As you guys know, my metal Taigen KV-1 has been my main battler since I first acquired it from MikeC years ago... (Has it really been nearly 4 years!).

Last year was the internal upgrade and I upped the internals to more of my style. And last Year I switched to a TK-40S. Loved the new controls, but it got a tad hot...


The old mounting plate. I noticed something was off when my speaker box had come lose.
Rectangular outline denotes the old speaker location


My 0.080" PS Sheet had detached itself from the smoothed down Taigen mounting tray. I did use a fair amount of glue...


Some severe warpage of the PS Sheet that was used...
My ON/Off switch mount visible from the side (4 solid square PS pcs).


Another angle... Severe warpage... I can only conclude that the heat buildup inside the tank was huge...


So I 3D printed a pair of identical base plates.
They use the standard 4 holes in the hull for the Taigen tray and a another 4 extra holes drilled through the hull floor


A rough new layout approximation of where everything is going to sit.
A pair of fans to circulate air in the tank, the TK-60, reused speaker and battery.


The Taigen black gearboxes are phenomenal and push the 22lbs tank all over the place...


Location or RX, On/Off switch, TK-60 and a pair of RX powered fans for air circulation.


Speaker and battery locations. Will still need to make all the mounts and retaining trays, but it is a concept

Did I sell it to you with those bad boy motors ? I didn't remember them having cooling fins. Love the Taigen KV lower. One of their best. Contemplating getting another one, even though I just built a Tammy KV-1. The Taigen lower is just as good.

Had the pot metal gears originally. Drove it until they stripped....

This is how I plan stuff. Sketches! Go Go 3D printing thinking cap...

From sketch to finished product...

First attempt at the new speaker box...



Fit-up is perfect! YAY! No more iterations to print...



And install position! (I just screwed the box down into the base plates)

Had a few design changes and forgot to record them....


New flat pattern speakerbox, TK-60 mount with side shield/battery guard.


Wiring bracket mounted to upper edge of lower hull. Makes for clean routing.


Basic layout with rough switch location. Receiver is inside the speaker box (End panel of speaker is removable for service.)


Upper hull wiring cleaned up and installed. Rear red LED connection mounted to rear of the upper hull.


The old custom recoil unit seen through the turret bottom.


Turret stripped. I added a replacable IR Emitter mount & a Tamiya TBU mount a year or so ago. And Magnetized the turret hatch.


All the old recoil guts to be scrapped (I keep all the screws and hardware however...)


Issue one... Barrel gets a bit of the "HASSAN_CHOP!" to ensure it fits and doesn't have a Pinocchio gun.


In with the next gen JCC recoil unit. The KV-1 doesn't need the side elevation groove, but its not in the way...


And install the easily changeable IR Bulb. Friction fit in the emitter mount and plugs into a JST connector.


Rough fit w/o Mantlet piece...


Rough fit with Mantlet piece... Looking GOOD IMHO.

Oh wow really ? I don't remember owning that but the DIY recoil looks very familiar........  :-)

Those gearbox looks nasty, and the Taigen metal KV bottom is probably one of their best runners. My SU-152 from Dean is like a Ferrari. 

Why did you have to cut the barrel BTW ? Was the length wrong or was it because the recoil unit pistol is different ?

MikeC wrote:

Oh wow really ? I don't remember owning that but the DIY recoil looks very familiar........  :-)

Those gearbox looks nasty, and the Taigen metal KV bottom is probably one of their best runners. My SU-152 from Dean is like a Ferrari. 

Why did you have to cut the barrel BTW ? Was the length wrong or was it because the recoil unit pistol is different ?

1. LOL. This KV-1 was the first tank I bought. I remember asking you about the removed add-on armor and the dual turret rotation units. (Also had pot metal gearbox at the time.)

2. Those taigen black steel gearboxes replaced the pot-metal gearboxes that were in this thing, after the stripped.

3. The original airsoft/recoil systems have a deeper mounting point than my recoil unit. I didn't want the KV-1 to look like it had a 85mm cannon. So I did a rough measurement and chopped it. May still be a bit long but that is OK. 1941 KV-1 76.2mm Barrel was 2.4m, and was lengthened to 3.2m for 1942 production.

All the new guts reassembled into place...


Turret floor re-installed.


Turret side of the new gear spacer/mount system that will allow for a more secure turret rotation gear mount.
(Instead of 2 points of fastening, up to 8 ).
Can still use the original rotation gear however (Small turret ring design only and was created specifically for resin turrets.)


Opposite side. Hole in center is smoothly curved to minimize any possible fraying of wires and is centered to allow for less distance of travel when rotating the turret.


Fit up into the KV-1 lower turret plate. Perfect fit. To glue into place or screw into place (from inside the turret).


A 3D printed small turret ring that is almost 100% copy of the factory version. I add a few more mounting holes to correspond with the ring.
Need the stopper to prevent 360 degree rotation? Just glue in the extra piece and voila.

Turret complete!

Jarlath wrote:

MikeC wrote:

Oh wow really ? I don't remember owning that but the DIY recoil looks very familiar........  :-)

Those gearbox looks nasty, and the Taigen metal KV bottom is probably one of their best runners. My SU-152 from Dean is like a Ferrari. 

Why did you have to cut the barrel BTW ? Was the length wrong or was it because the recoil unit pistol is different ?

1. LOL. This KV-1 was the first tank I bought. I remember asking you about the removed add-on armor and the dual turret rotation units. (Also had pot metal gearbox at the time.)

2. Those taigen black steel gearboxes replaced the pot-metal gearboxes that were in this thing, after the stripped.

3. The original airsoft/recoil systems have a deeper mounting point than my recoil unit. I didn't want the KV-1 to look like it had a 85mm cannon. So I did a rough measurement and chopped it. May still be a bit long but that is OK. 1941 KV-1 76.2mm Barrel was 2.4m, and was lengthened to 3.2m for 1942 production.

If memory serves me right I think it was originally a KV-85 with a resin IS2 early turret, which is heavy as hell and needed two rotation units for it. Also explained why I ripped out the add-on armour. But then I took the turret and mated it to a IS2 upper when Tamiya came out with their IS2 to make my poor man version of it so I stick back on a KV turret and sold it to you I guess.

Very nice Mike. I like the updated turret gear! 

Shoveler74 wrote:

Very nice Mike. I like the updated turret gear! 

TY. It started when I wired up Dean's hybrid Firefly Sherman. I was afraid to touch that Resin turret and play with its internals.
Resin is a brittle PITA and just a small impact can snap off. And the existing turret rotation gear is held on by two screws into resin posts... UCK!

So I dreamed up this multi piece design for Dean's resin kits and decided to try it out on my KV-1. Success!

Oh. I am aware of the resin. I cringe every time I have to put another hole in the IS3. I have the turret sorted out now. My biggest worry now is figuring out how to attach the rotation motor to the upper hull. 
Cheers!