Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

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Met5
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Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Met5 »

After the Puma (a very intense but highly instructive year) we throw ourselves with renewed enthusiasm on a project that has been waiting for almost two years. It is an heirloom with more than 40 springs on its back. The fear of doing harm.

But then you make friends with it, the glue has become brittle, parts falling off. Needs treatment. Action must be taken. The merciful doctor killed the patient.

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Since those engines have practically never turned, let's see if they still work:



The grease has become a sticky clay. A couple of suspension wheels have play. We clean everything

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We apply molybdenum grease:

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We isolate the transmission compartment:

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Let's move on to the rolling train.

Each wheel is opened, cleaned, reassembled. The metal couplings are blocked with a drop of medium loctite (with the heat gun you can go back). In place of the Phillips head screws, cylindrical-head screws with hexagon socket are installed in the visible points.

Each element is locked with loctite 222.

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Transmission area isolation completed

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Reinforcement on the crack

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Suspension wheels ready to be re-loaded

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Removed the two sheets of diamond plate, they were unlikely. You could see for a kilometer that they were stuck together

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We remove this or leave it ??????

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We begin to reassemble the trolleys and ...

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The flaps of two trolleys split apart as I pulled the bolt over. I put everything away this morning and I start to understand why:

[url=https: //servimg.com/view/19377001/3332]Image[/url]

Third break ... In practice, the spring that creates the suspension opens the fins. Sometimes the material resists, you can see the cap that goes in effortlessly:

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On the other hand, when he strains, he puts pressure on them and breaks them. I start to disassemble:

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There is no shortage of surprises. But let's continue with the other carts:

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Another break

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Another break

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Every three parts you take apart you find two broken. The material did not hold up to the springs. Too weak ..

Yesterday I ordered the canted arms, the ones where the lugs are. They cost € 3 per couple. € 9 for spare parts and € 20 for shipping.

With today's news I wrote to Asiaam if by chance they also have horizontal arms.

If they are not available, I see no other solution than ordering the entire rolling train.

Horizontal arm:

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This Chinese crap really broke my browns.

Positive news first:





The result was obtained by gluing on the metal the net used for the naval to make the sails of the boats with cyanoacrylate. It is a very light tulle. Then we moved on to the painting of the mudguards and then to their sanding. The effect is satisfactory in my opinion.

It is not a pure diamond but to the eye it is much more satisfying than smooth sheet metal.

The part of the mudguard that has an imperfect finish will be covered by the zimmerit and I expect to have a realistic result in the end.

Subsequently installed the IBU, the new trolleys arrived from Asiaam and were installed. We had the tracks stretched and you could see that something was wrong:

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The other G. Box:

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The toothed wheel has an axis which is pressed into the hole made in the sheet:

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Oh well 40 years ago they built like this. We accept it. At this point, take the repair drawing (approved by the technical area) and off you go to get the materials.

Obviously the repair will also be applied to the other side

Very unworthy. Treatment:

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The unthreaded portion of a bolt acts as the shaft on which the brass gear idles. The threaded stem was naturally shortened after installation.

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The bolt head had to be reworked: the hull wall is damn close to the Gear Box:

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The change has also been applied to the other Gear Box. Fortunately, the slot on the hull allows an inclination such as to insert the two Gear Boxes complete with drive shafts:

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While we were with the engines in hand we improved the isolation of the positives that went dangerously and easily to mass.

On this installation:

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We would have liked to put a bumper. Unfortunately it is not possible:

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From the left the bearing cannot pass (there is the toothed wheel) neither from the right (there is the hexagon that engages the drive wheel). So let's make peace with our conscience by installing the cover that covers the hollow from the eyes:

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All that remains is to re-embark the tracks:





Excessively fast for my taste (it's a self-propelled not a rodeo rooster) I really like how it calibrates the movements at low speeds. Nice movement of the carriages, correct track tension.

Next test: off-road and the inclined plane ...
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tomhugill
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by tomhugill »

Hi met 5.

I have a solution to your horizontal arm issue.

I asked a friend to cad me up a replacement to 3d print. He did some using carbon fiber reinforce filement they worked great.

I can email you the STL file locally if you can get them printed locally or maybe one of the other printers on here could do it?

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Kaczor
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Kaczor »

Same issue with braking Chinesium suspension parts are in Asiatam and Hooben Elefants...
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tomhugill
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by tomhugill »

Kaczor wrote:Same issue with braking Chinesium suspension parts are in Asiatam and Hooben Elefants...
If you need the stls let me know

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Met5
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Met5 »

tomhugill wrote:Hi met 5.

I can email you the STL file locally if you can get them printed locally or maybe one of the other printers on here could do it?

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Thanks Tom, you are very kind.

I was able to get (from Asiatam) a complete kit to ship to me without the suspension wheels.

I put everything new and it looks like we're doing very well.

Now I'm struggling with the handling system of the 88. Imai had a very primitive way:

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Hooben & Asiatam solution are not good. I am in contact with an industrial design to have it built in 3D printing. But let's go for the long .....
Last edited by Met5 on Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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tomhugill
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by tomhugill »

Cool!

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Kaczor
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Kaczor »

tomhugill wrote:If you need the stls let me know
Thanks but my dad will help me making them from proper steel ;)
Met5
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Met5 »

Time passes quickly. The first test on the inclined plane led to a breakdown of a drive shaft.

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Repair (brazing) and new testing.

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After all, the tests are used for this: to bring out latent problems.

They can make us fall, but we know how to get up:

Climb the hill at reduced speed:



Anche se non sembra stiamo sui 40 gradi di inclinazione che vengono superati senza esitazione.

Sterzata sul terreno:


Salita alla velocità massima:
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Very determined work Mr Met, certainly worth the effort to get this old girl back to her glory years ;)
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
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Met5
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Re: Sd.kfz 184 Elefant Imai 1:16

Post by Met5 »

a very long job but which has led to good results





First installation, some adjustments to be made, some problems to be solved but in principle everything works.
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