Tamiya/HL hybrid build questions

[Blackadder123]

Hi all,

Just got myself a Tamiya Sherman lower hull second hand and am now trying to figure out how I can make it into a complete Sherman .... Current plan is to simply mount a Heng Long upper hull and turret, which seems fairly doable without any major modification..... (Anyone experienced otherwise?)

The lower hull doesn't come with gearboxes, however. Does a Heng Long gearbox fit in there? Especially the 4:1 Steel gearboxes. How is the Tamiya gearbox normally secured? Would fitting a HL gearbox require lengthy drilling? I might just opt for normal Tamiya gearboxes if that's the case.

If anyone has spare Tamiya sherman gearboxes lying around definitely let me know

Any tips welcomed

[tomhugill]

You'll need suitable stand offs for the Henglong gearboxes. If you can pick up some tamiya gearboxes it would be much easier. The top should fit without major mods, you'll need a method of securing the top on however.

[Blackadder123]

What exactly do you mean by stand offs? Are they easy to construct without any heavy machinery?
I think the Sherman hull might also be an older version seeing it has those clasps on the 4 corners... Are there any major physical differences between the old and new versions?

The top will be secured with trusty magnets, shouldn't be too difficult.

[Blackadder123]

After a bit of digging on the good ol internet I found someone who did something similar...

(original link http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-tank ... otors.html)

Looks like the chap cut off a strip of metal and drilled (?) holes to mount the gearbox. I gotta say it looks like a bit of a weird setup as there doesn't seem to be anything holding the shafts in place..... Could cause quite a bit of wobbling....

[Blackadder123]

By the way, does anyone know whether the Heng Long tracks fit the Tamiya?

[frankie]

Nope. The HL tracks are for the narrower vvss suspension..

[frankie]

...double post...

[Raminator]

Looks like the chap cut off a strip of metal and drilled (?) holes to mount the gearbox. I gotta say it looks like a bit of a weird setup as there doesn't seem to be anything holding the shafts in place..... Could cause quite a bit of wobbling....

There's nothing supporting the driveshafts in the stock Heng Long, either. There are a few aftermarket options for bearing/supports.

[Blackadder123]

Does anyone know if the old version of the lower hull is compatible with the new gearbox?

[tomhugill]

Does anyone know if the old version of the lower hull is compatible with the new gearbox?

If it's the DMD lower hull from the 90s yes, if it's the 70/80s vintage you'll need to drill new mounting holes