Re: Tamiya 1/35 M113 APC motorized 1974 Vintage >RRC
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:35 am
I had two M113 APC models in process when I started this thread and today I finally made some progress on APC #2. I got some money and time in that first one as that metal gearbox cost $90. I know that sounds like a lot and it is but that is the reason this model is so smooth is because of that High Q gearbox. Also it allows very low power requirements as you can see at the bottom of page 1 of this thread.
This one has a gearbox from a 1/64 scale Tiger that I parted out for this project. The radio system in that Tiger did not age well and decided it was time recycle its gearbox into something else....M113 APC #2.
APC #1 has twin 140-RH Mabuchi motors which are have a round shape and are physically larger than the 130 motors in APC #2.
Testing of APC #2 in progress now tuning the setup. The track tension on #2 is much higher which results in more current draw. this is required for those drive sprockets to work properly with the stock Tamiya tracks.
I had to shorten both tracks by 2 links to get the proper tension. Normally the gearbox slides forward\backward to adjust tension but this gearbox does not have that feature. It is a lot easier to use a stock Tamiya gearbox in this APC but they are very expensive. To get one you have to buy a vintage Tamiya motorized remote control kit.
This particular Tamiya model was available as a "motorized" kit (very rare) but not as a dual motor remote control kit. I have a SM motorized gearbox that will fit this APC but I prefer dual motor control. After looking at these SM gearboxes, I feel it would be very difficult to convert one to DM.
This one has a gearbox from a 1/64 scale Tiger that I parted out for this project. The radio system in that Tiger did not age well and decided it was time recycle its gearbox into something else....M113 APC #2.
APC #1 has twin 140-RH Mabuchi motors which are have a round shape and are physically larger than the 130 motors in APC #2.
Testing of APC #2 in progress now tuning the setup. The track tension on #2 is much higher which results in more current draw. this is required for those drive sprockets to work properly with the stock Tamiya tracks.
I had to shorten both tracks by 2 links to get the proper tension. Normally the gearbox slides forward\backward to adjust tension but this gearbox does not have that feature. It is a lot easier to use a stock Tamiya gearbox in this APC but they are very expensive. To get one you have to buy a vintage Tamiya motorized remote control kit.
This particular Tamiya model was available as a "motorized" kit (very rare) but not as a dual motor remote control kit. I have a SM motorized gearbox that will fit this APC but I prefer dual motor control. After looking at these SM gearboxes, I feel it would be very difficult to convert one to DM.
