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Daves956

Tank upgrade questions

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Ok. I hate waiting for parts. So far the gearboxes and helmets have shown up and as usual the farthest away gets here first.

I wandered into one of the local thrift stores to kill some time and look for anything odd. I noticed a H L box and took a look, a like new leopard II with instructions in 1/24th scale was there. As always the remote was nowhere to be found. I took a chance and paid the 1 dollar for it. I put the simple radio set in it and it all works just fine. I know the place and in less than 24 hours it would have been in a trash dumpster. I'm charging the battery now to see if it's any good. I think it was worth it.

IMG_1452.jpg And Garfield at the wheel of another RC

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The pershing got a little attention today while it rained outside. It got metal tracks and gearboxes, gas cans, helmets, tools, chain and some cable detail pieces. It looks like new and runs better than new.

IMG_1455.jpg

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A recap of the two going head to head. The tiger driven by my daughter was a bit quicker and had the pershing outmaneuvered but the range difference was all for the pershing if it could stay away. She actually fired and hit the pershing several times. I managed a few hits prior to the gun missloading and getting jammed up. She got wild spinning the tiger and threw a track while mine was jammed and couldn't fire on a sitting duck. She did get one shot that will never be repeated, a direct hit on the pershing turret and it bounced up and came back to hit the tiger in the turret. Hit 2 tanks with one shot, I'll never hear the end of that one. :wacko:

The screw holding the drive wheel came loose and caused the thrown track on the tiger.

I'll have to do some digging to find where the BBs are jamming up on the pershing plus get some more time to wear in the tracks and get more speed.

It was a lot of fun and I don't think infrared would be as fun as real BBs flying around. They were both loaded with fully biodegradable 20 gram BBs, so it was environmentally friendly.

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The 1/16 and 1/24th scale run on different voltages and even though I originally believed the little one would work on the larger ones radio it proved me wrong. I found yet another one for an agreeable price that had the transmitter. The trasmitter now runs them both just fine.

I'm starting to understand the infrared firing idea. It levels the playing field as far as range of fire. The second 1/24th has a gun that isn't a toy. I shot it indoors first and there isn't a safe place from bouncing shots. Outdoors it fires the 20 gram BBs somewhere around 120 feet.

Here's a picture of the pair.

IMG_1456.jpg

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And a group shot. I don't think I'll camo the pershing. As it is now it reminds me of Fort Knox. There is a perfect tank on almost every street corner there and it would fit right in. IMG_1459.jpg

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I decided to try the infrared battle system. This meant more tanks or at least 2 to do this. I went with a pair of Heng Long tigers with sound and recoil.

IMG_1465.jpg

I won't be upgrading these, but army figures and such are available by the bag for them. :lol:

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The Pershing has been going through a bit of change. The switches and anything that opened up on the bottom is now all sealed up. The on off switch is tucked under the back hitch mount and everything else including the battery terminal is accessed from the top. It's too heavy for deep water or snow but mud and anything up to the top of the tracks is now ok. Here's the revised rear end of it.

IMG_1479.jpg This is with everything showing. That removable door is magneted in place and it was no joy to do.

IMG_1480.jpg

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Before I forget, the fan upgrade to the smoke units seemed like a great idea. However, it changed the current used by that curcuit and put too much to the heating element. They were great for about a week but were in fact literally cooking down. In the end I let all the smoke out of them, not just the stuff that was supposed to come out. I have some of the proportional units on order so we'll see how they are.

This has been a test and trial fit for tanks and tracked vehicles here, just to get a feel for them and decide if I like them or not. I do like them and I'm very satisfied with the H Ls. If I had to point out a weak point on them, it's the running gear. There isn't a bearing in them or a place to put one. For this reason I see a Tamiya tank in the future. I'm probably not going to use the Tamiya MFU so most likely it'll be a hybrid sherman.

The HL tiger and pershing are about done and a few models are leaving to make room for more. Next month will see more projects and another tank is more than likely one of them.

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Sure ive seen some metal suspension arms and wheel upgrades for these? maybe not though i'm sure you would have found them if so :wacko:

Pershing is looking way cool :)

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Sure ive seen some metal suspension arms and wheel upgrades for these? maybe not though i'm sure you would have found them if so :wacko:

Pershing is looking way cool :)

I've seen them but they're just like the plastic pieces with no place for a bearing. I'm not racing them so it's not a big deal, it's just something that could be better. The old tiger is all plastic running gear and has had a long life so it's probably never going to be an issue.

Aside from the smoked smoke units they've been all good. The 1/24th ones aren't much to speak of and not good for parts and not much in the way of upgrades. The 1/70th ones are just precious. After messing with them all I'd say they are all well worth the price.

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The new proportional smoke units and the steel idlers for the tiger showed up today. These were must have uprades for these two. They both are metal tracked and geared with the latest radio sets. A few minor quirks had to be worked out on each of them but nothing major. I don't really care for the decals they came with and new ones will be made the next time I'm making decals. Right now they weigh 8.5 pounds each and they are very solid.

I really like these two and they are all sorts of fun to drive. They get a lot of attention too. Now that I have a vague idea what the tanks are about and what works. I think I'll tackle just one more, not an HL this time. I'll go for a Tamiya and the timing couldn't have been better for finishing these two. I pick up the other one tomorrow. Here are the two as they are now.

IMG_1481.jpg

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Very nice Dave - but IMO they need some weathering . You hardly ever see a tank in such pristine condition

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Very nice Dave - but IMO they need some weathering . You hardly ever see a tank in such pristine condition

I've thought about that a lot and it was looking for real life pictures of the pershing that made the decision. One of the first pictures was of one at fort knox that I recognized and all the tanks there are absolutely perfect. I'm pretty sure heads would roll over a spot of rust. I've weathered trains in the past and got good at it but I just don't like the used and abused look. It was all I could do just to camo the tiger and that was only after looking at all the photo examples on the web. In reality all the WWII tanks left are museum pieces or on display somewhere and the rusted up ones were melted down long ago. I've already started a weathering process on them. They get run in the mud and I'm not a perfect driver so eventually they'll look well used. They just get to be new for now.

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All real tanks where new at somepoint and very few people build them as they left the factorys,

I think they look good,

Great work.

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I am new to this forum and have a USAM41A3 Heng long snow leopard with metal gearbox am looking to upgrade the speaker and smoke unit as you guys suggest but have no idea what is compatible with my tank I am in the UK and eBay links for said parts would be most welcomed fitting the parts is not a problem as such but obtaining the correct parts I struggle with also wish to change tracks wheels etc to metal ones but again don't know which parts are compatible appreciate you guys helping advising me please be patient with me as I learn to navigate this forum Thank you all

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