Thanks you for your reply.

Sound like they are even more figle then Tamiya's rubber tracks. Acrylic paint only? I will remember this when I build the kit.

DS tracks have their good and bad sides.  They will glue together with model cement but you will need to clamp them together and let them dry for a full day. 

As the remarks made by others, many DS tracks get damaged while in the kits and depending to the damage may or may not be fixable. I had one set that was damaged out the ten Dragon kits I have assembled.  I really like Dragon Magic Tracs.

Many modelers don't like DS because in order to get the sagg they want with their German armor they have to glue the tracks to the road wheels.  Also sometimes the DS tracks are to long or to short, which means they look really saggy or so tight you snap off the idler trying to get them on.  I use the DS tracks on all of Dragon American armor because there is no sagg in their tracks and I been lucky that they fit just right.  I don't use them on my German armor at all. 

Marcus

Dumb question, what are DS tracks?

TankerEasy

Dumb question, what are DS tracks?

 

DS is a type of softer styrene developed by Dragon, stands for Dragon Styrene. Its most well know use is for tracks which are similar to the rubber band tracks use by companies like Tamiya, though the Dragon ones tend to be better detailed. I have also come across stowage bns on one of their Panther kits made with the same material.

Awww ok, learned something new

Digging up this topic, if I may...

I got my hands on Dragon's #6370 Steel Wheels Panther Ausf G.

Unfortunately, it was a reboxed version with DS tracks in place of the Magic Tracks reviewed in the original kit.

I'm checking out metal tracks, but frankly, I don't feel confident/skilled enough at this to spend that much money on a Friul set...

I got time before starting this one, but would anyone know about any aftermarket plastic tracks for a Panther that would fit Dragon's kit?

Or just take a deep breath and go the Friul distance for a grand total of 33€? What about Modelkasten (they seem to cost basically as much as the kit itself)?

Or can those DS be wrestled into place with a little CA and weight?

I just found this video where the builder seemed to manage to reproduce an acceptable sag effect with the stock tracks (around 7:30)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucOxESTBNVg

Fruils really are not that difficlt to work with, in fact i would say easier than plastic individual link tracks. Each link is complete, you don't have to attach guide horns or anything else. Its just a matter of putting each link together with a piece of wire.

I have not tried Modelkasten tracks yet, but have a set of 251 tracks on order. They do look nice and are a bit cheaper than Fruils, problem is gettinghold of them. Only seller i have found is in Australia.But with postage, still cheaper than Fruils.

Edit: Just looked on e-bay and it seems the price of Fruils has come down since a last bought a set. There are other companies now makeing metal tracks as well as those makingplastic ones, so i guess the competition has hit them. You can get Fruils on there for under £30 for Panther kits.

Always first to answer the call, Bish! :-)

Yes, I checked Friul's website, the set + postage is about 40€, way less than I expected...

The youtube tutorial i watched makes it look so easy...! I may take the plunge and see what will come down... Never had any fitting problems with the sprockets and idlers?

Thats because i have bugger all better to do. I am at work after all

Fruils are almost relaxing once you get rolling,especially the bigger links like Tigers or Panthers.The choice you have to make is how to finish them.they can be burnished with burnishing fluid,which can be tricky,or painted and weathered with regular materials which I have done.

Some sets provide sprockets,but I have not had problems.

Modelkasten can look nice,but they are somewhat fragile and more fiddly.

I think I'll bite and take the plunge on a friul set... Gonna check some more tutorials before pulling the trigger but it looks manageable... The drilling and cyano drop kinda frighten me a little but we'll see...

I found this interesting comparative on PMMS ; WWII Productions set got the preference but unfortunately the brand is out of business and it seems like there is none on eBay...

https://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/misc/panther_track/panther_track.htm

Drilling holes in the Fruils is hit and miss. Some sets i have not had to do any, some just the odd link. Once i have completed the whole track, i just stand it on itsside and add a dop of glue to the end of each pin with a small piece of wire.

For anyone interested, here's a method that looks pretty quick & easy :

- sticking the tracks vertically in a vice (the guy used a photoetch bendig device to stick the tracks in place)

- hammer copper pins in, no cleaning required

- trim off the pins

Hi,

I don't know if they are the same as DS tracks, but I haven't had any troubles with the bendable/gluable tracks that come in Emhar kits.  As long as I glue them in place a small length at a time and let them dry for a couple minutes before tryin to bend and glue the next length of the track, they have worked fine for me.

PF

PFJN

Hi,

I don't know if they are the same as DS tracks, but I haven't had any troubles with the bendable/gluable tracks that come in Emhar kits.  As long as I glue them in place a small length at a time and let them dry for a couple minutes before tryin to bend and glue the next length of the track, they have worked fine for me.

PF

 

DS tracks are Dragon's one piece tracks,similer to  vinyl tracks of old,or what Tamiya uses for one piece.They are simply glued in one place to join the ends.Sounds like your working with indies.

Hi,

The tracks that come in the Emhar kits sound very similar to what you describe, though on the kits that I have built each track is actually in two parts, as shown below.  In general they are a slightly softer/more flexible plastic than the rest of the kit and can be bent and glued to shape.  I used regular Tamiya glue on mine to stick them in place, and then went back with MicroWeld just to make sure they were stuck in place.

PF

PFJN, your images don’t show, just empty boxes. If I click on those they say “link forbidden”.

Hi,

Thanks.  I will update them

PF

I decided to give it a try ; Friul tracks are in the mail with sprockets to ensure minimum nasty surprises... we'll see...

I'm curious about how you shave off link on vinyl tracks though ; I'm used to those nasty old cheap vinyl tracks (Tamiya, Academy, Italeri...) that I needed to staple on to make them stick (but of course I was very underexperienced and ill-equiped), it seems so infeasable to me to just cut out links and glue back the track with all that tension on the vinyl...

http://tiger1.info/EN/Dragon-DS-late-tracks.html

Hobbie

I decided to give it a try ; Friul tracks are in the mail with sprockets to ensure minimum nasty surprises... we'll see...

I'm curious about how you shave off link on vinyl tracks though ; I'm used to those nasty old cheap vinyl tracks (Tamiya, Academy, Italeri...) that I needed to staple on to make them stick (but of course I was very underexperienced and ill-equiped), it seems so infeasable to me to just cut out links and glue back the track with all that tension on the vinyl...

 

Here is how to shave the link of the DS Tracks,its from a site you will find all things Tiger.

Thanks! :-)