Looking for armor kits with individual track links....

DML or Dragon Models Limited... also labled under Shanghi Dragon. They are indilinkers best friend. All of their kits have indi links included. I love'em too.

Most every manufacturer other than Dragon used rubberband tracks. However, Tamiya, Italeri, and Academy have all included indi links in some of the kits. The best thing to do is research the specific kits on-line or ask here to see if they have indi links or not.

As per the posts above, Dragon only make indy-link kits, and most other manufacturers use the rubber-band type of kits.
I personally have no preference, as painted right, the vinyl 'rubber-band' ones look just fine, and there are workarounds to the sag problem.

Some of the Academy Tigers have Indy tracks. But they also have alot of ejector pin marks.

As Kenneth said before me look no further than the DML line , all of them have indy tracks , not too bad for the most part except for the almost always poorly placed ejector pin marks , that are not only obvious , but hard to fix , personally I hate them and go aftermarket almost every time , the kits themselves are among my favorites however ,so don't let that scare you , DML just makes great stuff , and they are only getting better !

DML for the Shermans ..... just about guarantee by the time you finish building a set though you'll reconsider your position on rubber band tracks for Shermans.

QUOTE: they look so hokey because they don't droop right on the top part.

Also something you don't have to worry about with Shermans. Live tracks = no sag.

Some kits contain both, such as Academy's M-18 hellcat, Trumpeters' M1A2, and so on.

My revell tiger 1 has independent links.......

plenty of companies making aftermarket indy tracks as well

Live tracks? What's that Shermanfreak? They have to water em?

QUOTE: Originally posted by trupr Live tracks? What's that Shermanfreak? They have to water em?

Not that I'm the best at describing the engineering of them.

If you look at pictures of Sherman, Lee, Stuart tracks that have been removed from the vehicle, you'll see they have a tendency to curl on themselves. This is because they are under tension. If you look at any Sherman, Lee, Stuart pic, you'll see that there is next to nothing for sag. The term used for these type of tracks is "live".

Tiger, Panther, T-34, etc. tracks just had a pin stuck through them that held the links together, not under tension of any kind. Look at pictures of them and they sag everywhere.

HTH

Italerei's late model tiger E has it two ways, the top and bottom runs are molded in one piece with the sections going around the sprockets and Idler being individual links. I havnt gotten to the point of installing tracks yet so I dont know how it will go. I can tell you one thing though.....I HATE INDIVIDUAL TRACK LINKS...... I just finished helping my son with his DML Nashorn and I gave up on them to much clean up and like some else said ejector marks hard to clean up. We ended up extending a set of panzer IV tracks to use instead. I know I will have to get used to them and the sag effect is great but they are a pain. At the other end is the 1/72 jadgpanther (dragon I think) and its rubber bands that I had to soak in hot water first because they so tight I pulled off an idler. But I do like both of these kits despite of those problems.

BTW, outside of the Tiger, if you're looking at other companies, ICM also uses indy track links on some of their kits, and they have some very nice ones

Some of the 1/72 kits (Revell/AG and ESCI come to mind) use what's called "link and length" tracks. They have the links for the straight pieces of the run molded as long lengths then have individual links to do the bendy parts. I've had good (Revell) and bad (ESCI) luck with them. All Dragon (that I've found) 1/35 kits come with indies, but their 1/72's all come with rubber band tracks. Beautifully detailed, but I haven't found a set yet that isn't way short or way long, depending on the model.

QUOTE: DML for the Shermans ..... just about guarantee by the time you finish building a set though you'll reconsider your position on rubber band tracks for Shermans.

He ain't kiddin' about this. I really like indy links. I've had very good success on German armor with them, both working and non-working. But the DML tracks for my Firefly are a total, unqualified nightmare. I am ready to throw them in the trash and get a set of Friulmodel metal tracks. Maybe there is some super secret to building these things up, but I haven't seen anyone saying they've found it! And that includes the master of all Sherman's, Robert (shermanfreak)!!

Good luck to you.

Holy Crap! I have been assembling Academy Tiger I (Early) tracks for over a month. I can only fill and sand so many of these tiny little pieces before I freak out and have to put them aside for awhile! I do agree that the rubberband tracks suck, but unless you got alot of time on your hands stick with the rubberband type. You could always glue them down to simulate sag and add a bit of mud to hide their crappy quality a bit. Indi's do look awesome though.
Ryan

Of course this is just my opinion, but I don't care so much about rubberband tracks on tanks that DON"T require a sag such as a Sherman or a Panzer IV. I do agree that the detail on indy tracks are much better though.

Well here's what I'm working on now.
1/35th DML PzIV J with the mesh material for shurtzen and the indi links. I just sprayed em all with rust while on the sprue, then hit em with some steel on the road contact part and the "tooth" or whatever that part that guides the track through the wheel. Also drybrushed with steel. Then I did a wash of grimy black on em. Cutting em all off (3 trees worth) was the biggest pain in the butt. Once they are off I just lay a few together and hit the joints with my ProWeld liquid cement. It wicks in nice and dries real fast. I've only been glueing a few together at a time and did a few curved ones fitted to the front sprocket. Waiting on my new airbrush so I can spray the tank. Then I'll work on fitting the treads on. I remember doing a Panzer IV years ago using Testors tube glue and it was a pain because of the dry time. As far as ejector pin marks...I ain't worried about em. My paint sceme will dazzle the eye enough that they won't be noticeable very readily.Not like it's gonna be entered in any contests. Besides I'll probably cake em up with some dried mud or something too.
Which leads to my next question...anyone ever use the real thing? Or is there a better substitute for caked mud? Thanks to everyone for the indy track info and manufacturer info as well. Anyone ever tried one of these mesh sided jobbies? It looks daunting and I may decide to leave it off. Was that stuff called shurtzen too? What was it's exact purpose?

Thanks for the info on the live tracks Sherm. Learn something new everyday!

Maquette do indys too, by the looks of their T34 kit. Incidentally, I rate Maquette a 9.5 on my "Exacto myself in the eye" scale and have not even started the tracks. They look alright, though.

I completed my first indys about a week ago. Dragon Panther G. Lots of clean up, but I managed. Agter assembling and then painting, I thought I was it and a bit, til I realised that a dozen sections of curved and straight track and two sides of a tank are like a three dimensional jigsaw with no picture. I think next time I might make a note of where each bit went.....

Also, indys tought me a bit of chemistry too. Super glue and accelarator when combined create a chemical reaction which produces heat. And it wasn't the little telltale wisps of smoke that clued me in; it was the intense burning sensation when I stuck my thumb to the tracks.

Is it authentic for late war Panthers to have a thin layer of skin on their tracks?

Ouch, Matt! Have you recovered yet? Did they get so hot the links distorted? I've never noticed that happen with ca and accelarator. Been lucky, I guess. Thanks for the heads up.

QUOTE: Also, indys tought me a bit of chemistry too. Super glue and accelarator when combined create a chemical reaction which produces heat. And it wasn't the little telltale wisps of smoke that clued me in; it was the intense burning sensation when I stuck my thumb to the tracks. Is it authentic for late war Panthers to have a thin layer of skin on their tracks?

I know what you mean..... In modeling...... suprises suck!.....

Paint the skin earth brown and call it turf stuck on the treads...

I picked up a Mid Production 1/35 scale Tiger I Tamiya that has the plastic individual track links. It's the "Otto Carius" Tiger. Good luck in your search.

Okieboy