(Login Malcolm_48) Registered Users from IP address 4.152.207.31
Hey folks -
Has anyone out there bought and used a set of these? Were they worth the bucks? How many extra ones were left? The extra ones are quite important to what I'm working on.
Which is 210 total. Despite the boxtop label, they are not quite enough to do a Jagdtiger running gear. If my correct-lenght Jagdtiger was anything to go by, one box was actually a link or two short per side, even if taking into account that one or two links would not allow the hinge wire to poke through in the middle, where I had no easy drilling access. So I had 104 links per side or thereabouts... I think they got it wrong and 212 or 214 links are needed for just the JT running gear...
There should be enough spares to festoon a TigerII turret, and one or two "bad" links out of 210 I consider very acceptable, especially if, unlike me, you have access to an extra-fine drill...
These Fruilmodel tracks are absolutely amazing; on all links save two, the supplied wire poked through clean with nail-side finger pressure alone; NO pre-drilling required, unlike their own 1/35th scale stuff I heard... The friction then holds the wire in place, usually perfectly...
I could not believe how well detailed they were, or how trouble-free to assemble, but be warned I still found it VERY tedious; count 8 to 10 hours of solid work...
Don't be swayed by their overly thick appearance; daylight wartime photos are usually harshly lit by the sun, and the extra-deep underside shadows obliterate the full underside thickness of the real KT's tracks, making them look a lot thinner than the Fruilmodel version. Remember that in a room with light-colored walls, the light comes much more horizontally than in broad daylight, and this "horizontal" indoor lighting makes the Fruilmodel tracks look much too thick. I have seen late-in-the-day photos of real King Tigers that show clearly that the Fruilmodel tracks are absolutely correct in thickness, and the Tamiya plastic ones FAR too thin...
Mainly because of the too horizontal front roof angle on both turrets (the Henshel turret is better overall), and the hugely tall cuppola, I don't like the Tamiya KT kits. But the Fruilmodel tracks themselves are among the most impressive, and useable, achievements I have seen in the hobby...
Thank you very much for that information, that is just what I needed to know. I have found Friul's website in Hungary, and I will contact them to see if I can get enough links to pull off what I'm working on. Hopefully they have someone who understands English and they will work with me. I wish Bill Wiseman at WWII Productions made them, I really like his tracks, and he is reachable and willing to help unusual needs.
I agree with your estimation of the Tamiya tracks, they are pretty poor.
Thanks for the link, but the price is a bit ouch-some compared to the $33 that my favorite vendor, Track 48 (blatant promotion) is asking. I have done business with Ken at PCM in the past. I was not too happy with the way things turned out over some missing parts, enough said. I really don't want to buy two sets of tracks to get a total of 238 links, so I'm hoping Friul will help me. Normally I wouldn't hesitate and get two sets, but my modeling budget is in the toilet and all I have into this project is a Tamiya Henschel King Tiger kit, some Hauler brass, a bunch of styrene sheet, tube, and rod, and some copper wire. Financially challenged'r'us...
