da sh**t tracks

[digger303]

I went to grab my T28 and upon opening the box I noticed the tracks seemed a little stiff. Unusual for DS tracks I promptly started to bend them around my finger as that's about the drive wheel size and immediately noticed they were snapping at the link pins.
If not snapping right off then certainly cracking half through. These had all been stored correctly out of the light and still in their original sealed packaging. I opened none to remove the damaged piece and then saw they were very oily.



Can you see the oil oozing out of those tracks OR is it recycled toxic waste....argg!



What crap this stuff is. I should also say the kit is 6 yrs old maybe 7 if it had been sitting in a warehouse for a while. It was released in 2012 so not that old.
So now I have to buy 2 aftermarket track sets in order to shoe this devil as you can see looking at the pic below



I'm not happy

[ElCapitan]

That sucks! I've never built a dragon kit so not sure what they should normally be like, but can you speak to their customer services and get replacement tracks maybe?

[digger303]

That sucks! I've never built a dragon kit so not sure what they should normally be like, but can you speak to their customer services and get replacement tracks maybe?

I tried the dragon care service and it wouldn't let me lodge a ticket.

[jmurphy18]

well that that sucks hind tit . Crappy customer service

[Hawkmoon]

Now thats a bummer, I think whats happened here is there was a preservative oil added to the sealed tracks but over time the oil has attacked the tracks and degraded them. I think at the time your kit was produced a few kit makers started to add this preserving oil but quickly dropped it after reports of plastic degradation.

The unfortunate thing with the plastic packaging is people think its sealed for ever but its not so the celofane degrades over time and this can lead to reactions where the preservative mixes with gasses breaking through this can cause a reaction actually attacks the plastic and your left with what you have now.

I personally always inspect the tracks provided when I receive them and if i see a hint of preservative oil there unbaged washed in warm soapy water and after they have dried there repacked in a plastic bag

[digger303]

Now thats a bummer, I think whats happened here is there was a preservative oil added to the sealed tracks but over time the oil has attacked the tracks and degraded them. I think at the time your kit was produced a few kit makers started to add this preserving oil but quickly dropped it after reports of plastic degradation.

The unfortunate thing with the plastic packaging is people think its sealed for ever but its not so the cellophane degrades over time and this can lead to reactions where the preservative mixes with gasses breaking through this can cause a reaction actually attacks the plastic and your left with what you have now.

I personally always inspect the tracks provided when I receive them and if i see a hint of preservative oil there un bagged washed in warm soapy water and after they have dried there repacked in a plastic bag

Thanks for the explanation I never knew about that preserving oil. It did attack the cellophane as well crinkling it all up. I think this is the only kit I have with the tracks packaged like that.
I threw the broken one in the fire and you know it wouldn't burst into flame just slowly cooked. So whatever that stuff is the DS or the oil isn't truly flammable.

[Strohmann]

Paranoid, I went and checked some kits in my stash with DS tracks and bits. They were all fine. Range between 2006 and 2010. There was nothing like preservation oil just the DS tracks or parts in their cellophane wrapping.
Dragon care used to be better. They helped me out a few times but when I asked them to replace a part last year they just took the info and ghosted me.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Nev]

That’s a shame mate! I’ve heard there was a dodgy mix on these DS tracks. Apparently it’s hit or miss who gets this issue. I check my kits yearly and any looking dodge goes in the bin. Yours is especially bad mate as that’s an expensive kit to track

[digger303]

That’s a shame mate! I’ve heard there was a dodgy mix on these DS tracks. Apparently it’s hit or miss who gets this issue. I check my kits yearly and any looking dodge goes in the bin. Yours is especially bad mate as that’s an expensive kit to track

yes it is bad luck and expensive to fix. 2 sets of tracks and they may not be quiet long enough....
I believe the Bronco set to be the better, but a bugger to put together. I think I need the T80E1 type. I'm not absolutely sure on that. Is there a site somewhere that lists what type of tracks for which tracked vehicle ? I tried searching and so far have come up with zip.

[alextheblue]

Massive bummer digger!

I've never seen tracks go like that before, but Hawkmoon's explanation makes total sense. I've heard good and bad things about Dragon's customer service, but it's always hugely disappointing when a manufacturer doesn't even respond to a complaint. Maybe, keep pinging them emails until they respond. No companies so big that it can afford to ignore their customers. Especially in this world of social media and instant exposure. Good luck with it.

[Nev]

That’s a shame mate! I’ve heard there was a dodgy mix on these DS tracks. Apparently it’s hit or miss who gets this issue. I check my kits yearly and any looking dodge goes in the bin. Yours is especially bad mate as that’s an expensive kit to track

yes it is bad luck and expensive to fix. 2 sets of tracks and they may not be quiet long enough....
I believe the Bronco set to be the better, but a bugger to put together. I think I need the T80E1 type. I'm not absolutely sure on that. Is there a site somewhere that lists what type of tracks for which tracked vehicle ? I tried searching and so far have come up with zip.

Not entirely sure. I’d try the armorama website see if they have anything or can help.

[digger303]

That’s a shame mate! I’ve heard there was a dodgy mix on these DS tracks. Apparently it’s hit or miss who gets this issue. I check my kits yearly and any looking dodge goes in the bin. Yours is especially bad mate as that’s an expensive kit to track

yes it is bad luck and expensive to fix. 2 sets of tracks and they may not be quiet long enough....
I believe the Bronco set to be the better, but a bugger to put together. I think I need the T80E1 type. I'm not absolutely sure on that. Is there a site somewhere that lists what type of tracks for which tracked vehicle ? I tried searching and so far have come up with zip.

Not entirely sure. I’d try the armorama website see if they have anything or can help.

Thanks I did try the tracklinks site earlier, but no luck. Anyway I posted the question and shall keep you all updated as it would be a good resource to have bookmarked.