Australian Military Vehicles Research

Following on from JAV Models/Pit Road, the Hungarian manufacturer Fruilmodel have produced their own white-metal version of the Matilda heavy "spudded" tracks, as seen on Australian Matildas and later production Matildas in British and Soviet service.

The Fruilmodel ATL-72 Matilda T.D. 5910 type track set comprises 150 white metal track links, two white metal drive sprockets (each in two halves), and a length of wire to form the track pins. Assembly of the track is really quite simple (much easier than I had expected) - all the modeller has to do is fit two links together, pin them in place with a piece of wire to simulate the track pins, and then add a drop of superglue into the open end to make sure that the pin can't escape at a later time. Careful use of the superglue will produce a very nice "workable" track.

Close-up of individual track links (top & bottom) (photo 1)

The casting of the parts is very crisp, with little flash to be seen - only some fine marks on the interconnecting ends of the links and along each side, and between some of the teeth on the drive sprockets. I removed this with a sharp scalpel blade, and polished the metal with a sanding stick (it only took a few hours one evening to clean 75 links). The detail on the links is much finer than on the plastic JAV Models/Pit Road tracks (raised "lips" on the trailing edges of the links, and representations of track pins on the blocked off sides) and, somehow, Fruil have been able to mould hollow guide horns into their one-piece links.

Some assembly suggestions:

- the instructions refer to "left" and "right" track links, and provide them in two separate bags. This is a reference to the intention to provide links having one of the two outermost link connecting sides blocked, so that the use of the wire pin is disguised. Only "left" track links are provided, however.

- don't try to press the track pins in too strongly, as you might push the wire through the blocked off side of the link (I did a couple of times, resulting in stabbed fingers)

- rather than add a length of track pin wire into the link join and then remove the excess, as suggested in the instructions, you might like to consider using just enough so that all of the wire is within the body of the link. I followed the instructions and chopped off the excess, which unfortunately caused some damage to the delicate sections of the track link below the join.

  (photo 2) 

As discussed in the review of the JAV Models/Pit Road Matilda tracks, Fruilmodel also appear to have produced their track links in true 1/35^th scale, whereas the Tamiya kit itself is in actual fact closer to 1/34^th or 1/32^nd scale (this is evident when wrapping the track around the kit idler wheel). While unfortunate, this is less of a problem with the Fruilmodel offering as the manufacturers have thoughtfully provided a pair of very nice drive sprockets which fit the tracks perfectly.

My verdict? I would give a hearty recommendation to the Fruilmodel ATL-72 Matilda T.D. 5910 type track set, in that while this offering repeats the apparent error of the links being underscale in comparison to the base kit, Fruil have managed to produce an extremely nice rendition of the heavy "spudded" Matilda tracks in white metal. While undoubtedly expensive, if you want to build a model of a Matilda in Australian service then Fruil tracks are definitely the way to go.

I purchased my Fruilmodel ATL-72 Matilda T.D. 5910 type track set from Discount Models (http://www.discountmodels.com) for $US25.50 - the best price I could find on the internet (the above boxtop scan was taken from the Discount Models website). Apparently the Matilda heavy tracks offered by JAV Models/Pit Road are now out of production.