Dragon DS tracks.

[stevehnz]

I swore off Dragon after a bad experience with these in a 1/72 Ersatz M10 Panther kit, the tracks were like they were made from thin biscuit & broke as soon as touched, were in fact already broken in the kit. I got the track sprue from the Revell Panther to replace them with. Fast forward about 5 years & I found another itch which only Dragon could scratch. While partaking in the Churchill STGB, I saw a 1/35 NA75 Churchill being built, which reminded me of the Airfix Churchill I had with a resin NA75 turret. Wanting to settle on 1/72 for my armour, a quick google revealed that Dragon was the only option so swallowed my pride & brought one out of China via ebay. Happily the tracks appear to be in great nick.

So, firstly, are these tracks likely to deteriorate down the track. According to Scalemates, both the M10 Panther & the Churchill date from 2012-13, so hoping they might continue to behave if they're ok after all this time & 

secondly, what is the best medium to use to paint these type of tracks, enamel or acrylic? Sealed first? hoping to be able to settle on something which won't encourage them to become water crackers. 🤞 

Steve.

Edited September 19 by stevehnz
replaced Panther for Dragon in second line

[Jochen Barett]

I can't really help you with Dragon, but in case you feel a Panther itch and you's like to scratch (build) it, here

https://www.museumalkmaar40-45.nl/voorschriften-manuals/miscellaneous/heer

are some very special instructions:

 

"Merkblatt für den Einsatz von Panzerattrappen

Geheime Kommandosache, Anlage zu Nr. 005923/44 geh. OKW/WfSt

This booklet provides instructions on building wooden decoys of tanks as a means to mislead the enemy on the troop strength and location. It describes the construction of:

• Panther. Several versions are described: versions that can be moved and versions that are fixed to the ground.  The different versions use different types of wood and have different levels of detail.
• Pzkpfwg IV in 2 versions: mobile and fixed.
• StuG 40 in 2 versions: mobile and fixed.

All armies of WW-2 used decoys to fool enemy reconnaissance. The allies relied much on inflatable versions of tanks, trucks and half-tracks, while the Russians relied more on wooden constructed versions. These, however, were much less detailed than the German ones described in this booklet. The detailing also reflects in the amount of work the decoys described in this booklet required: The building times ranged from 40 hours with 6 soldiers (i.e. 240 labor hours) to 26 hours with 12 men (i.e. 212 labor hours) to 15 hours with 6 men (i.e. 90 labor hours)."

 

Check it out!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BMbTpAKv3BFFirLpD9mAcNTS0Iqh9Rhg/view

[stevehnz]

Thanks Jochen, not quite what I was looking for but probably got it because I said an itch only Panther could scratch rather than an itch only Dragon could scratch in the second line, now corrected. Apologies for the confusion, it was nonetheless interesting.

So, DS tracks, worth persevering with or would I be better to bin them & look for some others?

Steve.

[spejic]

I found out that a certain way to degrade the tracks is to expose them to sunlight. They last a very long time in the box, but in a few days in even indirect light they go bad. During part of my building, the tracks for my 1/72 Tiger I tank kit were mostly under the instructions with a bit peeking out and only the bit peeking out went bad. Keep them in blackout conditions until you are ready to use them, and then paint them. The paint should stop this effect. The ones that came with the 1/72 Leopard 2A4 come pre-painted and don't seem to have this problem although I'm not exactly going to stick them in a window to confirm.

 

The problem is that in their ruined state they resist all glues I've tried and they interact with my silicon mold making material so it's hard to make copies. These Dragon kits tend to be short runs and they don't have replacement parts to send out. Sucks having a couple of almost finished kits that will never go beyond that state.

 

[stevehnz]

On 20/09/2025 at 14:42, spejic said:

Keep them in blackout conditions until you are ready to use them, and then paint them. The paint should stop this effect. The ones that came with the 1/72 Leopard 2A4 come pre-painted and don't seem to have this problem although I'm not exactly going to stick them in a window to confirm.

Thanks for this, it would seem worth it to paint them strait out of the box, before doing anything else. What sort of paint did you use, enamel or acrylic? I'm tempted to write to Italeri & get some of the vinyl tracks in their Mk III kit, not perfect but decent enough to my eye.

Steve.

[Adler Leon]

Personally I never use Dragons 'rubber band ' tracks, too many let downs with them, replacing them with OKB resin ones which are brilliant and they are terrific people to deal with.. Ive painted them in the past with Acrylics or enamels, primed or not and still a lottery if they will survive.

Quite a few 3D printed tracks around thses days as well.

