Fabian D.
Dragon is "updating" older kits, happening for some time now. From time to time they also update their website with the contents.
Current procedure on Scalemates is creating a new kit for it. Could you check if the contents and releasedate are correct? scalemates.com/kits/1005077-..vi-ausf-e-sd-kfz-181-tiger-i

Gavin Weir
Fabian, the box art is the identical. Black and white thumbnail details on the back of the box have been changed to reflect the different contents however. It's still a 6253 to the unwary i.e. Me !

Dan M
Same thing happened to me with another Dragon kit, 6612 Stug IV Late Production. No more metal barrel, no more Magic Tracks, just those ugly DS ones. I've added a new kit with the same number and mentioned in the title that it has DS tracks. Maybe it will help others. The box art is identical, the kit has the same number, just the back got changed with the kit contents.
And I got fooled with the Hummel kit too.

Fabian D.
Honestly, it's a dammed shame. But the only thing we can do (apart from not buying Dragon kits) is keeping the database up to date. As sad as it is...

Gavin Weir
Id call it theft ! It must pose huge problems for the database as the No.s haven't changed. How can you differentiate if there is no revision or edition number. I appreciate the problems this must give you........caveat emptor !

Fabian D.
The Scalemates DB works fine: scalemates.com/search-solr.p..AME[]="Full%20kits";

herbert otto gille
i have both of these kits i dont know why are some are whining about the ds tracks , i like them as much as the separate track links , 🙂

scalemates
Beta feature on scalemates is to categorise kit inventory + pictures. Would be great if you could do it for the kits concerned.

Gavin Weir
Sorry Herbert Otto for whining. I thought it was a genuine complaint about misrepresentation. If Id wanted DS I would have bought them As for metal barrel, shackles, wire, clear plastic, bucket etc I'll just lie down and stop complaining.

Urban Gardini
No worries Gavin! Considering that Dragon still charge too much for the kit gives you the right to complain over the fact that it's a stripped kit. Most other kits that Dragon have reissued have only had their Magic Tracks swapped for DS tracks but nothing else.

Dan M
Gavin, I think you have every right to whine about this. The main problem is that Dragon is stealthily changing the kit contents. So if you knew about a great kit with a lot of extras chances are if you find it now it might no longer be that great kit with lots of extras. And this for me is a very dishonest practice.
If Dragon wants to use DS tracks and cut down on their production costs then they should issue new kit numbers.
And as far as the DS vs Magic Tracks conversation is concerned, well, that's a matter of taste. I for one don't like vinyl or vinyl-like tracks. Sure, some of them can be well-done but in my opinion the separate link tracks are superior in detail and in how they sit over the sprocket. Not to mention that is easier to control the sag.
Also, Dragon managed to blunder some of their kits with DS tracks as some of them are too short or too long or in some case they are even of the wrong type (they provided the wrong track width in one kit compared with the sprocket teeth size resulting in making almost impossible to fit the track).

Derek Huggett
Just a quick comment - changing the contents inside and not the box is not only a Dragon trick! Trumpeter pulled a similar one with their 1:72 'S' Tank a few years back - the 'simple' version of the kit started to appear in the first version (higher parts count) style boxes. The importer was at a loss when I raised it with them. Caveat emptor indeed!

herbert otto gille
it is not bad meant just for me , i do not care or its ds or seperate links please do not feel offended ,

herbert otto gille
btw i built this 1 kit 2 times 1 with the ds , the other with seperate links they were both very fun kits as Always with dragon tiger kits 🙂

Michal Jasinski
I saw this kit today in the store and wanted to buy it when I realized that something is not right.. date on the box says 2005 but it has DS tracks. I don't mind DS tracks but was wonder what about other goodies. It's shame that they are not there and this missleading box and date :/