1:16 Radio-Controlled Jagdpanther - Heng Long

[Mike]

I'm in the process of upgrading this Heng Long R/C "toy", which is actually a rather nice piece of kit. So far I've done the following to it:

• Added track tensioner device to the rear idler wheels.
• Metal drive sprocket & idler wheels added to interface with the track tensioner.
• New metal final drive housing.
• Added return roller to reduce track slap - this still needs work to put it in-line with the inner edge of the track.
• Replace BB unit with recoil unit & strobe flash. Recoil unit doesn't work with this barrel, sadly. BB unit adapted to accept strobe
• wiring tidied up & zip-tied into place
• kit 0.5w speaker replaced by 3w Taigen unit - huge improvement in sound quality & volume.
• Velcro fastening of speaker and Rx18 control unit into lower chassis, strobe unit velcroed into upper hull.
• Headlamp replaced with a more accurate metal unit - wiring still to be completed.
• Crew heater unit replaced with more accurate metal part, Schumo resin counterpart on the right side.
• Brass mesh for engine decks partially installed.
• Metal crew hatches installed for longevity. The plastic parts were a little weak, and would have broken over time.
• Rear bulkhead stripped of parts for later upgrade
• Exhausts sanded smooth & textured. weld-beads added to the armoured protector & rolled steel texture added to those.
• Spare track mounts on rear hull sides filled & puttied ready for new rack & track links to be scratch-built.

Here's a pic of the exhausts and the engine deck to give you an idea what it's looking like at present.

Sorry about the dust & crap all over the hull in this pic. Didn't spot it until I was back at the computer

There's still a LOT to do, including:

• weld-beads around the whole hull
• Rolled steel texturing and torch-cut texturing on the panel edges.
• Upgrade & replace tool stowage racks.
• Replace barrel cleaner stowage tube.
• Cast texture to mantlet and surrounds
• General detailing & adding of small parts such as lifting lugs, track bump-stops, fixtures and fittings.
• Internal antenna - need to source a few Nerf bullets

[Wolfpack]

Go on, I;ll bite. What's a Nerf bullet?

W

[colin]

You'd be fine biting on a Nerf bullet Wolfpack

[Mike]

A nerf bullet is a little cylinder of foam that's supposed to be safe enough to fire at children (by children) and not remove their eyes. It's for wrapping some copper around to create the internal aerial

[Smiffy]

I have to say, these are very nice "toys" indeed. We got my Nephew a Pershing for his birthday. We all had great fun with it.

Tempted to get the Tiger myself.

[Mike]

Join us

[Colin @ Freightdog Models]

OK, I'm very tempted! Forgive my ignorance Mike, but who makes the metal hatches, do Heng Long produce upgrades for their tanks?

Colin

[Mike]

Visit http://www.welshdragonmodels.co.uk and you'll be able to find out all about it. Companies like Schumo, Taigen, Asiatam and tank-modellbau... so tempting!

[sunray]

I can recommend Welsh Dragon Models, excellent service.

I have had also used a series of books called "World War II AFV Plans" available from amazon for about £7 each. They cover axis, allied tanks and apc's etc and have fine scale drawings (side, top, front & rear views). Also in the front cover is a table telling you what percentage you need to set your scanner or photocopier to produce 1/76, 1/72, 1/35, 1/16, etc, scale copies. I managed to produce a 1/16 scale drawing for my Panther which came in very handy for scratch building, etc.

I hope this is of some help.

Ian

[sunray]

Sorry I forgot to say that I am looking forward to watching you build this one Mike.

All the best

Ian

[Smiffy]

Join us

Nooooo.

Must...resist.

(Unless I sell some stuff from the stash to fund it ).

[Colin @ Freightdog Models]

I will resist! However that does not stop me enjoying this and the other 1/16 threads.

Colin

[Wolfpack]

A nerf bullet is a little cylinder of foam that's supposed to be safe enough to fire at children (by children) and not remove their eyes.

They let kids do that these days? I thought 'elf and safety had banned fun.

So, next question, how do you herd them?

W

[colin]

I have to say, these are very nice "toys" indeed. We got my Nephew a Pershing for his birthday. We all had great fun with it.

Tempted to get the Tiger myself.

I'm trying my best to resist, buy have always wanted a Tamiya RC which is way out of my budget.Is it worth the extra with theses kits to go for the metal upgrade which gives you metal gears/tracks or are they just as bad as the plastic ones.

I see there are metal tracks/gearboxes etc available as a separate upgrade but their more than the tank itself.

Looking to price up the kit with the upgrades that will make to better, anyone got a list

Thanks

[XL929]

Didn't know they did a Jagdpanther....tempting!

Looks good work so far, be very interesting to see the finished article.

I've got the upgraded Heng Long Pz.III with the metal tracks etc. So far only driven it around indoors but it's great fun.

[Smiffy]

They let kids do that these days? I thought 'elf and safety had banned fun.

So, next question, how do you herd them?

W

Well it ain't like dusting crops, I can tell ya that. No amount of ancient weapons or hokey religions are a match for a good blaster at your side, either.

[Mike]

Thanks for the comments fellas, and c'mon - give in. What do they say about only living the once?

