Well the T-66 metal tracks from BackYardArmor.com are installed on my 1/16th Tamiya Sherman but not without a few complications. The tracks are a bit wider than the kit supplied tracks and tend to hang up at a couple points near the front of the tank. The Tamiya kit uses small roundhead Phillips screws to attach the outer bulkheads for the transmission/gearbox area to the chassis (hull). The screw at the top is just about lined up with the tracks along the top area of travel, the return area.

The link pins are a little long on the metal tracks and will hang up on the upper mounting screws. If the pins catch the phillips indentations (for a screwdriver) they will lock up the entire drive on that side. Luckily I had saved all my various extra screws that came with the kit and found a flathead (countersunk) version of the same sized screw in my spare parts box. I countersunk the outer bulkhead on each side stopping at the metal chassis. The screws now sit flush, the return area is clear, no more hang ups.

Also, the front fenders have a portion that overlaps the sides of the hull just ahead of said screws. In some fashion you need to chamfer that sudden step out towards the tracks. Again, the long link pins will catch on this step. If those pins were just 1/64th of an inch shorter they would more than likely avoid these problem spots. Other than that, everything else went just fine.

Also, I had mentioned previously that in the real world a Sherman of this type would normally run about 78 or 79 links per tread, well we ended up at 77 per side so not too bad as far as scale goes. Some minor adjustment to my idlers and we�re ready to roll.

Now after reading Mig�s model finishing book I couldn�t resist trying the new things I�ve learned recently. The old Sherman is the only one of my favorites (from the past ten years) that I hadn�t spent time to re-freshen last year so I decided what the heck, update the Sherman too.

She is now an assault Sherman! AHA! Still have some work to do, I started on the left side of the tank, worked part of the front, the gun and mantlet and of course the tracks, but you can see a big difference in my finishing style. Always worth trying something new, I feel like I�ve stepped up a bit, very pleased with the results.

Extra tracks have been added to the turret for additional armor. The finish and color you see on these two sets is what you can expect from the Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black product. I did about six seconds of dry brushing with a large makeup brush that had just a little MIG Old Rust (P230) on it, no wash, no filters.

Rick

Took a bit of work to secure the metal tracks to the existing turret. I actually drilled and set metal pins in three links on each side, drilled small holes in the turret and attached the links with CA. It was typical to weld the guide horns to the tank surface giving the tank a form of poor mans reactive armor.

You can see the change in my finishing style by comparing the upper corners of the front plate. Right side of tank old finishing style, left side of tank is what I�ve learned how to do recently. I also went around the base of the guide horns to make it appear as though the fresh welds also have fresh rust around them.

...various shades and types of rust goin' here.

I wanted heavy rust and wear on the main treads. Heavy coats of MIG Light Rust (P024) and Standard Rust (P025) were applied directly with a large makeup brush. In between about two to three oil washes each of Winsor and Newton�s Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber were applied. As these washes dried I would dab at the treads with a mixture of MIGs Dry Mud (P232) and Europe Dust (P028). As a final touch and after allowing everything to dry for several days I applied some MIG Black Smoke (P023) with a � inch wide brush to simulate long term wear from the road tires. Then back to the large makeup brush, this time clean and dry, to do some very light blending. This is all done with the treads fully assembled laying flat in a large open area. You need plenty of elbow room working� on these things.

Answered my durability question with this process. The colors seem to be wearing fine, the most highlighted areas will still wear down to metal, which I guess should be expected. After about three hours of running the high spots looked like and old Cat tractor�s tread so that�s cool too!

Some images from my first test run with the metal tracks.

...passing the "Water Works", hose bib for the backyard.

Awesome Turners!!G.

I would love to see a Japanese Tank "Knocked out" and rusting away in a jungle, sixty some odd years later!Rick your attention to detail is stunning!Just an Idea..I dont see much Japanese armor being built.Is it because of lack of interest? Or lack of quality models? Thanks Geoff.

Awesome Rick!

I don't remember seeing those style tracks on a real Sherman. Are they historically accurate?

They'll be real cool going over Dog Canyon Bridge.

Thanks guys, Bernie the T-66s were very short-lived. They were original equipment on late-war Shermans like mine with the then new Horizontal Volute Suspension System (H.V.S.S.). These were quickly phased out for the better and more commonly seen T-80s.

Tamiya�s big mistake was putting the T-80s on a WW II Pershing, that historically never happened!

This link http://web.inter.nl.net/users/spoelstra/g104/track.htm gives a good short explanation on the various track types for the Sherman. Click on the �Track link types �.� link for a small image and specs on each type.

Geoff, I�m afraid its still based on good �ole popularity and what will sell the most. German subjects seem to outnumber everything else 10 to 1. The only non-German subjects that seem to continually hold their own in popularity are the Sherman and the T-34! There seems to be a renaissance lately of small tank subjects and soft skins, maybe someone will wake up and address Japanese armor in the future but right now I kind of doubt it.

Rick

Looking good Rick. That is so cool! It's like watching a real Sherman going down the road. JohnJ

I received a couple questions about the tracks used on the WW II Pershing. Fact, the M-26 did not use the T-80 track sets during the war, they used the T-81. Tamiya is more than capable of producing correct and accurate parts, I think what was done for the 1/16th Pershing was based on ease of production and convenience for Tamiya, nothing else. The drive sprockets are also incorrect. The ones used in the Pershing kits are an adaptation of the drive sprockets from the Sherman kit.

They weren�t available when I first built my Pershing but correct metal track sets and drive sprockets are now produced for the 1/16th M-26. After doing this job on my Sherman I can tell you I won�t be changing over my Pershing until the original tracks are flat worn out.

For comparison purposes here is an image of kit supplied tracks on the Tamiya Pershing, other than revising the guide horns they are identical to those supplied years earlier in the 1/16th Sherman kits -

Here is an image of a set of original T-81s on what was the only Pershing KO'd during the war, M-26 No. 25 - H Co. 33 Arm. Rgt., hit by a Nashorn -

In this image of the T26E4-1 Super Pershing (as it appeared ready for shipment to Europe) you can see the correct style of WW II drive sprocket being used. Nice gun!

It would have been interesting to sse the Super Pershing and King Tigers going head to head. I notice the Pershings armour doesn't slope much. Also appears to have a high profile.