Already buying parts for the HL King Tiger i dont have yet..

[Marc780]

I bought this yesterday and these today



Plus a spray can of dunkelgelb color spray paint from a US hobby store called Hobbylinc.com, cost $20 shipped...I have an airbrush and compressor but i'd rather do the base in a rattle can rather then mixing the paint perhaps running out and having to mix another batch etc. I figure the red brown and the green will be easy enough to find even the local hobby shops have it.

Anyway, i was wondering a couple things- TRack tensioner device. A lot of people have posted how they made their own track tensioning devices but the pictures never tell the whole story of how you'd go about it.

Also is it worth while to fit roller bearings in the plastic wheels? How about just the idler wheel? And has anyone done it in a metal idler wheel?


I plan to stick with the plastic tracks, and probably the plastic wheels, to keep the weight of the model down. Will they work well with the steel sprockets?

[PainlessWolf]

Marc,
Buying parts for tanks that we don't have yet is perfectly normal behaviour. You are among people who understand. 20 dollars for a can of paint tho'? Do they not sell Mustard or Dk Mustard in the UK? The track tensioner is definitely used by guys who run the metal tracks, sprockets and idlers. If you are using the plastic tracks, you may get away without needing one. Just watch your tracks to see if there is sag in the idler or a tendency to throw the track. Bearings for the sprockets are used a lot but not sure about the road wheels. Metal sprockets will chew up your plastic tracks quicker and you will see wear faster but you should be fine for a while. Above all, have fun with your tank. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[Marc780]

Sorry wolf, i forgot to put in my profile, i am in the US Also, California. Two lone yanks good thing its a friendly forum, I have found nothing but good cheer and friendly replies in my short time here.

I am such a complete newb at this that i might do better to stop buying things right now before i know what the tank even looks like and how its designed! I hadnt thought the steel sprockets would chew up the plastic track i just thought, the plastic sprocket is bound to crack and chip off a tooth sooner or later and bought it (pretty sure i need the metal idler though).

As for mustard paint, i built hundreds of 1/35 scale German tanks in the 1970's going from brush to spray can to airbrush class in school and took years to finally handle an airbrush the way i wanted (fortunately its pretty much like riding a bicycle, for my purposes anyway). And naturally of all the yellow colors i tried the mustard-they all seem to come out too yellow, too bright or too different from the color i wanted. My memory could be faulty and you could be right about the mustard yellow but the stuff is on the way anyway-through all those models I stuck with tried and true sand yellow or armor yellow from testors on many a monogram PVKFW IV, a 1/24 panther and tiger and a bunch of others, wonder which will get here first, the tank or the parts? And we will see how this turns out. Thanks for your gracious comment.

[ALPHA]

Greetings Mark.... though Painless says it's good to purchase bits before acquiring the tank... I have to disagree lol (sorry painless).... especially with the Heng Long... If you just went with the deluxe model... it would have the metal drivers gearboxes idlers and tracks...what might be better to acquire ahead of time would be stuff like detail parts... and maybe another set of metal tracks or a tensioner ...as stock HL metal tracks on Axis tanks run a little tight

You being in Cali... you can get that deluxe model very inexpensively
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Control-1 ... 3a8cd80e21
normal mid priced Kt plastic gearboxes etc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-16-German-Kin ... 3a8cd94120

High end... metal everything ...as an added note ... I've dealt with these guys...they are awesome

Good luck... enjoy the adventure

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

Alpha,
Quite all right there, old bean. *chuckles* Marc, Alpha is right of course. I'm speaking from the detail bits and add-on department end of things. Tho', those black steel gearboxes will be a very useful add-on to your King Tiger as it is one of the biggest 1\16 RC models to come along. The tensioner as well if you do decide to go with metal tracks. Look up the Henn Tec unit. It really works and also doubles as a stiffener for the rear of the lower hull.. The designer, Guido, is a part of the Forum here. I understand about the paint now. If you absolutely have to have a particular color to make a paint scheme work, cost is sometimes not an object. I've bought, built and kindly had sent to me materials and models to demonstrate four different paint colors for my next build so I know where you are coming from.
Enjoy!
regards,
Painless

[jaw7620]

We all do it though,I recently bought a pile of bits off of fleabay and to my surprise I got some black steel gearboxes in a Tiger chassis which the seller had thrown in with lots of other odds and ends with a dismantled KT I wanted for its all for the price of £36.00 so the boxes were worth the price anyhow.

[Marc780]

Alpha thanks for the reply... naturally before I made a major purchase like this I went to maybe 50 sites for pricing and Google and searched maybe 300 times seemingly over the last month...I saw the first link but I didn't want to "bid", did not see the second link though...damnit arghh! That WOULD have been cheaper then everything I bought so far..got the KT, non steel, from hobbytron with a promo code cost $141 all. I am leery of ebay sellers or I probably would have got one of those you link to, $128 US is rock bottom for the HL tiger 2.
On the other hand I read several posts reiterating two things: the factory steel gearboxes are cheap pot metal, need to be run in, often don't work right and so just get the black steel ones because the cheapo factory steel gearboxes are the very cheapest bottom-of -the -barrel type of product (as you'd expect the factory to do).

What's more I read several posts re the steel tracks, and many r/c modellers/tankers consider the steel tracks not markedly superior and/or not worth it- due to increased weight, more drag on the gearbox, slightly more battery power use due to same, and more wear and tear on the sprockets and wheels. So based on that I just bought another set of the plastic tracks, for spares, possibly for turret detailing and since they were cheap.

[tiger tiger]

Hi marc , i was reading your post with interest as i have just bought a king tiger from ebay here in uk. Waltersons in conjuction with heng long do a premium king tiger, porsche turret, in dunkelgelb paint finish and comes with a walterson carrying bag, higher performance battery. I think waltersons is a usa company so you may find this special edition in the usa. i paid about £150 for it. ive not seen it here before and the ebay seller only had 1 left. i have since put in metal gearbox tracks drive and idler wheels. Anyway goodluck with your build.

[tiger tiger]

Yep i agree the best steel gearboxs to go for are the black steel ones the pot metal ones i wouldnt give the time of day to, the black steel ones are what i have fitted to several of my builds now.