1:35 Workable track links for Pz.III/IV winterketten

1:35 Workable Winterketten Tracks for the Pz.Kpfw. III/IV, Rye Field Model

A set of workable tracks in 1:35 scale, the manufacturer's part number RM-2018, made by 3D printing. It is not a tank kit but a replacement track run for models of the Pz.Kpfw. III and IV. The links are assembled one at a time and stay workable, so the run can be seated over the running gear with a convincing sag and settled onto the ground. The manufacturer supplies the set unassembled and unpainted.

The real subject: Winterketten

Winter tracks came about as an answer to the Eastern Front, where vehicles on a narrow track sank into snow and mud. The hull would not take a substantially wider track, so each link was given a triangular extension that widened the bearing surface outward. The Pz.Kpfw. III and IV and the vehicles built on them wore these tracks through the winter campaigns; they are easy to spot in photographs, because the run overhangs the fenders by a long way.

Fitting and painting tips

First wash the print resin residue off the links and remove the supports; protect your airways while sanding. Glue them with cyanoacrylate and in the smallest drops, so the run stays workable. A primer coat is a must. Then go for dark steel or rust, a wash in the recesses and graphite on the contact faces. The manufacturer also does early and late standard Pz.Kpfw. III/IV tracks (RM-2013 and RM-2014) and an injection-molded plastic Winterketten version under RM-5084, so compare the pattern against a photograph of the vehicle you are building.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the Pz.Kpfw. III and IV in 1:35
• Modelers doing winter scenes from the Eastern Front
• Advanced builders who have already worked with 3D prints
• Diorama builders who care about how the track settles into snow and mud

It is an add-on for a model, not a kit. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.