Tip Page # 3 by Ian Sadler

T 34 Track Guards

With the release of new T 34 series of kits by Dragon and Marquette, I decided to make new replacement track guards for the front side and rear. The kit I used for this project is the Stalingrad 1942 by Marquette. 

The method is the same for what ever style the kit as rounded edges or flat sides or the rear half round types.

You need a sheet of aluminium foil; mine comes from a Chinese take away dish in other countries similar foil dishes are used to bake cakes or pies in.

Cut the base of the foil dish out and smooth it out with the back of your mark one thumb nail.

Safety Tip:  always work from the centre towards the edge if you do it the opposite way you will slice a piece of your thumb off, voice of experience.

It will take about 5 minutes to remove all the creases from the foil. One it is flattened then cut a piece out at least twice the surface are you need for the track guard.  

Sometimes you will have to remove the tiny details from the kit original i.e. rivets or extra bracing straps; these can be added later from foil strips and new rivets from water canister beads.

 See the Scan: those in the centre show the final shape of the front and rear track guards.

Place the kit original face down onto the foil and by trial and error bend and cut tabs to hold the foil in place while you work it with a blunted cocktail stick.

See the scan:  the one at the bottom left shows the rear of the front guard with the tabs holding the foil in place.

Turn the whole item over and slowly burnish the foil till it takes on the shape of the fender, after you are satisfied with the result. Remove the foil by lifting the tabs clear of the kit part, you can now cut out the final shape with scissors and then place the replacement foil fender over the original to check that is has still conformed to the shape. If not; then gently burnish again back into shape. You may need to dress the edge up with a file. Test fit on the kit and note the area you need to apply supper glue to, in some cases you will have to leave an extra tab on the replacement to give enough surface area. Only experience will tell you this

Depending on the style of fender or track guard you will have some creases in the final shape, you will never get them all out, but this adds to the realism of the item as branches and stones thrown up by the track damage track guards and fenders to some extent.

The scans: show all the details I have used in this method of replacing the kit parts for more in scale and better appearance to enhance the kits, I have also used the same method to make the shovel heads, it is just on a smaller scale but the method is the same, the shaft is a replacement made from plastic rod supper glued into the turned over collar of foil.

Give it a try and have fun, if you make a mistake it has cost you nothing but time.

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