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To Japanese Version
Track Links of Karl
There were two different track link sets for Karl.
One was for the 8-wheel vehicles Nr.I and II.
The other set was for the 11-wheel vechicles Nr.III through VI
(and probably Nr.VII as well).
See Table below for data.
Table Track Link Data
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| Nr.I
| Nr.II
| Nr.III
| Nr.IV
| Nr.V
| Nr.VI
| Nr.VII
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| # of Road Wheels
| 8
| 8
| 11
| 11
| 11
| 11
| 11?
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| Drive Sproket Teeth
| 17
| 17
| 12
| 12
| 12
| 12
| 12?
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| Diameter of Drive Sproket
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| Track Link Width
| 500mm
| 500mm
| 500mm
| 500mm
| 500mm
| 500mm
| 500mm
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| Track Link Pitch
| 170mm
| 170mm
| 240mm*
| 240mm
| 240mm
| 240mm
| 240mm?
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| # of Track Links (per side)
| 133
| 133
| 94
| 94
| 94
| 94
| 94?
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*Reference [37] indicates that
the track pitch for Nr.III was 250mm.
I wonder this is a typo...
Fig.1 shows the 240mm-pitch link for the 11-wheel chassis (Nr.III through VI).
Note that this is not an exact scale drawing,
as I have never had an opportunity to measure the real thing in Kubinka...
Note that the 240mm-pitch link for the 11-wheel chassis has a round hole at the
center of the guide horn, whereas the 170mm-pitch link for the 8-wheel chassis
(Nr.I and II) doesn't.
Fig.1 Track Link of Nr.III-VI
Kit Parts
- Hasegawa 1/72
Mini Box No.33 "Karl with Munitionspanzer IV"
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Hasegawa kits have vinyl tracks which are niether glueable nor paintable.
Considering these kits are nearly 30 years old,
it will be too harsh to blame Hasegawa for these tracks.
You had better apply primer or surfacer to them before you attempt painting them.
Mold on the face is not bad for this scale.
However there is no mold on the back.
The width of the track link is wider than the original
(about 7.7mm vs 500mm/72 = 6.94mm on original),
and the pitch is longer
(about 3mm vs 170mm/72 = 2.36mm on original)
as the track link for the 8-wheel chassis, which Hasegawa is modelling on.
This long pitch is more like the track link for 11-wheel chassis.
Well, thirty years ago, Hasegawa wasn't able to find many good reference on Karl,
I guess...
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- Dragon 1/35
240mm-pitch track
6179 "60cm Moerser "Karl" Geraet 040"
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Dragon kits include "link and length" track parts.
They look adequate, but are not exceptionally good.
The biggest problem with these parts is that they are too wide
(about 16.5mm, the real link is 500mm/35 = 14.3mm wide).
The height of the guide horn looks marginally lower than the original.
The pitch of the links is, on the other hand, correct.
Because these are injection parts,
they lack the hole in the guide horn and details on their side.
You may want to drill holes where they are visible after assembly.
In addition, the parts has pin marks on the back.
As they are shallow, bit of sanding will remove the marks.
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- Trumpeter 1/35
240mm-pitch track
00209 "Moeser Karl-Geraet 040/041 on railway transport carrier"
170mm-pitch track
00208 "Moeser Karl-Geraet 040/041 (Initial Version)
on railway transport carrier"
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While Trumpeter kits are considered to be miles better than Dragon's,
the biggest weak point of Trumpeter's offering is these vinyl tracks.
I don't understand why they thought the vinyl tracks would suit their
highly-detailed, expensive kits.
These tracks do have some notable details (molds on their side,
and a hole in the guide horn of the 240mm-pitch link),
but they are too stiff and have many flushes to be removed.
Molds on the face of the tracks are slightly weak too.
It appears these vinyl tracks are dimensionally more accurate than Dragon kits.
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240mm-pitch track
00209 "Moeser Karl-Geraet 040/041 on railway transport carrier"
Track Link Sets
Five manufacuturers have released track sets for 1/35 Karl kits.
They are all workable individual link sets.
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