The bug
If assigned a 3D model (made of cuboids, rather than only planes), chains will not have any of their faces culled against other chain blocks even if those faces are occluded. Such faces are correctly culled against solid blocks, however.
How to reproduce
Download and apply the attached resource pack
Place at least two cacti atop each other
Place at least two chains atop each other
Enter Spectator mode
Observe the cactus and chain from beneath
Expected results
For both the cactus and the chain, the face against the ground would be culled, as would the face between the two constituent blocks.
Actual results
The bottom face is culled against the ground for both blocks, but only the cactus has the face between the two constituent blocks culled.
Dupe of MC-178889