Never happened before

[Guest]

Evening all.

Just been adding washes to my Kanonenjagdpanzer from Revell. Spent ages doing the tracks and when putting the tracks back on thought "emmm they didn't seem this loose before!"

Mind you, this is my first ever Revell 1/35 model and i was amazed at how flexible the tracks were when inspecting the kit compared to for example Tamiya which requires a bit of wrestling to get them on.

I've made loads of kits now but have never come across this. Anyone know why my tracks have expanded? I just used oil paints and Humbrol Enamel Thinners for the wash. I'm going to have to cut the tracks down to size which will be annoying.

Cheers for ze help

Paul

:emo10:

[Guest]

No idea Paul. If they were painted then the enamel thinners in the wash should not have attacked them I wouldn't have thought. Never come across this before so will also be interested if anyone else has. I wouldn't cut them yet in case they shrink back a bit.

[Guest]

Yeah mate. It's so weird. I airbrushed on a base coat and added some Klear. So there shouldn't have been any way the tinners could have attacked the rubber. I'm searching on the net at the mo but with no results. I should take a pic of the tracks. They must have expanded by an inch or so!

[Guest]

Wow! an inch or so is a bit extreem. Something very strange has gone on here. What base did you use for the wash? It looks like something has softened the rubber and you can only hope they will return but it may be wishfull thinking. This may require a diorama base with the lower track run sunk into mud to hide the joint! I would give it a while though to ensure that the effect has actually finished and you are not going to have them stretch further.

I've never heard of such a thing though, must have been a strong solvent!

[Guest]

It's morning now. Before going to bed last night i cut an inch off the tracks and stapled them together and put them back on the tank. Well, this morning it seems that the tracks have not shrunk back into position but have kept their form.

Yes Richard, it must have been the thinners but it was Humbrol's Enamel thinner. I've used this before to do tracks as well as Tamiya's enamel thinner and never had any issues. I've managed to save the tracks but will have to do a bit more work to make them look presentable.

[Guest]

That's a strange one Paul but just goes to show how inconsistent the chemical composition of paints and thinners can be. Or perhaps this one is an indication of a change in the rubber compound used for the tracks. You would have expected them to have tested them out as regards resistance to paint thinners!