Comparing 1/35 aftermarket metal & 3D printed tracks (2024)

Aftermarket track links are not cheap. Let’s get that out of the way first. Often as much as 50% of the price of a kit! Whether you think they are good value and will enhance a build will be down to personal preference. Although kit manufacturers have made great strides in improving what they now offer in their kits, whether it be individual tracks, workable, or the link and length type, there is no denying that the workable type have a huge advantage over the conventional fixed or rubber band type. The natural sag that a set of workable links exhibit is difficult to replicate. It can be done but it is not always straight forward. Whilst Friul metal tracks were once the go-to for aftermarket tracks, let us look at some recent additions to a rook of 3D printed tracks that have recently hit the market. 

Pz.IV Ausf J. Which one hits hardest? Dragon #6575 or Border Models #BT-008

After finally tracking down Dragon’s elusive #6575 Ausf J kit last year I was curious to know how this well-respected 2012 kit stood up to a much more recent release in Border Models 2019 kit #BT-008. This came out around the same time RFM and Miniart both released Ausf J's, and although manufacturer's moved the 1/35 armour game on to StuG kits in 2021, I thought it would be interesting to do a side-by-side build comparison.

I’ve built a few Dragon Pz.IV variants over the years and although it appears I was fortunate, I have since discovered many turn out to be less than enjoyable to build. Dragon's heyday is very much perceived to be in the mid noughties where they offered not only great value, but produced some of their most accurate and well-engineered kits. Sadly, releases have been thin on the ground since, with what they do offer being re-packaged kits, often with a much-depleted parts count. The rest of the industry has since moved the game on but as we will see there are an alarmingly number of similarities that are proof that the Dragon recipe still remains the gold standard in many departments.