europe, a darker patina would work. For added realism, you might want to consider digging some chips out of the track pads. They didn't last long in service and were constantly abraded and cut by stones etc. As for John C's point about chipping and scratching of paint, I haven't found that at all. My Pz III and Centurion tracks are painted (and weathered) and they have settled down into a realistic surface finish. I haven't had to touch them up at all.

There is one thing you can do, fairly easily, which will really enhance the tracks. The inner surfaces and track horns will always look polished. You could mask these areas and give them a coat of a silvery metallic paint. It won't wear off if you then spray a varnish and it looks very realistic.

The biggest problem you've got with the tracks is the utter tedium of all the repetitive actions needed to get them right. So a bottle of Christmas cheer, a bit of good music and mind in neutral will be the answer.

Happy Christmas and an Armortek new year.

[John Clarke]

I'll certainly side with Stephen, a master of painting and shading, his track finish is awesome.

Chiseling lumps of rubber from those gorgeous track pads....sorry
..... well that's like damaging a Louise XIV chair saying it's now fashionable shabby chic

I do quite like the finish on Charles's tracks and hope mine can be kept in a similar fashion.

You'll find slightly rusty tracks on museum pieces.
That'll do me

My only experience of painted tracks are on the Cent, everyone will have their preferences.

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[Mark Heaps]

I cannot remember how new Chiefy tracks came but in 2007 when I left the british army, replacement tracks or track links for FV430 series, WR series & CR2 were painted black. Use would have worn the paint off at various places revealing bare steel. Same use would have prevented a rust build up.
I agree with Stephen White. Rust on a operational vehicle is not appropriate or realistic.

Mark

[John Clarke]

Yes but, no but, yes he said with a wiriery smile, pictures don't lie unless you've got photo shop, these tracks here are a few shades of grey, not new I grant you, they started out black and finished grey with a tinge oxidization or is red ish orange dust

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Hummm what a Great looking tank below, (with 256 shades of grey ish tracks).

My favorite Chieftain Picture,,it really is the dogs.......chiseled pads and all eeeeek

Now if you paint the tracks black, well you've got yourself a job for life.
Gorgeous looking tracks new, fit for a parade, but use them, (Sorry to remind you Richard )

tr5 (1).jpg (211.77 KiB) Viewed 4855 times

Pads removed and the tracks seem polished up by the dust and dirt

Grey with a tinge oxidization or is red ish orange dust, case for the prosecution rested

[Stephen White]

Only black tracks I ever saw were the ones the 4RTR RSM had painted to mark the edge of the parade ground. Don't recall any new ones with paint on. The "oxidisation" is BATUS dust. But each to his own....

[Adrian Harris]

What's with the Smudgie Buggler competition ? Did someone sneak off with their overalls in the night ?

Adrian.

[Stephen White]

It’s an old tradition in the Light Cavalry regiments, commemorating a famous incident at the Battle of Bussaco, (27th September, 1810) when two regiments of horse caught Napoleon’s Dragoon’s with their pants down.

[Charles A Stewart]

Evening all

First of, does this thread answer John's inital question?

Personally I like the steel track as is, which now has some "natural weathering".

Unfortunately this will mean driving the tank in dry weather/conditions. The plus side of this is my wife is happy, as I (Chieftain) will not be churning up the lawn again.

Cheers Charles

[John Clarke]

Charles, I suppose it's tracks painted, against natural effects on bare metal tracks or lightly lubricated bare metal tracks.

Stephen's sold me on the Lifepo4's and he doing a pretty good job on the tracks too. It's just that I can't paint stuff as well as he can. I'd slap too much on.

Definitely with you on the dry grass bit, my grass is just coming back after the sun scorched it two years ago.