Fruilmodel
LWS Late production
Friulmodel 1:35 Scale Track Set No. ATL-104
Review by Terry Ashley

BroncoHobby Boss
The Set:
This set of track links from Friulmodel is designed for the Land-Wasser-Schlepper (LWS) Late Production kits from Bronco Models (kit #CB-35020) and Hobby Boss (kit # 82430).

The set consists of 290 white metal links divided equally between the right and left handed links and the usual coil of brass wire to cut up for the track pins. Also included are a set of metal drive sprockets to replace the kit sprockets.

Metal parts
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Each track link is cast with nicely done link details, there is some cleanup required with a couple of small pour burs and some fine metal flash inside the tooth holes and along the edges. The drive sprockets also have some fine flash and casting lines to trim before fitting together. Dimensionally the links and drive sprockets match available data and 1:35 plans with the sprockets being the correct 19mm in diameter (sprocket disc, not including the teeth).

The track pin holes are mostly open but you will need to use a 0.4mm drill bit to check all are clear of any obstruction and again only a small portion of the links required actual re-drilling of some holes, you should set the drill bit into your pin vice with only 9mm of the drill bit exposed so you don't drill all the way through the links.  

As mentioned above the links are handed meaning the cast on pin bolt head is facing the outside on both left and right hand track runs, the links are packed in separate plastic bags for left and right so make sure you don't mix these up during cleanup.

Images showing the basic links prior to cleanup (left) and setting the drill bit length for drilling the pin holes (right)
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Assembly:
After cleanup of the links and cutting of the 9mm track pins from the wire supplied, this is best done using a steel ruler as a cutting board so you cut (using a #11 blade) each pin to the exact 9mm required the links can be assembled.

Assembly is quite straightforward really by fitting one link into the next and inserting the wire pin, occasionally the links may not align exactly and you can simply re-drill with the two links together the properly align the pin holes. The drill bit in this instance tends to align the link hole rather than drill new holes so the fit will still be good.

After fitting each track pin secure with a dab of thick cyanoacrylate on the end of the pin so it won't come loose at any time while handing the track runs, repeat the sequence for each link until the track run is complete for each side

The assembled track runs are extremely robust being metal and articulate freely allowing you to get a very natural track sag when fitting to the kits which is a big plus for the metal Friulmodel tracks.

The drive sprocket halves fit together easily, just ensure the teeth on each sprocket disc are aligned evenly and it's best to use a thicker cyanoacrylate as this allows a few seconds for adjustment before curing. If using the sprockets on the Hobby Boss kit there is an additional metal collar to mount the sprocket.

Link assembly
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Fitting the tracks:
Fitting the metal drive sprockets to the Bronco kit was very easy as both the kit and metal sprockets are the same size so you simply replace the kit sprockets with the metal ones, the metal sprockets have slightly better defined details to add a bit more detail to the kit. Note I had incorrectly stated the sprocket sizes in the Bronco and Hobby Boss LWS kit reviews, this has been since corrected to show the correct information.

The metal track fits perfectly to the metal sprockets as you would expect for again easy fitting, they also fit to the Bronco kit sprockets but are a little tight as the plastic teeth are a little larger and thicker than the teeth on the Friulmodel sprocket.

Metal drive sprockets and tracks fitted to the Bronco LWS without any problems
Fruilmodel

Moving to the Hobby Boss kit the metal drive sprocket has to be used as the kit sprocket is undersized and the metal track will not fit these as a consequence. Again note I had incorrectly stated the sprocket sizes in the Bronco and Hobby Boss LWS kit reviews, this has been since corrected to show the correct information.

Using the additional metal collar fitted to the inside of the metal drive sprockets they then fit directly to the locating lugs on the Hobby Boss kit hull without further alterations required.

Metal drive sprockets and tracks fitted to the Hobby Boss LWS kit as per above
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Images showing the respective sizes of the metal and kit sprockets with the Friulmodel and Bronco Model sprockets
being the correct 19mm in diameter while the Hobby Boss sprocket is under sized as 16mm in diameter.
View of the added collar for fitting the sprockets to the Hobby Boss kit.

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Conclusion:
This set of LWS Late Production metal tracks from Friulmodel is nicely detailed with good track link definition with just the usual cleanup required for the links prior to assembly.

The assembled links are accurate, robust and articulate very well making for a quick and easy update to the two applicable kits if you prefer working track to add additional detail to both.

Rating 8.5/10

References:
LWS Land-Wasser-Schlepper
Type I/II

Waldemar Trojca, Markus Jaugitz
ISBN: 978-83-60041-35-2
Book
Rommel's Funnies
Thomas L. Jentz
Darlington Productions
ISBN: 0-9648793-6-0
`Book
Thanks to Friulmodel for the review Set.


Page created January 22, 2011



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