L

[Kelscale]

Rubber parts in general can spell trouble.  It depends on what manufacturer they are from in my experience. I've rarely used rubber tracks on my builds, but I have used quite a few sets of rubber tyres. I've experienced a few tyres 'melt' the styrene wheels. Italeri and Roden kits were to blame in this instance and neither had been painted. On the other hand, I still have a 15-year-old Trumpeter build, occasionally exposed to sunlight, and the front tyres are absolutely fine. Again, not painted, just weathered with pigments.  The only DS tracks I have on a displayed build are from a 2011 Dragon Pz.IV kit and again, weathered in pigments only. They look fine with no deterioration observed.

 

As for painting DS tracks, I have never painted any, only weathered them in pigments.  I would NOT advise using enamels on them as they could be too 'hot', but acrylics, oils and pigments should be OK

 

[stevehnz]

44 minutes ago, Adler Leon said:

OKB resin ones

Which I would love to use, but by the time they get to the other side of the world (New Zealand) they're double the price of the kit.  

27 minutes ago, Kelscale said:

As for painting DS tracks, I have never painted any, only weathered them in pigments.  I would NOT advise using enamels on them as they could be too 'hot', but acrylics, oils and pigments should be OK

Acrylic it is then & keep fingers crossed I think. I'm not looking to do this immediately so will assess things when I come to it. 

Thanks all for your feed back.  

Steve.

[Kelscale]

29 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Which I would love to use, but by the time they get to the other side of the world (New Zealand) they're double the price of the kit.  

Acrylic it is then & keep fingers crossed I think. I'm not looking to do this immediately so will assess things when I come to it. 

Thanks all for your feed back.  

Steve.

Hi Steve

 

For some inspiration on painting tracks with acrylics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fXGHx3yZcU

[stevehnz]

1 hour ago, Kelscale said:

Hi Steve

 

For some inspiration on painting tracks with acrylics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fXGHx3yZcU

Thanks, I should be able to get all the inspiration I need from that.

Steve.

[SleeperService]

Sadly I don't think DS tracks will ever match the reliability of styrene and that is because of the uV light that can zip clean through them leaving damage all the way through the structure. Other vinyl is denser so the uV can only get so far beneath the surface leaving a layer that is microcracked attached to the still flexible core. Even if not subjected to uV the material still seems to deteriorate at a faster rate.

What possessed Dragon to use the material I have no idea although a cynic may say that it was to prepare the market for their styrene Magic Tracks.
Way back the ESCI range had to switch to L&L styrene when their vinyl material proved unsuitable for tracks. You may find a boxing with those in and then make more by the magic of resin. Alternatively THESE may help and you have options to buy from the US if that works from Trump's USA.

[stevehnz]

22 hours ago, SleeperService said:

Alternatively THESE may help and you have options to buy from the US if that works from Trump's USA.

I have exercised my option to by from New Zealand    , which appears to have worked well. Problem solved hopefully. Thanks for that link, I hadn't found them before & certainly quite a bit cheaper than buying the OKB Grigorov tracks from Super-Hobby.

Steve.

[IanC]

On 23/09/2025 at 14:33, SleeperService said:

Way back the ESCI range had to switch to L&L styrene when their vinyl material proved unsuitable for tracks. 

 

Unsuitable? I remember them being so inflexible you had to araldite them on t' wheels and then stick weights on top for year at least.

 

But we were happy...

 

 

[stevehnz]

16 hours ago, IanC said:

Unsuitable? I remember them being so inflexible you had to araldite them on t' wheels and then stick weights on top for year at least.

But we were happy...

I'm rather hoping that the Italeri vinyl type tracks on the Mk III I'm slowily building for the current GB last OK, they went on well enough & don't look too bad to my eyes.

Steve.

[SleeperService]

22 hours ago, IanC said:

 

Unsuitable? I remember them being so inflexible you had to araldite them on t' wheels and then stick weights on top for year at least.

 

But we were happy...

 

 

A year!?! That were nothing I remember....... they were awful thought like spring steel in plastic. We had family holidays in Lincolnshire and the model shop in Louth carried ESCI, and I'd buy a bunch with my birthday money. Then came the year when the tracks changed..... and then the L&L were introduced so I got quite used to sending letters to buy spare parts so I could finish builds. Postal Orders for payment.... learned about patience the hard way.

 

5 hours ago, stevehnz said:

I'm rather hoping that the Italeri vinyl type tracks on the Mk III I'm slowily building for the current GB last OK, they went on well enough & don't look too bad to my eyes.

Steve.

 

I did a SdKfz 250 with my nephew some years back, it's still at my Sisters and holding up well so, fingers crossed, you should be OK.

[stevehnz]

The FC Model Churchill tracks arrived a few days ago, 3 weeks from ordering from Spain to New Zealand. Good service & I think they look very nice. 

Steve.