RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Pure excellence Herman. You are doing a great job!

Looking good so far Herman, you're doing a grand job

I'm a little puzzled over your roof flashing, it looks like the thickness of lead, but is far too shiny, especially for an old bit kicking around for years, any idea what it's made of? In the UK, we usually use lead or Zink that is very thin and not so flexible.

It’s aluminium.
Apparently used to form joins .
I don’t know it’s proper application but the stuff works for what I need

Though I'm far from building an example or the Antikythera Mechanism, each tank has its own challenges.
I've yet to get out & secure the material I feel is required to use as mounting arms for the blade, but in looking closely at what is going to be required, and the potential forces it is likely to see, even in this scale, I have had to rethink my initial design theory.
I was going to use brass C-channel soldered back to back to form an I-beam at roughly equivalent to that of a 4 inch profile, but that doesnt seem big enough.
Going bigger (I've mocked a beam up out of cardboard) seems just way too big & out of scale.
Then I reminded myself that the mounting arms are going on to plastic, and any force vectors will be transferred into the body.
That realisation has me kicking myself for not factoring in and reinforcing the inner hull accordingly while I had it all cut up

At times, I really do "step on my own doodle while wearing golf shoes"

HERMAN BIX wrote:It’s aluminium.
Apparently used to form joins .
I don’t know it’s proper application but the stuff works for what I need

Ah, ok, thank you. We usually bend overlaps or weld the lead over here to form joints.

HERMAN BIX wrote: At times, I really do "step on my own doodle while wearing golf shoes"

I'll bet that smarts a mite!

Barry

Yeah !, it certainly does

What a show.....................a Kiwi living in Australia, building a German tank, drinking Mexican beer & American Whiskey, watching Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, French and God knows where else race 650HP V8 Supercars around a mountain track that was designed for farm vehicles...........
WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO BATHURST

I got a few moments before the qualifying session to get the template made for the blade on this "D9"
Using the pictures for reference on height, then cutting the cardboard to suit, trialing a few angles & securing it together with Tamiya masking tape, seems to look about right.
The angled section that runs along the top edge of the blade is yet to be made, but will not be overly difficult.
I plan to solder the lot together using the reinforcing plates quite visible in the period pics to stiffen and beef up the structure.
The inside of the blade can then be tested for various mounting methods to join the blade to the tank.

I got some awful metal wheels for it, Mato I think, with a really pronounced lip of the inside of the rim.
I took to it with a die grinder & carbide burr & removed it.
Still no Tamiya smooth dish rims, but a bit better than they were.

HERMAN BIX wrote: What a show.....................a Kiwi living in Australia, building a German tank, drinking Mexican beer & American Whiskey, watching Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, French and God knows where else race 650HP V8 Supercars around a mountain track that was designed for farm vehicles...........
WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO BATHURST

A real man of the world you are!

Rugby world cup has absorbed a lot of my focus recently.
Basking in the glow of an All Black victory, I got the 'dozer blade almost fully formed out of brass.
The cardboard template worked a treat and I had only minor trimming to do before using solder paste to secure each part.
I roughed up the mating surfaces with a sanding drum on my Ryobi tool to ensure maximum 'keying' for the solder.
Bunged on the paste and hit each section with my Brulee burner.
The top angle section will be done soon.

I did deviate from the picture a wee bit by making the centre plate bigger, just to add further assurance that the thing can take a hit without failing.
Once I settle on the arm material, I will get the mount supporting frame on the back done.

Now the distraction(and depression) of sport has reduced(not the depression bit) I can get on with the dozer.
Found a very small stash of brass C-channel in a far away hobby shop, bundled the family into the car under the pretense of a "day out for a drive" and sauntered off to secure said brass material.
Using new solder paste to bond two lengths back to back to give me a profile of 8mm web, & 6mm top flange in the shape of an 'I'-beam.
Each end was shaped to allow the mounts to have limited travel up & down.
Scale length of 1050mm long X 100mm wide top flange X 128mm high centre web.
Enough strength to cope with the load I reckon.
I've still to do the lower mounts that will attach to the final drive housings on the lower glacis plate.
These I think I will screw directly into the inside of the final drive housings to ensure as much strength as possible with an all plastic hull structure.
Of course having a Taigen metal lower hull would be much betterer !
Small steps in a forward direction.................