A little update. The rear hull sides have three sets of two track links hung off the sides, which just plug straight into three holes in the side of the hull. Not entirely accurate, as it completely ignores the rack they attach to I've patterned my rack against my Dragon 1:35 kit, and cut some sections of 6mm square brass tube 2.8mm (ish) wide, then drilled 1mm holes in opposing sides of the box section and nipped out the fourth wall I tidied the cut & drill marks with sanding sticks & files, and then measured and glued them onto some 3.2mm x 1mm styrene strip. While the glue was still fresh, I tested them for fit, to ensure the tracks would fit, and adjusted any that didn't.

The next step is to bend some 0.8mm brass rod into some short L-shapes to act as the retaining pins for each bracket. I'll then solder some scale chain to each one, securing it to the bracket, so they don't get lost - the same as the real thing. I'll check my references to see whether the brackets stood proud of the back-plate, and if they do, i'll add some weld beads, and if they don't, I'll laminate some more strip so that the rear of the brackets are level with the surface.

Holding all those small parts (fnerk!) tightly has knackered my hands, which will need a rest before the next step, which is handy (no pun intended) because I'm waiting for my chain to arrive anyway.

[Mike]

I got some chain from Cornwall Models, and cut some 20mm lengths and soldered them onto some lengths of 0.8mm brass rod using some liquid solder from SolderPlus. I'm not the best solderer, but laying out the chain, dabbing the end of the brass rod in the solder and offering the two up together with the soldering iron next to them both resulted in some fairly tidy joins. Then I bent the pins over and soldered them onto the brackets using a similar technique. I find liquid solder very handy for fiddly work on small parts, as it removes the need for that extra fourth hand, and it flows nicely into the joints on brass and copper.

The tips of the pins still need sharpening, but my hands are tired from holding the parts for long periods (for me).

[magman2]

Super detailed work

[Learstang]

A nerf bullet is a little cylinder of foam that's supposed to be safe enough to fire at children (by children) and not remove their eyes. It's for wrapping some copper around to create the internal aerial

Nice work on the Jagdpanther, Mike, but you have to tell us, have you used that one on your son yet - 'Ere, lad, you'll have someone's eye out with that!"

Regards,

Jason

[Mike]

Cheers guys

@Jason - the boy's bad enough with water pistols & bubble guns, so I'm not going to introduce him to Nerf until he finds out about it from someone else

[Miggers]

Didn't know they did a Jagdpanther....tempting!

Looks good work so far, be very interesting to see the finished article.

I've got the upgraded Heng Long Pz.III with the metal tracks etc. So far only driven it around indoors but it's great fun.

The Jagd is a corker as is the Panther.

The Tiger can be built into something pretty good too.

Not allowed to drive my Tiger in the house,it leaves too much dried mud and stuff off the tracks on the

floors!!!!!

[Mike]

After a LOOOOOONG hiatus, this build is back on the boil, although my first task was to fix the rather ragged running of the tracks, which is now done. Unfortunately, one night the upper hull slipped and slid over the workshop heater, which I keep on even during the summer, just to keep the moisture off things and to allow the dehumidifier to do its work. Fortunately, it was on low and for only a short period of time, or the damage could have been worse, and might have ended up razing the workshop to the ground. Anyway - here's the result:

It could have been a lot worse, but the shaded area is pretty bent out of shape, and after considering replacing the side with some thick styrene, I decided to go for a new upper hull instead, as it's pretty cheap. All the stuff will be transferred over in due course, and then I can continue with the re-vamp. I've already installed the recoil mechanism in the casemate (as a test), and the strobe also now works, so instead of just recoiling on its tracks with the gun noise, it now has barrel recoil and a bright muzzle flash to go with, which looks A metal MG has been fitted to the kugelblende too, but the LED had blown, so I replaced it was a yellow one, which looks ok, but is a bit dull, so will have to go eventually.

While I'm waiting for the new hull, I decided to do a test of the rolled-steel texture technique I picked up from this here book, and re-did the exhausts, as I'd found some pictures that show the upper sections to be bolt-on steel steel deflectors. I engraved a line round the circumference, and then removed the texture to the top bit. I Dremelled four dents into the sides and softened them with sanding, then added four hex-nuts from the LionRoar stable. I nipped off the inaccurate plastic stays from the lower rear of the exhausts, and installed the laser cut brackets at the top of the bulkhead, which just need bolt heads added. Yesterday I spent a happy couple of hours assembling one of the rear stowage bins from the Aber set, which was all done using liquid solder, a standard soldering iron and sometimes a little help from the gas blower attachment from my cordless iron. It was handy doing it that way, as the heat could be ramped up quickly, leading to less spread & lowering the risk of any other joins coming undone. The design of the parts is pretty clever, minimising the soldering, and as a result very little was visible, and only one or two bits needed some light sanding to cut it back. The clasps were a bit tricky, but I eventually got them done & the lid now functions, although I'm loathed to use it very often for fear of breaking it.

You can see the "kit" part in front of it, and there's quite a bit of difference.

[wkennerley]

very nice, I have the Walker Bulldog - Hope to upgrade it some day as well

Wayne

[magman2]

Leave the Sheep alone, Good work.