Panzer III

[silversurfer1947]

I have recently taken possession of a Panzer III from the stable of Spartan Tracks. I had hoped to find a thread here which would give me some ideas/assistance for any work I might wish to do. There is a multiplicity of threads, but virtually none that are Panzer III related. As a starting point, I opened it up to fit a Clark board and rc receiver, as it had the original RCX18 inside. I have one connection left over - a 2 pin plug which was connected to the socket marked BR. Reading up, it stated that this was for the rear lights, but the tank does not have any. It seems to go to a micro switch at the back of the BB firing mechanism. Do I need to connect this, and, if so, where does it go on the Clark board?

My immediate observation is that there is not much room inside. The speaker and the old board were both stuck to the side of the hull with double sided tape. The temptation is to cut out the battery box, but I am worried about the effect this will have on the rigidity of the hull. Obviously, the bottom cover would be glued in place, but would the hull need some form of reinforcing plate?

I think that' enough questions to start with. No doubt there will be more to come. Pretty much all I have done previously is build tank from kits. I have swapped boards over, but chopping tanks about will be a new experience, so your forbearance and tolerance will be much appreciated.

[jarndice]

Richard, I am unable to offer much help except to say that many upgrade parts for the PZ4 are exactly the same for the PZ111, Cupola, Gearboxes, Radio aerial, Tracks, etc.
Good luck with the work,
Shaun.

[43rdRecceReg]

Hi, Richard if that's the two pin connector from the gun microswitch, then it connects to the C3 socket (5-pin) on the Clark TK-22..the bottom two pins of the five pin socket specifically (immediately above the Recoil and Elevation servo connectors in the diagram. It carries the signal that operates the gun sound/track recoil and BB firing mechanism. Hope this helps, Roy.

Tk-22 connector arrangement.

Clark TK-22.jpg (95.49 KiB) Viewed 5107 times

[silversurfer1947]

Thank you for that gem, Roy. It is my long term intention to turn it into an IR battler, but in the meantime, it will be good to have everything operational.

[Aussie]

Love the P3's , any pics to share?

[silversurfer1947]

Not yet, but there will be. Only collected it last Friday.

[philipat]

Good luck with the PzIII. It's a good one to upgrade. I did a build thread on here and RCUniverse for my PzIII Ausf M.

For the battery box, if you remove it, you could use some clear epoxy and pour it into the bottom. This will fill the recesses and stiffen the bottom without sacrificing the few precious millimeters inside the hull that you would lose if you try to stiffen it with a styrene plate or something like that. Space is at a premium in the PzIII as you have already noticed.

[silversurfer1947]

Good luck with the PzIII. It's a good one to upgrade. I did a build thread on here and RCUniverse for my PzIII Ausf M.

For the battery box, if you remove it, you could use some clear epoxy and pour it into the bottom. This will fill the recesses and stiffen the bottom without sacrificing the few precious millimeters inside the hull that you would lose if you try to stiffen it with a styrene plate or something like that. Space is at a premium in the PzIII as you have already noticed.

Thank you. I must have missed it when I trawled through the Heng Long thread. The RCUinverse thread looks just the job. It might be a while before I really get stuck in, as I really must finish all that I have already started first.

[silversurfer1947]

I've been occupied with other things, but this evening, I tried to put the top back on the tank, with the Clark board fitted. It don't fit! The battery box is definitely going to have to go. Looks like a trip to Hobbycraft for the epoxy resin tomorrow.

[silversurfer1947]

Just a couple of photos. The cause of the lop-sided appearance in the first photo is apparent in the second. As I said - not enough space for the Clark board. I am collecting bit and pieces which hopefully will enhance the tank, though how well I shall do in matching Spartan Track's paint job, only time will tell.

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20161207_120151.jpg (57.04 KiB) Viewed 5002 times