Pitfalls of the Adventure

[ALPHA]

August ...what a busy month... suffice to say...this is one of the pitfalls of the RC Tankery Adventure

When released on the US market... the tank really got my attention... So though I thought I might wait for the IR version to arrive... against my better judgement I went out and purchased one from one of my favorite EBAY vendors... that would be Mideatech
I have purchased about four tanks from them already my Stug...Sherman...T34....KV1 ...all without a hitch...with the exception of the KV which got sent where it was supposed to ...so a postal mistake

This one however turned out to be a reeducation of process...as it was totally messed up.... It started when the tank was overdue....usually takes about a week or so to get here from Cali ...it took almost the entire month of August to get here ...When it finally arrived ...it was the cheaper model ...no metal

I was already in contact with Mideatech because of the slow delivery ...which changed to the tank being the wrong one ...I was very disappointed to say the least... in my mind I thought...how could a company change so drastically from exceptional to poor...I have to say ...I was at a loss for words

Turns out... Mideatech handled everything very professionally ...they tried their best to find out what was going on with the postage.... which I found out after the tank was delivered... to be PARCEL SELECT...not the usual FIRST CLASS...thing was...they would answer my messages to them very fast.....when I found the tank was the wrong one... they handled that just as fast.... sent out the proper parts to make the tank right...FIRST CLASS PRIORITY...to which in less than four days (they mailed it last thursday )... I got my parts yesterday

Installed tested ... she runs like a champ


The tank and the parts that were sent



the white metal gearboxes it was supposed to come with





the idler tracks and sprockets (metal) that the tank was supposed to come with

The tracks are super beefy.... heavier than the mato set... ...I was worried that the tracks might not have enough slack...as my experience with Heng Long German Tanks is that they run a little tight....the plastic set was very tight...had no slack at all...the metal tracks came with one pin removed... so there was something there to be concerned about



Turns out they are perfectly sized... the slack is just right...ran her through a bunch of maneuvers including speed spins...ran the chassis through one part of my torture test... to which it passed through with no problem

The Conclusion .... Mideatech does make mistakes like anyone else.... But the way they handled everything keeps them on top as an Excellent EBAY seller...even though I have to pay a little extra for shipping (Less than others)...because of their outstanding customer service ...I can still recommend them without batting an eye

KING TIGER 139 to 249 (I got mine for 209)...free ship on the continent...Can't beat that

HAPPY TANKING GENTS

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

Good Afternoon,
Good deal on the Shipper making things right, Alpha. ;o) You'll be really super pleased for years to come with your metal tracks and running gear if you will go a couple of steps further and fit an adjustable idler\ lower hull brace from Henntec and consider the metal suspension arms for this tank. I have the HL Porsche turret KT with the same layout lower hull as yours as far as running gear goes and made those mods back while I was putting the tank together initially. I goofed a little at the time and ordered the Asiatam suspension arms which required extra mods on my part but which worked great! once set up properly. In my defense, the tank was brand new out in the lineup and people were still somewhat confused as to whether the Matorro King Tiger's ( which predated it ) parts would work on the HL version. HL now has had the metal suspension arms specifically for their KT's available for some time now so no extra work beyond swapping them out with the plastic ones is needed. I even left the plastic road wheels on mine and they are doing great as well, held on with the grub screws used by the Asiatam arms. Looking forward to posts from you telling us how much fun this big Tiger is. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

Good Afternoon,
Good deal on the Shipper making things right, Alpha. ;o) You'll be really super pleased for years to come with your metal tracks and running gear if you will go a couple of steps further and fit an adjustable idler\ lower hull brace from Henntec and consider the metal suspension arms for this tank. I have the HL Porsche turret KT with the same layout lower hull as yours as far as running gear goes and made those mods back while I was putting the tank together initially. I goofed a little at the time and ordered the Asiatam suspension arms which required extra mods on my part but which worked great! once set up properly. In my defense, the tank was brand new out in the lineup and people were still somewhat confused as to whether the Matorro King Tiger's ( which predated it ) parts would work on the HL version. HL now has had the metal suspension arms specifically for their KT's available for some time now so no extra work beyond swapping them out with the plastic ones is needed. I even left the plastic road wheels on mine and they are doing great as well, held on with the grub screws used by the Asiatam arms. Looking forward to posts from you telling us how much fun this big Tiger is. ;o)
regards,
Painless

Hey there Painless... if the metal tracks had been too tight ...the Henntec was definitely on my mind...but as you can see in the photos... they ride pretty well...so what I might do is just put a crossmember across to prevent any inward movement...what I also plan to do with this one is to take the IR out of the Porsche turret and put it in this Herschel...I might also go to black steel......but that's way down the road as the white metal boxes are actually pretty nice ...Heng Long must have stepped up their process...because the last few of those have been very quiet ...as far as the suspension goes... I'll keep what you recommended in mind... right now I feel some stronger springs or clocking the stock ones on the front where the gearboxes are would be sufficient
You should have seen the chassis go Painless... plowed through foot long grass with ease it made me smile ....and glad I went out on the limb and got it

