Harry_the_Spider Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Switch on the T34 is underneath. Constantly knocking bits off it when rolling it over. Anyhow, Challenger 2 is the new favourite, even if the handling is the worst of the three due to its track length. In a back garden skirmish the T34 will have it due to superior turning ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Doesn’t the Chally turret turn faster? But you’re right, maybe a t34 is more nimble?!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 For Ambush Tactics - Emerge from flower bed/get off a couple of shots/run away - the T34 is the best. Challenger has the speed to run between prepared potions (piles of 3 bricks) without getting picked off, however its length means that you can't traverse to gun on the "narrow path". T34 is also better at "Plank Bridge" (ramp up step between the upper and lower bits of the garden). The width and length of the Tiger and Challenger means that they can slip off to one side causing the hull to ground, which makes them a sitting duck if you can get in behind them to the turret's rotational dead spot. If it becomes a Mexican Stand-Off in the middle of the lawn then it just comes down to who has the best aim. We've been playing with these a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 Do you know I think that you might actually wear these things out! You probably have the right idea. I treat each one of mine as a scale model and get a lot of fun out of painting and weathering but I've got 7 tanks sitting in 50 litre plastic boxes sitting in the garage, all ready to go but nowhere to go! But heh, we all have our reasons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 They seem to be holding up pretty well. Only "combat" damage was a broken suspension arm on the T34, probably caused by it getting rammed by a Tamiya Madbull that can do about 20mph. Had a few bits fall off, but they just get super glued back on. Will upgrade the gearboxes when one fails, but at present there are no issues. The radios are a bit fragile though, so we have to be careful that they don't get dropped. Also, rather irritatingly, I now have a spare that I could have done without buying. Was thinking of doing a Berlin Brigade colour scheme on the Challenger but impatience got the better of me. Will spray some Tamiya Smoke around the exhausts and leave it at that. The panel line darkening, I have the desert scheme, looks a but rubbish close up, but from a couple of feet away it is quite effective. My new bike shed will will be 2ft longer than the current one, so I'll have space for some racking. Will be eyeing up a T90 and Sherman in the New Year 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 I haven't bothered with a T90 but I did buy a Sherman and thats a good mover in my opinion. Heng Long had to produce a more obscure machine didn't they? - their Sherman has a 105mm gun and was really used as track mounted artillery whereas the more common Sherman had either a 75mm or 76mm gun. I wonder if the 105 lent itself better to BB firing? Of course you can get 75's and 76's from other manufacturers but its a pity HL did't go for a 75, but it is what it is. Being slightly mad I picked up a resin conversion to make a British 17lbdr Sherman Firefly - similar to the US 76mm but actually better! I also bought a pretty expensive resin conversion to make an M3 Grant. The M3 came before the M4 Sherman but has essentially the same running gear and lower hull. I had an Airfix 1/76th Lee/Grant tank when I was a kid so I've always fancied the idea of a 'big' one. Again, being a tank conversion instead of an aeroplane conversion its more basic and requires more from the modeller and because fear are sold I had to sell my granny to buy it but that effectively means I have 3 HL Shermans to get around to - confirming the madness! I will do my Chally 2 in Nato Green and Black and then very 'dustified'. The Haynes manual is very interesting and you realise how much better the Chally 2 is compared to the Chally 1 and how UK MoD penny pinching prevented the Chally 1 from being as good as it could be. Of course the Chally 1 fought in Gulf War I and Chally 2 in GW 2. You can do a lot with a Chally 2 though - upgraded front and side skirt armour and bar armour around the rear hull and turret. And then there is 'Megatron'. Yes, loads you can do with a Challenger but I'm happy with bog standard green and black! Glad to hear you've factored storage into your shed! My boxes keep the dust off but you use yours so much that the dust is actually realistic weathering!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 Now that Chally looks great!! And what a huge machine a modern MBT is! Now the Leopard 2 A6 is a sexy machine and the Abrams - well have you watched video of the real thing? The Colonial Cousins have fun throwing them about but everybody is better at selling tanks abroad than we are! The Aussie Abrams is impressive for sure. But you will definitely have more chance of wearing your tanks out than I will! