Harry_the_Spider Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 My "plastic" one is more than happy ploughing round the garden and the woods. Will upgrade only if something breaks. Not tried the BBs yet. Once the T34 arrives I think I'll get some biodegradable ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 30 minutes ago, Harry_the_Spider said: My "plastic" one is more than happy ploughing round the garden and the woods. Will upgrade only if something breaks. Not tried the BBs yet. Once the T34 arrives I think I'll get some biodegradable ones. That's interesting, I was going off hearsay so I'm encouraged! As you say, replace it if its broken but I have read that the first thing to replace are the gearboxes and that you should use 'steel' ones not 'metal' ones as the metal is apparently not much better than the nylon gears ! Also, the correct gear ratio for a WWII tank is 5:1. So far I haven't had to worry about replacing anything and I hope it stands like that! Apparently an all metal 'upgraded' tank also eats battery so thats another upgrade! Keep it simple I say! You can get biodegradable BBs? Whatever next! Probably reconstituted rabbit poo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo NZ Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 6 hours ago, Simon Cornes said: How did you do the side 'schertzen' ? Scratch build or aftermarket ? They were scratch built - brass angle and strip for the supports, and aluminium sheet for the panels. There is a build thread at https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-tanks-369/7142469-stug-iiig-build-thread-4.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Thanks Jo, just read it all - perseverance or what?!! But the end result justifies the effort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 As far as I know its not steel gears but metal drive sprockets that are needed for metal tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 44 minutes ago, Niall said: As far as I know its not steel gears but metal drive sprockets that are needed for metal tracks. Hi Niall, If you are upgrading from 'all plastic/nylon' gearboxes and running gear to metal alternatives then I think that the approved sequence is first the gearboxes and the recommendation is 'Steel' as opposed to 'metal'. Once you've done that you can still use plastic running gear and tracks but, yes, the next step would be metal sprockets (and probably idlers) and then metal tracks and then road wheels. I think the gearboxes are the important 'first' because of the extra load that the metal tracks put on the nylon gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 I though all Heng Long 1/16th scale gearboxes had metal gears, I've only seen the Sherman and Tiger 1 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 51 minutes ago, Niall said: I though all Heng Long 1/16th scale gearboxes had metal gears, I've only seen the Sherman and Tiger 1 though. No, I have both and the Tiger at least, as purchased a couple of months ago, has nylon gears in the gearbox but you can upgrade at extra cost to steel. I have a Sherman also but had no cause to look inside the hull to date but I'm guessing it has nylon gearboxes. You can buy upgrade gearboxes from the likes of Forgebear - https://www.forgebeartanks.com/store/c32/Gearboxes.html . To be perfectly honest, I can't be sure that the likes of the Abrams and Challenger 2 don't come with metal gearboxes as standard and it might be the case that Heng Long phase out nylon gearboxes over time with their range but my honest belief is that the starting point is nylon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 21 hours ago, Simon Cornes said: Sounds like an interesting project. It’s a pity that you have got to spend a lot more on the tank though. I am coming from the direction of keeping a lid on the costs and only updating if I need to. I don’t know if your tank has steel gears (not ‘metal’) but apparently you need steel if you’re going to use metal tracks and running gear - presumably because there’s more load on the gear teeth. Having said all that, a metal tank is a heavier tank and will probably go off road much better than mine - horses for courses eh? The running axle supports with bearings take a lot of weight off the gearboxes, and combined with the gearbox support and rear idler track tensioner create a better track alignment enabling much smoother running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Sounds like a good modification! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Simon Cornes said: Sounds like a good modification! I forgot, I'm also replacing the plastic sprocket mounts with metal ones. I didn't plan on adding all this stuff thats for sure, but hopefully it will be worth it and enable smooth running on metal tracks without any gearbox problems. I understand you can get a gear reduction that reduces speed and movement to more or less scale. But wouldn't know how to install it without detailed instructions. The King Tiger is perhaps my all time favourite German Tank, hence all this effort, I certainly won't be doing it again. Edited April 5, 2021 by Whitewolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 My understanding is that you should use a 5:1 gearbox for WWII tanks but really it’s a matter of how heavy you are on the track stock on the transmitter. If you have an idea of how fast a tank should move then you should have an idea of how it might look at that speed but top speed isn’t what matters. Very smooth acceleration from a stand still is more important. The Heng Long TK6.0 MFU certainly gives that so I hope that the hardware in your tank will allow that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Anyone know anything about Henntec rear track tensioner? I received one i ordered for Tamiya 1/16 King Tiger. Instructions in German and next to completely useless.. If anyone is familiar with these I would appreciate and assistance yiu can render. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 6, 2021 Author Share Posted April 6, 2021 Suggest you join rctankwarfare site. Loads of info !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 8 hours ago, Simon Cornes said: Suggest you join rctankwarfare site. Loads of info !! Thanks, I've joined. One thing I've noticed is that aftermarket items very rarely if ever actually come with anything that remotely resembles installation instructions? Most need something doing including drilling new holes, but have no instructions whatsoever..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 I think you’re right. I’m mainly an aeroplane modeller and this foray into tanks has shown me how well the aeroplane modellers is served by the aftermarket. Tanks seem to be more of a cottage industry where you really need a pretty good general knowledge about your subject matter. I bought a couple of sets of decals from Forgebear and the instructions really don’t tell me enough- but I managed. I think the value with the website is that there are half a dozen or so people who are really helpful when it comes to getting questions asked. On BM there seem to be legions who pipe up with something useful. All good fun though isn’t it?!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 Impatiently checking the shipping status. It is at the Regional Hub, wherever that is. In the meantime, has anyone got a recommendation for biodegradable BBs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 A tense time!! I ordered some tank bits from a chap Sunday two weekends back. It wad posted from Edinburgh by Parcelforce 48 and arrived on the Thursday afternoon - whilst I was out. They left a card saying they'd redeliver the next working day. Then we had Good Friday but I checked their site and they were open on Saturday morning but nothing delivered! So now I'm thinking 'yesterday' but I checked the tracking and, blow me, its been taken back to their 'National Hub' (Coventry) !! So Ive looked this morning and its back here again and out for delivery. I could really do with going out today but I daren't miss it again!! So, I know what you mean!! No idea about the BB's though - I don't fire mine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 I don't think anyone makes biodegradable 0.12g BB. The lightest type I've seen are 0.2g and these don't work well with the Heng Long mechanism as it only has a muzzle energy of about 0.3j - 0.2g BB's are for 0.8J+ air soft guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 Don't work well as in "Won't travel very far", or "Will knacker the mechanism"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 They don't feed reliably and don't go as far if they do feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 T34 shaped box has arrived. Just done a quick function check of the new tank and both IR systems. Everything is working. Will stick all the bits on after work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Hurrah!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Disaster! The decals refused to adhere. Will have to get some after market ones. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Try Forgebear! But they are proper water slide decals so you’ll need varnish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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