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

*smiles* Very Good!
Fun and smiles are what is this thing is supposed to be all about that we are all involved in. I forgot to mention, yes! HL did it up sweet. You should be able to clock the stock springs to a stronger setting in the holes that HL thoughtfully drilled for us. One of the first times I had seen that done was in the KT lower hull. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

*smiles* Very Good!
Fun and smiles are what is this thing is supposed to be all about that we are all involved in. I forgot to mention, yes! HL did it up sweet. You should be able to clock the stock springs to a stronger setting in the holes that HL thoughtfully drilled for us. One of the first times I had seen that done was in the KT lower hull. ;o)
regards,
Painless

Yup... I don't know if it was the relief... or just watching the chassis mow through that grass...maybe it was a mixture of both
Didn't do anything to the wheels yet...but it is one thing about Heng Longs that I do like...that being the ease of adjustment to the suspension

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

Did the necessary Tweeks to the suspension...adjusting the first three arms on each side....tested... Packed her back into her box for pending project
HENG LONG...also did one change to the electronics ...the eight pin connecter is now a thirteen pin... and the rotation motor unit can now be disconnected by just pulling a plug

HAPPY TANKING GENTS

ALPHA

[jackalope]

Alpha, I notice your wheels all seem to be missing their center caps did they come with the tank or not this version due to cost? Your tracks have a little more slack then mine do but mine came with a BUNCH of extra tracks sections and link pins so I guess I could make mine look like yours but once the upper hull is on you can't see the slack at all and mine runs great the way it is so IDK if I'd attempt to make them have more slack on mine.

Can't wait to see what all you do to this one!

[MichaelC]

ALPHA,

The tracks tension looks spot on. I wish my Taigen KT lower can look like that. I have been whacking my brain trying to figure out how to get the idler to go out and stay close to the ground. I even ordered another idler tensioner just to see if I can somehow extend it. Anyway, question is, the box is a Porsche turret KT but you got a Henschel turret. Is that correct and what you wanted ? Just curious.

MichaelC.

[ALPHA]

Alpha, I notice your wheels all seem to be missing their center caps did they come with the tank or not this version due to cost? Your tracks have a little more slack then mine do but mine came with a BUNCH of extra tracks sections and link pins so I guess I could make mine look like yours but once the upper hull is on you can't see the slack at all and mine runs great the way it is so IDK if I'd attempt to make them have more slack on mine.

Can't wait to see what all you do to this one!

Hi Jack.... Yeah...that's something Heng Long has been doing on all their tanks now....(on all the pro versions anyway)...that's to leave all the hub covers off instead of letting the glue monkey do it ...The track tension was something I worried about when getting the metal version... the usual is that they are set to the same length as the Plastic tracks.. (which are too tight).. thing is ...with the plastic tracks... included are spare links... the metal ...none....so that's the reason Painless mentioned the Henntec tensioner... Apparently Heng Long must have taken some comments...because now ... most of the Pro versions are tensioned quite nicely ...this one is perfect IMO...when "blocked" ( raised off the ground) there is about a 32th of an inch above the "guide tooth" to the bottom of the bogie ...which is how I set all my tracks....
Having the proper adjustment on the tracks ...to me ...is very important.....it relieves added stress on the gearbox and idlers ...so if you haven't done yours...you should really think about doing it...

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

ALPHA,

The tracks tension looks spot on. I wish my Taigen KT lower can look like that. I have been whacking my brain trying to figure out how to get the idler to go out and stay close to the ground. I even ordered another idler tensioner just to see if I can somehow extend it. Anyway, question is, the box is a Porsche turret KT but you got a Henschel turret. Is that correct and what you wanted ? Just curious.

MichaelC.

Yup that's the one thing about tensioners... most work on rotation... so even if you have that 180 degrees of adjustment... the arms of the tensioner only allow for so much..and unfortunately ...it's either up or down..lengthening the arm might help...but because of the limited "lock" points for it... it's a live and let live kind of deal...reason I usually try to play with the tracks first
Doesn't the Taigen have a tensioner built on it already ?

I do like these tracks though....super beefy in comparison to the Matos I that came with my Porsche turret King Tiger ...which is unusual as it is usually the opposite way around

The box?....yup it has a Porsche turreted version on the cover... but underneath there is a place where they check the model ... the Porsche has the same numerical designation... the Herschel is followed with an "A"...I does throw you off a little...but I guess Heng Long saw repackaging to not be cost effective

What got me was ...it's marked "infrared battle " ...nothing infrared about this one

You should have seen the chassis go Micheal... my test battery was kind of weak...so she wouldn't turn to go around the barrier of grass.... but even with low power ...she plowed straight through it... tearing some of the grass out as she hit the pavement where I did turn and bring her back

The test battery I used is about two years old...put a fast 15 charge in it....but it was a blast for the charge it could hold..(which was about 20 mins)

ALPHA