Trumpeter/Taigen hybrid T-34/76 (obr. 1942 model)

[Raminator]

Long time, no update. I've had this nasty chest infection that's been dragging on. It's hard to cut a straight line when you're coughing your guts up!

While waiting for some servos to arrive, I put in some little neodymium magnets to hold the upper and lower hull halves together. They're only 3 mm in diameter and 1 mm thick, but they can support the upper hull completely if you hold the tank upside-down. Really impressive.

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Once the servos turned up, I set them up for elevation and recoil. Since I'm using an IBU2 base, I've got the elevation hooked up to a spare channel on the Tx/Rx until I can figure something else out.

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If I've learned anything from Gary, it's that a video is worth a thousand pictures:

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[Raminator]

Finally got the turret working electrically and mechanically. It's taken longer than it should have, but I wasn't keen on using a knife or soldering iron with coughing fits; I'm accident-prone enough at the best of times.

Took a bit of rewiring to get everything fit into the slip ring using bits and pieces of HL, Taigen and custom electronics:

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One thing I was pretty pleased about was fitting the IBU2's status LED into the commander's periscope. Unfortunately I put the pins into the wrong positions of the socket on the test run and blew it up... after gluing the LED into the periscope and cementing the periscope to the turret.

At least it looks like a lens.

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Now that the turret's taken care of (besides the IR apple and LED transmitter), I'm free to move on to finishing the exterior construction and onto detailing. Assuming all goes well, I should have a video of it driving and shooting tomorrow.

[Raminator]

Been very busy with work lately, so I've only had the time to do little bits and pieces here and there. A few things that I've managed to get done over the last few weeks:

Louvres and hatches and grills, oh my.

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I've found myself picking the tank up with my thumb close to the top of the rear hull, so I've been reinforcing the Trumpeter bits that have the structural integrity of wet cake:

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Made a reflector for the headlight out of 0.5 mm aluminium and managed to fit a tiny SMD LED in there.

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I think the bulb could do with a wash of thinned yellow or brown paint to make it look like an old-timey lightbulb.

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Got some 3D-printed scalloped exhausts from Shapeways to match the Factory 183 standard, textured with thinned Tamiya putty and Mr Surfacer 500. I've drilled the hull out from behind to accept tubing from the Tarr smoker.

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On that note, the output from the Tarr is a bit lame. I've seen YouTube videos where they're pumping out thick white smoke, but even with the throttle opened up after warming up for five minutes, I'm getting hardly anything. How much fluid should be in the reservoir, and is the IBU2 capable of pushing enough voltage?

[wibblywobbly]

Turret rotation motors can be mounted very securely using 3M automotive double sided trim tape, this is what I use and it works very well.

I wish I had known that 8 years ago!!

I am watching this build with interest, it's all 'very' neat and tidy, and that Trumpeter kit is top notch quality. Can't wait to see it completed.

[HERMAN BIX]

(groans) the headlight is perfect.................could have used that a couple of months ago.
Tight & tidy work Mr Raminator

[Markocaster]

Brilliant work

[Raminator]

Cheers for the kind words guys, I appreciate the encouragement. Not much happening lately; I was making good progress for a few days until I tried mounting a servo to control the hull DT. By dumb luck or bad management, I managed to mount it directly above the MG's pivot point. The problem is the servo tries to rotate through 90°, but the MG can only rotate through 40° or so; and the servo's strong enough to rip the MG mounting to shreds. After four evenings of mathematics and ever more complicated linkages, I got the shits and gave up. I finally worked up the courage to get back to it tonight.

Headlight mounted and the SMD LED cables run through a little conduit I made out of 1/16" stainless tubing, drilled out to fit. I used offcuts of the same cable to wire up the horn, too.

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The offending DT machine gun. It pivots side-to-side fine, and when I get the enthusiasm back, I'll find another way to mount the servo.

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Made up the coaxial DT out of the same stainless tubing as the headlight conduit.

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All the insides wired up and in-place, circuit boards mounted with little M3 bolts. The driver's hatch is fully-detailed and fully-functional, the gas piston works and everything. Next job will be moving the servo mount to somewhere it'll actually work.

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One thing I've been wondering about though, and I'd appreciate some advice; how much wear and tear and damage can I expect during normal running (and/or crashing)? I'm looking to do the handrails next, but I don't think the thin plastic will hold up to being bumped or accidentally grabbed. The fenders aren't much better either. Does it make more sense to make them out of metal instead?

[HERMAN BIX]

You'll find that you are pretty careful when you run it.
I hit a bridge with my Zu Fuss and deflected one of my rockets!
Quick repair and on it went.
I also blew a track off my STuG III after a rock got caught in the idler. It flew off & took my schurzen plates and mounts with it.
Again, repairs made & on it went.

They are quite sturdy really.
Anything inboard of the guard line should be fine, the guards themselves provide a bit of deflection from walls and bridges !

[RobW]

I rolled a HL T34 off Grantham's small bridge with no damage on my first trip out; but also no detail to knock off. Anything inboard of the track guards ought to be OK: the only evidence of my driving are a few scrapes on the front lower hull from bridge parapets etc. You may need to be careful taking the top off for battery changes though.

[Raminator]

Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind. I'll go ahead with the kit parts for now and repair/replace them if/when I crash and break them.

After three quarters of an hour, I managed to get the servo mount off the front glacis plate with minimal damage. Moved it to the other side and made up a linkage to suit.

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I should have done this to begin with, stubbornness be damned.

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