Several years ago I finished my Dragon M50 Sherman kit. Well, sorta. Assembled and painted, but no tracks. In an attempt to avoid using the excreable kit tracks, I purchased a set of AFV Club T 80 workable tracks. I have used 5 sets of their workable tracks for M48/M60 series and they went together like a fine watch. The T80 links are attached to the sprues with thick chunks of plastic. Use of a sprue cutter bends the tiny rods connecting the two pads, ruining them. I have used a saw to cut the sprues, but it is tedious and difficult to do without damaging the track link. I bought a set of the new Dragon DS tracks whish are beautiful, but too short.
Well if the DS is too short, you cant use it. i think its really just a matter of patience and using a sharp blade to remove the links. Sprue cutters are much to forceful. Ive heard nightmares about this track set…
Working with a set of AFV Club T80E1 tracks for a M-26 right now (almost the same track set) and ran into the same problem. Ended up using a dremel tool with a cutting disc to get them off the sprue and cleaned up with an xacto & #11 and didn’t lose another track. If you don’t have a dremel, a soldering iron with a sharp end might work too.
I’ve got a trick for keeping the little end pieces on without glue too if thats giving you trouble… let me know
I just finished a set of the T-84 links (for an M-47) and they’re similar to the ones you are working with. I used a Logan mat cutting blade to cut them from the sprues. It looks like a regular straight razor blade but it’s half a thick and VERY sharp. That blade cut through the chunky attachment points like butter. Did not damage a one of the links. Here is a link to a tutorial I did that talks about this blade. They are available at Hobby Lobby, Micheal’s… about anywhere that sells Mat cutting supplies.
I hate the AFV Club T80/T84 track sets. I got them off the sprues just fine, but they are so fragile, they broke apart during assembly. After they drove me nuts trying to get them to stay together, I trashed them and went with a set of Dragon Indi-link T80s for the M40 I was using them on.
The DS tracks are really nice. The solution is to buy another set of DS track and add about 8 links to each side to lengthen them. It works great especially since the DS tracks can be glued together with no issues.
I have heard a lot of people talk about how fragile they are. They’re certainly not Friuls. Fortunately I didn’t have any trouble putting them together. I put them together in groups of 10 and glued every other pin on each side so that they were still workable yet stayed together. Tedious but no problems what so ever. The only issues came when I started grinding off the rubber portions to distress the tracks. I hit a few end links with the dremel and sent them into orbit… [:)]
I have to agree with my brother Gino. The T80 for me was a miserable experience. In building my M40 I had a set fall apart.
As far as the DS…I used them to replace te AFV tracks on my M40. They were 8 links short. Using a second DS set, I performed a bit of surgery and added 8 “DS” links. Works great, looks great, went on easy. I will NEVER use AFV T80 tracks again!! IMO they totally inhale
Thanks a lot for your ideas…the reboxed DML M51 from Cyber Hobbies evidently uses the DS tracks with a third length to be used to extend them for the longer wheel base. I did use my Dremel to cut off many of the links, but being inexperienced with it, I gouged a couple of links and had to dodge a broken cutting disk or two. The mat cutter knife sounds like a good option to try this weekend. I also have to material to build a jig to help hold them together. Once built, glue the end connectors to hold them together for mounting.
Oh and thanks for reminding me, I have a sort of completed (painted and detailed) DML M46 sitting next to the M50 waiting for it’s AFV Club T84 tracks to be put together. One guy used a set of tracks from his Italieri M47 to put on them.
Needless to say, after my wonderful results with 5 sets of AFV tracks for M48 / M60 series, I was a bit taken aback.
I have about 55 tanks finished and have a problem with Tamiya tracks breaking. There is a limited abiltity to repair them like on my Comet and Tamiya has been nice about replacements. JSU 152, M4 Sherman, Comet, STUG II B, and my Churchill are cases in point.