Thank you, friends!! I made some progress today, after I got over (not really) losing the sprockets for my Panzer IV for El Alamein! I felt the molded zimmerit was a bit too "fresh", so I added some damage at some of the edges.
This was done with my micro chisel, trusty X-Acto and a burr in my Dremel.
The kit come with a set of metal shackles, but no pins, so I dug in the AM box and found a set I had bought and forgotten.
I find it hard to paint if the tracks are in place, so I primed everything with Tamiya Grey Primer and then a coat of Tamiya Semi Gloss Black. The lower hull is painted with AK Interactive's Dunkelgelb Base.
Since I am using the kit's Magic Tracks, I broke out the blue tape and did my buddy Greg's method of determining track length.
You just wrap the tape around the sprockets, idlers and wheels, stick the tape together, then cut it in two. Unwrap the tape from the assembly and lay on your track assembly board. I marked the length with a Sharpie right on the board for use on the next run. Lay blue tape sticky side up and secure the ends with more tape. The already cleaned links can be assembled right on the tape. The King Tiger had two different links, alternating like some Soviet stuff. I found it easier to put two links together, then add them to the first link.
I liberally coat the inside of the track with Testor's Liquid Cement, let it dry about 10 minutes, then painted the run with cheap flat black spray paint. Waited about 10 more minutes and carefully removed the run from the tape and painted the other side. The whole run is then wrapped around the idlers and such, just like the real deal.
That's how I do it. Thanks for looking! :drinks