We’ve had individual links with Dragons other Premium Edition releases such as the T-34/85 but as far as I can tell not with any of the Shermans. I don’t know about anyone else but I can’t be bothered anymore with one piece vinyl tracks or this Dragon styrene stuff as they just don’t look anywhere near as good as individual links. Indy links might be a bit tedious to put together but the end result is usually worth it. Dragons Magic tracks are good but the best ones I think so far are Tamiyas B1 Bis tracks which snap together.
Why no Magic tracks for the Shermans Dragon? Anyone else know why?
Time and convenience are my guesses. Since the Sherman family of tracks are “live” and don’t sag, the value of indy links is largely lost except in the detail department as a result. Many people, prior to the advent of DS tracks, were actively looking for Tamiya, AFV Club, Academy, etc. one-piece tracks to get around the indys, so DML figured they could make their kits more attractive (and probably cheaper to produce) by going with the DS tracks. That’s my guess at any rate.
Unfortunately you could be right. Maybe a couple of reviewers said they didn’t want or need indy links and then everyone else who prefers them has to suffer because Dragon took notice of them. The links on a Sherman might not sag but these one piece tracks just don’t have the same look as what’s on the real tanks…individual links.
Yeah, it seems like the “dumbing down” of tracks has begun–and I’m not happy about it! But at least Sherman tracks don’t “sag” like panzers’ do!
I agree with PhantomGhost; we all suffer because of a few reviewers who “got the grease”!
Then again, you could–and I DO–argue that Dragon was getting really ridiculous with some of it’s Sherman tracks, where they had like, four pieces per individual link! (the ends, body, and guide tooth) THAT was ridiculous! I have one or two Shermans that will probably never get built cuz of these stupid tracks! Why couldn’t they just go with a one-piece standard track link like their Pz IV, etc?!
If they start stiffing us on the German armor, I’m gonna cry…[BH]
I picked up one of Dragons White box Shermans a year or so ago. Everything was cool till I got ahold of those danged tracks. 4 freaking pieces per link!!! That joker is still sittin on my shelf, trackless…
I don’t know what DML Shermans you have but only the most recent don’t have indies.
The new DS tracks are actually very nice for 1 piece tracks though I trade mine away for indies.The DML Sherman indies seem to be hated but I enjoy doing them as much as any other part of the build.
If you build yourself a jig, which is basically a straight edge laid horizontally with a 90 degree end, you’ll be ready to do any indy link tracks.Even the dreaded DML Shermans will be a piece of cake!!
The best rubber bands I have ever seen come with the Tasca Firefly. Dragon needs to take a lesson from Tasca. Tasca offers the suspension bogies as a separate item, they should market Sherman track that way, they would make a killing.
That must be one of the few (or only) Shermans Dragon have brought out with indy links. It’s strange that this one has magic tracks and the others don’t.
Specifically referring to this kit, the design of the T-66(?) tracks on this variant probably makes them easier to render as Magic Tracks because this track type doesn’t use end-connectors.
I believe this is one of the reasons why the recent M1A2 SEP kit went to “Dragon Styrene” one-piece tracks, even though the M1A1 AIM and M1 Panther II kits preceding it had Magic Tracks. The end-connectors were moulded in a “flat track” position, so when the track went around the sprockets and idlers, the end connectors sat at an odd angle rather than following the radius.
Actually, if you look back, all of the Dragon Sherman kits prior to about 12 months ago have indy’s, though not “Magic” tracks.
Well, if these “new” tracks are anything like the ones in the latest release late Tiger, we’ve got serious problems. Ron Goins did a feature build on this kit on Armorama last month, and when those tracks showed up on the thread, there was quite a bit of criticism. I personally thought they were terrible. That being said, I haven’t seen the Sherman tracks, so I’ll reserve my judgement until then.
Ah, nice! A bunch of German armor modelers criticizing Sherman track[;)]
Personally I think the Dragon Sherman track gets criticised way too much. If you ever bother to look at real Sherman track, you’ll notice that all the VVSS types have two hinge pins per link, not one like German armor. The way the Dragon tracks are made is the only way to go for indy Sherman links - if they were made as one part per link, there would only be one hinge point per link, and the track would look ridiculous where it went around the sprocket and idler, only bending at every other pin. It also wouldn’t mesh with the sprocket unless it was flexible at both pins.
The DS Sherman track isn’t as bad as some, and the detail is quite good, with space between the links and good detail on the end connectors. (I’m looking at the T54E1 set from the Sherman Mk. III) The downside is that the tread blocks curve around the sprocket and idler, but it looks better than single piece indy links would.
Sherman tracks are a pain, but the finished product always looks better than any easier method.
I think the DS tracks are absolutely great for live tracked vehicles. However, for dead tracks, indies are, IMHO, a necessary evil. For whatever Russian and German stuff I do, which admittedly is heavy on the Russian, I like Friul. For my Shermans, I trade for one-oiece when I can, except Italeri, which is a whole 'nother bag of worms.
In my opinion if you have the cash Fruilmodel tracks are the way to go. The simple constuction excelent detail very durable. The down side $35.00 dollars a set in 1/35! More than some kits. I used them on my Tamiya 1/35 Panther G and was extremly please with the them overall. In my opinion nothing looks better.
Good points Hermesminiatures, about the end connectors…OK, I’ll be happy then if they just would stick to three-piece tracks, with molded guide horns![:D]
I have almost all of the original DML Sherman releases (M4A1, M4A4, M4A4 Firefly, M4 Composite Hull Firefly) and they all have indepedent track links. Needless to say it is far more time consuming on those kits due to the peculiarities of the VVSS tracks. It would be nice if the links were done in the same manner as those on their BMP kits, but as someone here said, the look would not be “right”. I do like the DS one piece sets on their M4A2 and Sherman III kits.
Has anyone here built the AFV Club sets with duckbills? How do those compare to Dragons if you have done both?
Good points! Dragon should at least give us the choice of indy links and DS in the same box though. I just can’t get into rubber bands or this DS stuff as they’ll never look as good as indy links. I might check out some of the older kits for the time being until hopefully Dragon come up with something better.
I personally love DML’s indy links.Tedious,yes.But they go together flawlessly.I’m surprised no one has mentioned the fact that plastic indies will actually hold paint far better than vinyl tracks.That’s the main reason why I love any indy links I can get my paws on.
