Is it possible to fit these Tiger idler tensioners

[Marc780]

to a Heng long Tiger 1 with metal idler wheels? I'm awaiting metal tracks and figure i am going to need some means to tension the tracks.

As of now i use two bolts with washers, long spacer and insert nut, the view is from top down rearl hull is at the bottom-


I saw these track tensioner parts on Imex. They say they're for Taigen and no doubt, meant for a different hull then i have. I want to do it low buck, H I'm wondering if its possible to make the ones in this picture work?



Has anyone done something like this using these parts? I can't even picture how the parts would go together. Making a torsion bar would be easy enough, i think, but any hints or pictures on how these parts are supposed to work would be very helpful...

[ALPHA]

I have a similar set of those on my F2 Panzer... they don't offer that much adjustment... playing with the links is a better option...or the Hentek of course...but those run about 70 US with ship

ALPHA

[scalawag]

Hi Mark,

It would certainly be better to have adjustable idlers with metal tracks fitted.

I think those are just spare parts for one of these idler adjusters:

http://www.rctank.de/HQ-Tiger-I-Track-T ... ew-version

The L shaped pieces do break in use from time to time (I sheared one off 2 weeks ago), hence the spares being available.
I don't think you would be able to fit them on their own, without the rest of the parts. These tentioners are primarily designed for use with the Taigen metal hull.

Asiatam used to make an adjuster which looked similar to these spare parts which were designed for use in the plastic hull and a reasonable price:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asiatam-Tiger ... 0992064887

but I have not seen a set of them for sale for a while, and as ALPHA has pointed out their function is quite limited. I think they may well be out of production. I used to have a set of these in my plastic hull but removed them, so not cheaper in the long run.

For a plastic hull H/L Tiger I would recommend the HennTech Idler adjusters. That is what I have on mine now.

http://www.rctank.de/HQ-Tiger-I-Track-Tensioning-System

These are relatively easy to fit, have good adjustment, and are rock solid in use.

[Marc780]

Gentlemen thanks very much for all your help. Never ceases to amaze me just how fast people here are willing to help! So unlike the rest of our mad world it's a breath of fresh air here and often.

When the metal tracks get here I will see how they work first, if and when i have problems, I decided I must be going to have to spring for the Henntec. I thought of and came up with a few of my usual hare-brained ideas on how to make a self-tensioner, but after 3 tanks and too much money spent on similar-mad-scientist type "mods" I now realize the inevitable conclusion- you always wind up spending MORE and for almost always unsatisfactory results...the Asiatam tensioner is indeed nowhere to be found anywhere and probably would cost the same anyway. Sticking with the regular old HL plastic hull the Henntec is the only way to go...perhaps though i should just get a Taigen lower hull with the tensioner already there, the prices are disturbingly close...

[scalawag]

The metal hull is always an option, and as you say is close to the price of the tensioner. You would probably need to include the price of a new set of road wheel axles too, as the swing arms on the metal hull have a different fixing to the plastic ones.

The HennTech is expensive, but it is a very well engineered solution the track tensioning.

[ALPHA]

I agree with Scalawag Mark... you know the old saying... Don't mess with the rest...stick with the best.... I would say that applies to the Henntek .....it isn't the prettiest thing... but I do think it is the strongest and best designed ...but I will also say... I didn't need a tensioner on my Tiger...The Panzer III yeah that one really needs it

ALPHA

[scalawag]

Guido Henn is a member here I think.

All his HennTech products are very well engineered and made, not like the lower quality parts which are coming out of China . These tensioners will not only give you track tension adjustment that works and stays put when set, they will also stiffen up the rear of the hull nicely too.

I agree with ALPHA that it is probably not absolutely essential to have a tensioner fitted, and a degree of coarse adjustment can be had by adding or removing links.
However having had them fitted now for a while, I don't think I would be without. They allow for that fine adjustment in track tension which will sometimes make a difference in reliability.

[MichaelC]

The metal hull is always an option, and as you say is close to the price of the tensioner. You would probably need to include the price of a new set of road wheel axles too, as the swing arms on the metal hull have a different fixing to the plastic ones.

The HennTech is expensive, but it is a very well engineered solution the track tensioning.

The Taigen metal hull comes with its own swing arms, and has all the pieces needed for the plastic wheels from the HL. I think it is meant to be a one stop replacement of the HL lower hull so you shouldn't have to buy anything else. I have converted 3 of them to the Taigen hull, but I had metal wheels already so can't say how the plastic ones would fit.

Having recently bought a used tank with HennTec tensioner installed I was a little disappointed with it. It just doesn't seem to stay tight. I might have gotten it right this last try, but will find out this weekend when I will be running the tank again. The tensioner that comes with the Taigen metal hull is quite elaborate and it does work, but the problem is that I never really end up using it because if you adjust it to tighten it, it pulls the idler way higher than the real thing, which to me destroys the look. I have the same issue with the Taigen KT metal hull as well. They are all really good hulls, but because I want the low idler look, they are always set to the lowest setting and I ended up using track links to make the final adjustment. It is more difficult with the King Tiger since it has two piece links so I am trying to find a solution to that right now, either by extending the idler mount so even at a high setting it is still low to the ground (i.e. extend out backwards rather then upwards).

I do have a spare set that I will sell for cheap if you like. It is design for HL hull. Send me a PM if you are interested.

imagesK27CXUJJ.jpg (4.54 KiB) Viewed 2282 times

And it mounts like this:

untitled.png (71.53 KiB) Viewed 2282 times

MichaelC.