SO!!..

I got 4x of the micro gear motors from Servo City to use in these monsters.

2 out of the 4 motors in my package JUST DONT WORK. No response to power at all. Wow.

Having really sh*tty luck with these things... I'm amazed at this cr*p... ><

Anyhoo.. the story continues... dealing with Servo City now to fix this...

Sigh...

Did some work on the steering arrangement. So far so good, these pivoting servo connectors came in real handy. 

Won't the protruding bolt head snag something when driving off road?

Probably yes, but it's only about 1/4 below the front bumper and higher up above ground level than I thought.. I think it'll be ok.

Got some parts today... and boy am I happy! A few reasons... these VsTank Tiger gearboxes were $20 a piece, INCLUDING shipping...! Courtesy of the VsTank "Club". All I had to do was sign up, and I have a huge number of parts with good prices... 

Anyhoo, it fits dang snugly in the halftrack's hull. I had to trim away a bunch of material to install it but it's actually the correct width more or less. The road wheels were removed to install the gearbox and will go back right ontop of it. The road wheels are all 1 piece in a sort of side plate.

Also the motors already have the same connectors as Clark uses for their boards.. woohoo!

It looks like a good fit Jordan. Can't wait to get started on mine.  

It is Derek! I cut the plastic hull in such a way that as things are now, it manages to hold the transmission in place without glue or anything. Of course I'll later epoxy it and probably reinforce with some styrene but it's nice to have it 'line replaceable' should things break.

Also the sprocket offset is a bit wide. I can either trim the gearbox ends to bring them closer to the hull, or just reattach the road wheels a few millimeters outward. I'm leaning towards widening the road wheels.. should give better turning & less rollovers *COUGHFRANKCOUGH*

Wider is always better on the field.

Are you bring it on Sunday so I can take some notes.  

It'll be there, no flash photography though..

You might be amazed but it's 2am the same "day" as our meet, I'm still awake & at work, BUILDING A HALF-TRACK! Woohoo

Anyhoo, some progress. I changed my mind and decided to 'even out' the width of the drive sprockets. I had to grind down the final drive shaft a bit, and also the outside collar of the transmission unit, which brought the drive sprocket closer to the hull by about 1/8". They are now even. 

I glued some thick styrene sheets in between the road-wheel plates and the hull, the same width on each side. Now the wheels are a bit further from the hull. This gives the wider track more clearance and also lines up the drive sprockets with the road wheels! I'm very happy with how this is going.

Nice work Strato.......... 

you're nuts to stay up that late to work on this lol

Oh! What I meant by "at work" was that I was physically AT work, nightshift @ the airport fixing the airplanes (And halftracks)

I made some more progress but pictures later... Zzzzzzzz

At least you have your priorities  straight .......nice work by the way

nice job Jordan look like it was a stock item

Thanks Greg, again I'm really happy with how it's going together.

I did some more work, got the tracks installed without a single issue. Test fit various internal layouts and what works best is the Clark board in the rear, speaker up front and a 1700mAh 7.2v battery wedged in between. It all fits perfectly, even with the big gun mount in the way. 

I did some more work on the front steering & suspension, and even went a LITTLE crazy (Im a engineer so.. we do that..) added my own leaf springs! It slightly pushes the wheels onto the ground and keeps them from rubbing on the fenders. Works perfect.

It look good Jordan! I hope to start mine this weekend.

Are you using metal or plastic tracks? I've got both.

awesome work

Plastic tracks. I occasionally hear them jumping off the sprocket, but it isn't consistent at all. Usually while turning very sharp. They pop right back into the sprocket and I've yet to lose a track. 

It's not very fast, probably about the same as some of our slowest tanks with reduced gears. 

I have a few ideas about how these vehicles can be used strategically in battle...

starting to look nice!

Derek,

You are using PzIII plastic tracks, right ? I have the Stuka zu Fuss version and would love to do what you have done but don't think I have the skill set. I did fit it with a set of metal FAMO tracks from Asiatam and it fits perfect. Maybe I will tried to just fit the Vs motor in and leave the front steering stock. The sucker won't turn but at least it will run !

Amazing work.

Mike.

Hey Mike, yea they're Panzer III/IV tracks (same thing). If the front end seems tough you can always set up some kind of dummy castor system, so the wheels just follow the direction of the vehicle. Everything else is just a matter of careful use of a file, hobby saw and knife.

-Jordan

Sorry Jordan....... It would be nice to have a who is who for Newbies here. Just one more question, which motor did you end up using or it doesn't matter ? I noticed that on the Vs Tank Page the motors are with the individual tanks and not in the common parts section.

The castor is a great idea. I might even try just putting the track motors in and run it and see what happens.

Mike.

I ordered the Tiger I gears. I choose them mostly because someone on RCU had actually measured theres and posted pictures. So I knew almost for sure what I was getting and how they'd fit. 

There's an introduction page somewhere, hehe, I think it hasn't been posted on in awhile, but if you find it say hello!!

Strato50 wrote:

 

There's an introduction page somewhere, hehe, I think it hasn't been posted on in awhile, but if you find it say hello!!

You can try any of these.  

https://can-amrctankclub.canadian-forum.com/t31-introduction-for-new-members-and-meet-the-club-members-area

or

https://can-amrctankclub.canadian-forum.com/t475-introductions