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Hi all,

Well I've been working away at my Mark IV for a few days now and it has been a learning experience as this is the first large scale kit I have ever done. So far all the work has been structural but so far so good
No idea on a scheme yet but one thing is bothering me - how to do the tracks? Paint seems wrong as it will wear off, any other ideas?

Wow, that is fast progress. Looking good. As far as the tracks why not just run them and let nature weather them just like the real thing. They should take on a polished rusty patina I should think, more so than aluminium track links would. Look forward to seeing more on your build.
Gunner.
Mk IV 22.

Hi Daniel,
I myself was going to make up the tracks and leave them outside over the winter,
did you rivet the rivets or use glue? . Keep up the good work.
Regards Walter.

Hi Walter.

If you leave your tracks out through the winter don't you think you will get more rust than you bargained for? if you do want a rusty track appearance as I was asked to do make up the tracks and spray them with a plant mister with mild brick acid you have the effect in about 24 hours but no rusty drive chain
Cheers Paul.

I am using glue on the rivets, even if I felt inclined to use the manual method the prospect of doing it hundreds of times over just fills me with dread so glue it is.

As for the tracks I guess that answers my question, thanks Paul, I'd never even heard of brick acid until now but if it gives the worn look without resorting to easily removed paint then that is the way to go. Now all I have to figure out is how to paint the rest of the tank...

Progress update:-

All the armour plate and edge trim is fitted, the fuel tank is fitted and the roof trim is done (although not secured for now). Next up, the running gear - not looking forward to that bit even though I should be thankful that the first tanks didn't have any suspension!

Project update:-

This weekend was spent doing the track runners and I am now sick of the tiny nuts, good job so many spares were provided
(the male sponson is mocked up for now as I can't fit the 6 pounder until I understand how it mounts)

I have run into a few issues particularly with the drive axles not fitted the bearings and a number of fitment issues with both the male a female sponsons. Time will tell if I can resolve them or not...

Blimey Daniel, are you getting any sleep. I still haven't had time to check my other three boxes contents yet. Looking good, hope you sort out the fitments issues. When you finish yours how do you fancy standing next to me whispering directions in my ear.
Gunner.

Construction update:- Nothing really visual, just lots of small details (and corrections). The main challenge was to fit the drive and idle sprockets, something I have never tried before. Took a long time (and some help, thanks Gill) but finally got them both mounted a spinning freely. The male sponson is test fitted (backwards I just realised :-)and is done all bar the rear door. For anyone coming up to this the screws for the 6 pounder mounts are too short but one email later and longer replacements were provided
The female sponsons needed a chunk ground out of the frame to get the gun cylinders to fit flush and I still have an issue getting the top and bottom plate to line up but that's a problem I have leave for now...

Next up...tracks...

After a break for work in Hungary I am back on the Mark IV.

Mocked up the sponsons and roof:-
And work continues on the tracks, so. many. bolts.
Many questions still to be answered still, not sure how all the motion components will connect to everything and some alignment issues are vexing me but it is still fun to work on

Tracks completed, not fitted yet as I have finished mocking everything up now. That fun I only want to do once the motion pack is fitted.

Fantastic and riveting to read! (pardon the pun) what make/type of glue is being used on the rivets? is the glue strong enough to withstand wear and tear?

lescooper wrote:Fantastic and riveting to read! (pardon the pun) what make/type of glue is being used on the rivets? is the glue strong enough to withstand wear and tear?

I'm using Loctite 496. Seems to work fine on everything, only time will tell on the wear but I tried 'proper' riveting but it was not for me at all

No progress other than intermittent rivet adding on the Mark IV. Mainly I am waiting for the motion pack to come out but, in a real case of 'when it rain it pours I also have this 1/1 scale model to work on

Now the motion pack has arrived I started bench testing everything and althuogh the motors are working as expected the sound module rufuses to co-operate. Having set my transmitter to Ch.5 as per the instructions and traced out all the cables to make sure it was all plugged in when I came to calibrate it...nothing. I press the switch to start the setup and it beeps and the LED goes solid but moving the controllers has no effect. Flipping the E switch up gets a burst of noise and it comes out of setup mode but that's it. I am mystified...