T-34 track mod - Part 1

Description: Improving the realism of the quick build Armourfast T-34 single-piece plastic tracks.

While I am still very much a kit noob I thought I would try my hand at my very first modelling competition - why not? So I am preparing an entry for this month's Armourfast Forum 'Track improvement' competition. The idea is to take a stock set of Armourfast one-piece tracks and modify them so that they look a little more realistic. I have chosen to try my hand at pimping a set of T-34 tracks...



First thing for me to do was look at real photos of T-34 tracks to design what the main features were. The main thing about Soviet T-34 tracks is a design I call a 'waffle' pattern! A sort of small square grid of raised metal lines...

Above: Here's a drawing I did to illustrate a simplified form of the T-34 track construction. I have reduced the track pattern to a very basic 'waffle' pattern.

The second main feature is that these track pads are linked together - unlike Armourfast's faux T-34 tracks which have a stepped profile, with a raised track pad followed by a 'gap' (lowered recess) of similar width then a raised pad again and so on. So the first job is to get rid of the stepped appearance of these tracks by filling in the gaps between the raised track pads...

Above: Here's a drawing I did showing the profile of Armourfasts take on the T-34 track. This stepped pattern is far from realistic.

However, first I decided which areas of the Armourfast track to modify as you cannot see all the track - a large part is hidden under the tanks side mud guards and then there is the bottom of the track. So all I really need to modify is the end pieces of the track, those parts you can see at the front and rear of the model which aren't hidden by the fenders.

 Above: This simple 3D model shows the areas of the tracks - back and front - that are clearly visible and so must be modified. The rest is pretty much hidden by the fender or is on the bottom of the track.

Next: Getting busy with the plastic!