I think I used 85 pieces, and needle nose pliers. The tracks for the Leo go together a lot easier for some reason. Traction is diminished a lot with the linked tracks. I ordered track pads for both of my tanks, haven't recieved them yet.

At first I was just going to make them myself. But then I considered how tedious it was going to be to cut up hundreds of small rubber pads, in addition to gluing each one in place.

Softening the suspension will make the tank look more realistc when it's just sitting still or when it's pivoting. If you notice, with suspension that the m1a2 comes with that the first and last road wheels don't really touch the ground. If you soften up all the springs between the first and last road wheel it solves that problem. Of course if you like rough housing your tank outside, you may want to keep the suspension kind of stiff.