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Painted the beacon, fire extinguishers and touched up the black where it had been chipped cutting it from the runners. Other than that it is straight out of the box. Will spray some smoke around the exhausts next time I have the airbrush out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 Yep, it passes muster - go and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Epic three tank battle in my mate's garden yesterday* (that flattened 6 RC car batteries and expended about 1000 bio BBs), however I lost the antenna off the Challenger. Anyone know a source for replacements? Looked on-line, but they seem a bit "spendy" for a bit of wire. Would a generic RC aerial fit onto the stud on the tank? The tank works well enough without the aerial, but it looks better with one. Actually it should have three, so I'll stick some dummies on. *There were kids playing too, not just a couple of sad middle aged blokes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 Well. As usual you seem to get the max out of these tanks!! Pm me your address and I’ll stick an aerial into the post. I don’t use the ones that have come with older tanks as I am using 2.4GHz but I must have one or two!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 On the 2.4gig Sherman I converted the aeriel is not connected to the reciever board, so is a hold over from the 27MHz system. I have also fitted a 2.4gig system to an M1A1(not a Heng Long model) and that also works without an external aeriel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Niall said: On the 2.4gig Sherman I converted the aeriel is not connected to the reciever board, so is a hold over from the 27MHz system. I have also fitted a 2.4gig system to an M1A1(not a Heng Long model) and that also works without an external aeriel. Absolutely - the MFU/Receiver has a tiny aerial - maybe 1cm long - that works just fine without an extension - the joys of 2.4GHz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 I'm suspecting the same. Mine are 2.4GHz. However the Challenger looks better with aerials on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 Fair enough - you need 2 if not 3. I will use piano wire with mine when I get around to it. My idea will be to use a piece of rubber - solid or tube - at the bottom so that the aerial bends instead of poking your eye out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 BTW https://tankmuseumshop.org/collections/haynes-manuals On offer. Got the challenger 2 one the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 Thank you. Actually that's where my Chally 2 volume came from to! I think that they are all very good reads and really useful from the r/c tank point of view. I almost start with a Haynes when I get a new tank! The one I could do with is the Panzer IV volume but that must have sold out years ago. Its not urgent that I get a copy its just that they are such good references with big photos and don't cost the earth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Yep, worth a tenner just to find out that some of Heng Long's decal placements are "open to interpretation". My Challenger has now had a good soaking in "Flory's Mud". It cracks when it has dries, much like real mud... because it is real mud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman2 Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 This is an inexpensive way to add detail to your Challenger 2 Tank https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Challenger-2-Drivers-Vison-Port-For-Heng-Long-/164873194198?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 2 hours ago, magman2 said: This is an inexpensive way to add detail to your Challenger 2 Tank https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Challenger-2-Drivers-Vison-Port-For-Heng-Long-/164873194198?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Could be usefull!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 01/08/2021 at 21:44, Simon Cornes said: Well. As usual you seem to get the max out of these tanks!! Pm me your address and I’ll stick an aerial into the post. I don’t use the ones that have come with older tanks as I am using 2.4GHz but I must have one or two!! Cheer Simon! Challenger looking resplendent with its new aerials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 56 minutes ago, Harry_the_Spider said: Cheer Simon! Challenger looking resplendent with its new aerials. Excellent- that was quick!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Going to try and 'clock' (apparently) the springs on the rear most road wheels on my Challenger to prevent it from slipping it's tracks. From what I can gather this is an issue with rear drive tanks. Under load the rear end squats causing a drop in tension over the drive sprocket and slippage. The internet suggests that there is an extra hole where the spring locates to enable this to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Harry_the_Spider said: Going to try and 'clock' (apparently) the springs on the rear most road wheels on my Challenger to prevent it from slipping it's tracks. From what I can gather this is an issue with rear drive tanks. Under load the rear end squats causing a drop in tension over the drive sprocket and slippage. The internet suggests that there is an extra hole where the spring locates to enable this to happen. Your best bet is to have a look at the rctankwarfare site for guidance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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