I have a quick question, that since the professional edition of the M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank Heng Long features unpainted all-metal tracks and running gear externally, how am I suppose to get those tracks and gear painted? Is that look strange without paint, why can't the Heng Long painted those parts instead leaving them unpainted?
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Use this to corrode them to a perfect grey.
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Presumably they're unpainted so the buyer who paid more for them can show them off. I agree with Evan's suggestion about the Perma Blue. It'll take the better part of a bottle to do one set. I pour the liquid in a pan or dish and drag the tracks (off the tank!) through, following the bottle directions. As far as the wheels, I use an etching primer spray and then paint them. Just one problem doing this, that is to match the wheel paint you use to the rest of the tank. My solution is to repaint the whole tank. That way too, if you need to touch it up, you already have the base paint!The more screws it takes to reassemble a tank, the more likely it is you left something out!Comment
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Make sure to do the chemical plating outdoor. The fume is very toxic.Originally posted by Evan D View Post
For smaller scale static model kit tank tracks using softer metal, chemical blackening of the track is a preferred approch. I found out the hard way that the stronger metal in 1/16 scale RC tank is not a good candidate for chemical blackening. I have not found a good approach to do the blackening at home yet. For now, I buy the black metal track from Mato instead.Comment
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Not sure I understand, what is this, blue paint? Since I'm new to this, I don't get why the manufacture choose not to paint the metal part for the professional edition? Do they want the customer to paint by themselves? What is the rational behind this decision? For us don't know the RC build, it is complicate for us to repaint on this when they can sell a product without DIY.Originally posted by Evan D View PostComment
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It is a sales tactic for the uninformed RC tank buyer. They may think that black track is plastic and silver track is metal. Besides, electroplating to darken the metal track is another manufacturing step that cost extra money.Originally posted by nicboygs View Post
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80% of this niche hobby's activity is assembly, upgrading, customizing, maintaining and repairing. RTR in this case means it'll run out of the box, not that it won't require actions on the buyer's part.
Perma Blue is actually a chemical process that etches metal, and turns out gray to black depending on how long you apply it. It's originally meant to touch up gun surfaces, which are in most cases black nowadays.The more screws it takes to reassemble a tank, the more likely it is you left something out!Comment
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The Heng Long metal tracks, replicate, real modern tracks, in the same way as I replicate the king of Scotland. The raised parts should be rubber, and the remaining parts should be grey/brown. If you paint, or blue the tracks, they will never look right as the paint will wear off the contact area, which would be black rubber. You are better off with plastic tracks and painting them well.Comment
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The rubber pad tracks grip to well and cause issues especially on hard rough surfaces they can really grab, took mine off and went back to metalOriginally posted by Meter Rat View PostComment
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There's no such thing as the King/Queen of Scotland and the King/Queen of England and there hasn't been since 1707. From 1707 to 1801 we had Kings and Queens of Great Britain. Since 1801 we've had Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom.Originally posted by Meter Rat View Post
My favorite track material is nylon. The Tamiya hybrid track is as durable as metal and does not grip like soft rubber. For modern RC tank track, it is important to have a dual pin design and no exposed link pins to look realistic both in static display and in running.Comment
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Idi Amin…Comment
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"The Last King of Scotland" is a movie with Idi Amin as a character. Just not sure if it's all that smart to tell a Scot (Meter Rat) about Scottish history... :)Comment
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My grandmother was a Grant, and her husband a Boyd, she was a distant cousin to Ulysses S Grant, Ellis was a relative of the royal family of England who came to America to escape the consequences of questionable moral behavior (as is our family legend), and oddly, he moved my grandmother to Iowa to start farming in the early 1900s, after falling out with my great grandmother over the same questionable moral behavior.Originally posted by tank_me View Post
He liked poker and whisky basically, sometimes a bit too much in the eyes of the methodist family he joined...Comment
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No, I am not movie smart at all, may be not at all. I deserve the mockery when I saw a jock and do not understand it. I know about Idi Amin, but not "The Last King of Scotland" movie. Thank you for teaching me the lesson.Originally posted by tank_me View PostComment
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trying to keep it all straight is a royal pain...
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Well this has taken an unexpected turn.
I was using the reference as an analogy. I did not expect a discussion about history.
keilau and tank_me I think it might be advisable to teach me about Scottish history, because even I don’t understand it. It is too intertwined between Scotland, England, Norway, and France.Comment
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I agree. I am currently trying all plastic tracks on my Leopard 2. The Challenger, and Abrams both run metal tracks, with rubber pads.Originally posted by Roaming Gnome View Post
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