Pale's Tamiya KT

[palepainter]

So, I picked this Tamiya locally. A pretty clean 25 year old tank. Very little wear on the unit. I am in the process of converting it into an IR battler with elevation and recoil, which it lacks in it's present condition. It also has the clutch drive motors, but am hoping to keep them in tact, just haven't figured out the combination I am looking for in regards to electronics.

I started off by getting into the upper hull and modifying the assembly for a recoil barrel. I used a section of fiberglass fishing rod for the barrel, along with a 6mm ID aluminum airsoft barrel for the main support through the mantle. The original barrel was cut down and a section was glued around the fishing rod assembly after dimensions were sanded to working specs. A bit tricky, trying to keep it all working with the Tamiya set up. The toughest part was dismantling all of the glued up assembly and still having something left over to work with. I will be using a servo elevation and recoil.

I also opened up the hatches and hinged them for better access and future IR sensors and lights. Waiting on a few electronics for the M48m, until that arrives, I will keep attacking this beast.

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[PainlessWolf]

Good evening,
Pale, great start on the KT! You're working with one of the best brands out there and with parts trees from the modern version + scratch should be able to turn this one into a real monster.
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

Looks like a fun one Pale ....Man what kind of glue did the previous owner use????????????...that's some serious melt

ALPHA

[palepainter]

Good evening,
Pale, great start on the KT! You're working with one of the best brands out there and with parts trees from the modern version + scratch should be able to turn this one into a real monster.
regards,
Painless

Thanks Painless,
It is a real nice engineering marvel. Love the way it is mechanically put together. As with all of these, trying to keep the cost down will be the challenge.

Pale

[palepainter]

Looks like a fun one Pale ....Man what kind of glue did the previous owner use????????????...that's some serious melt

ALPHA

Yes Alpha, this glue had some melting power. It was particularly difficult to get the front of the turret separated from the rest of it so I could access the barrel and pivot point. The upside with this one is, the glue actually works compared to the trouble I had with the 21st century stuff on the M48.

Pale

[palepainter]

This evening I tacked a few more small chores on the KT. First I fabbed up a spring loaded mechanism for the commander hatch. Worked out pretty good. Not quite the asiatam unit, but not bad for free. Then I started shaving down the side embossments that Tamiya provided for mounting the tracks to the sides of the turret. I also found a Tiger machine gun with LED that I installed to the front glacis plate. Then I took some brass and recreated the handles after removing the molded versions on the tank.

As I remove this upper hull and lower hull, I have been contemplating how to seal up the compartment better as this has no sponsoons over the tracks. Just an open space over the tracks into the upper hull. I can not imagine that makes for easy motor upkeep.

Pale

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[tomhugill]

Looks good so far! Is she a full option model or are you updating an older one? Btw some amazing guitars on your site (I'll get shot but far cooler than tanks !!!)

[palepainter]

Looks good so far! Is she a full option model or are you updating an older one? Btw some amazing guitars on your site (I'll get shot but far cooler than tanks !!!)

HEHEE. Thanks Tom. You can see more of the guitars at http://www.learnguitars.com

This KT is an older Tamiya with all the vintage electronics, no recoil or elevation. It is getting a complete overhaul.

Pale

[palepainter]

In between wiring adventures on the M48 I have been making headway on some of the mod on my Tamiya KT. I have been creating access points for switches, charge ports and battle units. I decided to try the welds with melted styrene. I honestly like it better.

Opening up the rear engine hatch was pretty straight forward, but the hinges were a bit awkward. But after putting the coffee aside and picking up my magnifiers, I got them handled.

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[HERMAN BIX]

I do all my plate-cut marks and welds where possible by melting, or hot-scoring.
Seems to be a more controlled method for me anyway.

If I may be so bold as to suggest lowering the rear anti-aircraft armour plate height so the front set will be just cleared by the turret overhang at the same height and adding the debris mesh. Could be an optical illusion and camera angle, but the rears just seem a bit high.

The sponsons being open over the track must surely as you say be a motor-killer. The H/L version of this with the production turret is closed in, but to remove the mud guards is a hell of a mission as the top of the guard is moulded to the side of the hull. Once you cut the guard off, the hull is breached.............goods and bads on all brands I suppose

This "back-to-the -future" build is already shaping up to be an epic.................