You hit the one shortcoming of 1:10 scale; few aftermarket parts. With Wecohe reorganizing they left a considerable
dent in the 1:10 scale German armor department... We've lost a number of suppliers in the last 10 years and while
new ones have popped up they're quite expensive. Tracks are the greatest obstacle to beginning a new project.
There are a few suppliers of 1/10 scale parts. Not all are inexpensive but if one purchases parts wisely
it isn't too bad.
There's a fellow in the Ukraine, you probably know him, Sergey Federov who has made many outstanding 1:10
models in the range, Russian, you are interested in. He may be helpful for parts you might not wish to make yourself. ( See this thread-
http://www.rcpanzer.de/apboard/thread.php?id=20070 )
If you need his contact information PM me and I'll send it. He is not unreasonable price wise. He was the fellow behind my KV-1 and 2 and also was instrumental in my SU-152.
I certainly appreciate the desire, whatever the reason, to want to make one's own parts however the
option to but some things I find beneficial.
As to 1:10 scale, I've found it to be optimal as well. Not so large as to be cumbersome, not so small as to float over the terrain. I am active in 1/16 scale as well but too light doesn't perform well IMHO. Again IMHO many 1:6
models are run so light that they 'float' or bounce over the terrain; I've seen first hand 1:6 Tiger I models weighing 100- 120 pounds running and to me they don't appear right. A properly weighted 1:6 scale model is too much for me at what 200- 250kg?
Heaven forbid you get stuck or suffer a mechanical failure too far from your start point; it's bad enough with one of my models weighing 75 -90 pounds. I've never subscribed to the 'bigger is better' theory; I started in 1:10 a long time ago and have had plenty of opportunities to ' move up ' but no thanks. I won't tell you how many ( and many former ) 1:6 scale fanciers have had the
absolute nerve to ask "why do you waste your time on 1:10 scale" - obviously they wouldn't understand the answer had I given one. I never will deride someone's choice of scales, to each their own, but I sure will tell them where to go if they deride mine!
So glad to see other folks who can appreciate what I've always felt is a largely ( at least in the US) unappreciated scale.
I'll keep an eye on your work.
Jerry