What's the big deal with DS tracks?

Some have said they fall apart on their own after a few years.

They will crumble over time if you use enamels or Lacquers on them

Acrylics are okay on them,I find them acceptable if they are used on something that has a live track,like Shermans,M48,M60 or if the top run is covered by a fender.They don't look real good if sag is required.

They do paint and weather up okay if you don't want to drop bucks on AM metal tracks.

I will add this in defense of DS - the EDGES are usually nice and clean with no seam. One big failing I feel with the older vinyl tracks was the mold seam all along the edge and just about impossible to clean up. With the hard plastic tracks at least you could clean up. Now, unless the metal tracks are 'handed' i.e. with right and left versions you will have a hole on the edge where the wire goes in...

So, as usual, "You pays yer money and you takes yer choice".

I apply enamel base coat to them and they fall apart in 10.000 pieces; without use them in the model!.

So, I change to acrylics to primer them.
No problem.

Regards

Alvaro

If you do a search you'll find at least a couple of threads discussing DS tracks becoming brittle and breaking up, this happens even without paint or glue being applied to the affected areas (my own experience).

If you want to take the risk of having your model ruined in a few months or years, build a Dragon kit with those.

Otherwise buy aftermarket tracks if they are available (as far as I know there is nothing for the M6/M6A1 for instance).

Cheers,

Christophe

I prime mine with Tamiya rattle can primer, use acrylics and glue with Tamiya liquid cement and never had an issue. I have some that were painted a few years ago and so far, they've held up. I wonder if there is a missing variable? Production batch, or maybe some were stored at an incorrect temperature?

I'm going to take the liberty of disagreeing with Anthony to a certain extent. You can actually achieve very realistic sag with them without a lot of fuss. A couple of lengths of copper wire bent to the arc of sag you want and then glued out of sight behind the guide teeth with CA glue will give you a very satisfactory result. Obviously not as easy as indy links, but then again not near as tedious either.

Out of curiosity, I opened up the three Dragon 3536 (M1A2 SEP) kits I have in the stash. When I took the DS tracks out of the plastic wrapper and unfolded them, all three sets broke exactly where the plastic dowel was placed to keep them from creasing. Fortunately, I bought six sets of Bronco AB3522 T-158LL Big Foot track links when they were on sale at Hobby Easy.

No problems here,sounds interesting.

In December last year I had to go out and buy 3 sets of Spade Ace tracks to replace the DS ones which had broken on my Type 95's even though they were painted with acrylics and weathered with pigments. The DS tracks on my M48 refused to hold any paint and in any case were too long. I don't buy any Dragon kits these days since wasting money on their God awful Saladin so I don't know if they have improved...somehow I doubt it.