When to upgrade to metal parts

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HammerWihoutASickle
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When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by HammerWihoutASickle »

Hello all.
I was thinking of making some upgrades to a HL Leopard 2A6. I just wanted to know when would be a good time to change its plastic parts to metal. And, I mean parts like the idler and sprocket wheels, tracks, and road wheels. The tank itself is plastic, but I will be installing metal gearboxes with 390 motors soon.
I see some decent parts on the Taigen website, but if you have any suggestions for alternatives from different manufacturers and sellers, I'm open to them.

Thanks in advance.
Heng Long T-90SM
Heng Long Leopard 2A6
Heng Long Challenger 2 (credit to rctankmodified)


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dgsselkirk
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by dgsselkirk »

We in our club have a rule... drive it till it breaks... then upgrade! :D
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Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
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HammerWihoutASickle
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by HammerWihoutASickle »

dgsselkirk wrote:We in our club have a rule... drive it till it breaks... then upgrade! :D
A good rule to have. Simple.
Heng Long T-90SM
Heng Long Leopard 2A6
Heng Long Challenger 2 (credit to rctankmodified)


I ask too many questions.
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c.rainford73
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by c.rainford73 »

I agree. When I first entered the hobby is buy everything I could find metal for my first Panzer III and Tiger I. Now unless it's a scratch build or unique piece I keep it with the basics until needed. Electronics in the other hand are a totally different story.....

Though the stock t-90 has the newest version from Heng Long. Very nice

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Tanks alot.... :wave:
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Estnische
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by Estnische »

In addition to that good advice, Taigen metal lower hulls are handy for the quick release mechanism and no battery box and/or if the original lower hull shows signs of deforming or cracking under the strain.

Having said that, I don't know if there is one for the Leo.
Blackadder123
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by Blackadder123 »

Estnische wrote:In addition to that good advice, Taigen metal lower hulls are handy for the quick release mechanism and no battery box and/or if the original lower hull shows signs of deforming or cracking under the strain.

Having said that, I don't know if there is one for the Leo.

There is one for the Leo! However, it is completely made out of metal and I reckon it weighs a ton, so the drawback is that you're going to need really beefy motors to keep the power-weight ratio high enough for the model to drive scale!
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HammerWihoutASickle
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by HammerWihoutASickle »

c.rainford73 wrote:I agree. When I first entered the hobby is buy everything I could find metal for my first Panzer III and Tiger I. Now unless it's a scratch build or unique piece I keep it with the basics until needed. Electronics in the other hand are a totally different story.....

Though the stock t-90 has the newest version from Heng Long. Very niceImage

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The T-90 is alright. I hated the zinc gearbox and some of the parts that came with it. The airsoft gun is also a pain to deal with.
I actually like the older Leopard 2A6 better than this.

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Heng Long T-90SM
Heng Long Leopard 2A6
Heng Long Challenger 2 (credit to rctankmodified)


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Max-U52
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by Max-U52 »

I agree with the "drive it till it breaks" philosophy, but when it cones to metal there are some things that should be replaced as a group. If you add metal tracks you should go metal for sprocket and idler at the same time. I've always said that the first metal upgrade for any plastic tank should be steel gearboxes.
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Tiggr
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by Tiggr »

My take on your question is this - I buy mostly metal tanks and add the odd metal upgrade and new electrics. :thumbup:
Tiger 1 Early Taigen,
Tiger 1 Mid Torro,
Tiger 1 Late Taigen,
King Tiger Taigen (P)
Jagdtiger Torro
King Tiger (H)
King Tiger Torro (H)
Tiger 1 late Torro
Panther G Taigen
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Raminator
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Re: When to upgrade to metal parts

Post by Raminator »

Max-U52 wrote:I agree with the "drive it till it breaks" philosophy, but when it cones to metal there are some things that should be replaced as a group. If you add metal tracks you should go metal for sprocket and idler at the same time. I've always said that the first metal upgrade for any plastic tank should be steel gearboxes.
Yup, definitely. You can run plastic tracks on a metal drivetrain, but metal tracks on a plastic drivetrain won't last long!
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