Asiatam's Panzer 4 hull

[mitchell]

Thinking of getting this but wanted to check with you guys first. Its the all aluminium tub and what looks like wishbone suspension. Not 100% sure if it comes pre-assembled but i does look pretty nice

Are there any issues with it?

[Rad_Schuhart]

It does not come pre assembled. Its a bit heavy, the gearboxes makes a lot of noise unless you put some silicone washers between the motors and the hull, the suspension is complete rubbish and the black bar for attaching the upper hull does not work due to is bad designed.

But I have one and I love it, lol.

[jarndice]

Hi, Rads hull came with gearboxes, Mine did not,
The overall construction is pretty good but YOU MUST DRY RUN EVERY PART,
I have had to drill out most of the predrilled holes and the fixtures and fittings are almost all in need of work with a file or a pin vise,
The nuts, washers and screws are provided and yet I find I am sourcing most of these items from my own spares box,
The assembly instructions are on a "CD" and are pretty unhelpful, I downloaded TAMIYAS PZ4 PDF and it is very much the same hull except for the suspension and the TAMIYA PDF is much more useful,
The track tensioners that ASIATAM provide are puny devises and from previous experience not much use which is why I have tapped a thread through the track tensioner housings and fitted some better engineered examples from "AXELS", It is an easy mod and well worth doing,
The gearbox mount is a nice piece of engineering, the screws to hold it in place go in from the Bottom not the top and fitting Silicone or nylon washers to isolate the mount from the hull is a very good idea.
Don't forget before painting the hull to paint it with metal primer first.
If you have not yet got one do be aware that they only release a few each month so you have to watch their website and get your order in quickly.
Shaun.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Lol I did not get the cd with instructions but I donwloaded it somewhere and it was not very clear... But dont worry, you dont need it, it doesnt have too many bits.

Stupid of me I forgot to prime the panzer and I prepainted it with spray. Is there anything I should do?

[mitchell]

Right guys, just as well I checked then. I think I'll still get one. I mean theres nothing else really on the market is there. At least now I'm prepared for a bit of work. Generally Asiatam stuff is well engineered and the materials are usually quite nice, maybe the QC is a little lacking on this one.

Where are you getting your upper hulls and turrets? Metal preferably

[Rad_Schuhart]

There is no metal upper hull and turret for the panzer Iv...

[jarndice]

If you go to
www.heng-long-panzer.de
they are selling Panzer 4 body and Turret complete with all wiring for 35 Euros.
Shaun.

[mitchell]

There is no metal upper hull and turret for the panzer Iv...

I haven't saw any. Its hard to beleive that theres not a high enough demand

[mitchell]

If you go to
http://www.heng-long-panzer.de
they are selling Panzer 4 body and Turret complete with all wiring for 35 Euros.
Shaun.

Yeah i've had a mooch around the HL site, looks like i might have to go down the all plastic upper, cheers bud

[deathrawt]

I have one too and it was a real pain to get it together, I literally had to file and grind and hand fit every part in order to get it assembled. And like was said earlier the hull attachment bar does not work. On my example the plate that hooks the front of the hull to the chassis doesn't work either, it hits the gearboxes and cannot be used. Once its together its a nice looking chassis and the drive sprockets on the front are in the right place (not too low) and the return rollers are properly positioned too