I did the same thing with my T-34; I tried to save some money by getting Heng Long metal wheels for my Taigen chassis (they were AU$50 instead of about $100 in Euros for the Taigen ones), and they naturally had a completely different axle setup. I ended up having to buy a whole set of new bearings and make up axles to suit, probably at a cost of close to $50. Live and learn, eh?Estnische wrote:And so the first problem is encountered. When I ordered the Mato wheels, I didn’t read the fine print. They are meant for the Heng Long chassis, and come pre-assembled with cast swing arms instead of stub axles.
Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
- Raminator
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
Coming along in leaps and bounds, Brett. Is that neat quick-release system something you're planning to emulate here?
- Estnische
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
No Dan, my spare wheels are being moved to the sides of the casemate, and the trapezoidal toolbox is going on the back. No schurzen means I don't have the problems Herman is anticipating.
The frequent mis-match between Taigen, Mato and Heng Long parts is half the fun of a build. The unique position we have here in Australia with only two small but enthusiastic Heng Long parts suppliers means we can save some cash by utilising what they can supply with minor modification ( and a little metaphorical fencing wire).
The frequent mis-match between Taigen, Mato and Heng Long parts is half the fun of a build. The unique position we have here in Australia with only two small but enthusiastic Heng Long parts suppliers means we can save some cash by utilising what they can supply with minor modification ( and a little metaphorical fencing wire).
- Estnische
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
I moved onto attaching the HL upper hull, and unfortunately the Taigen hull latching system is not as neat as it is on the Tiger. Nevertheless, I went ahead with it rather than try and engineer something else.
The front bracket is similar though, and after screwing it into place, only a slight tweak was needed for it to slot in the the Taigen item at the front.
The rear clips however, are a bit awkward. Firstly, they come as three apparently unrelated pieces and a spring, with no instructions. I searched the forums for someone else’s experiences with no luck, and played with them for a while until I worked out some functional assembly. Even then, they don’t lock down the rear of the hull, merely hold it on place. No worse than magnets I suppose.
Next came the rear air intakes. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the Heng Long engine intakes have a textured top in place of the mesh covered opening and as a bonus, my Stug came fitted with a right side air intake fitted on the left side. Presumably the Heng Long assembly technician who stuck it in there knew from the other side how it was supposed to look, and figured no-one would notice.
Fortunately they are not glued in, being held by clips which were easily released.
I got hold of some Asiatam items with the correct openings and some photo etch mesh tops.
Having heard how good it is, I used some solder paste for the first time to stick the mesh to the frames.
I then sprayed them with some automotive etch primer, which happens to be a close match to the existing grey paint, and clipped them into place.
The front bracket is similar though, and after screwing it into place, only a slight tweak was needed for it to slot in the the Taigen item at the front.
The rear clips however, are a bit awkward. Firstly, they come as three apparently unrelated pieces and a spring, with no instructions. I searched the forums for someone else’s experiences with no luck, and played with them for a while until I worked out some functional assembly. Even then, they don’t lock down the rear of the hull, merely hold it on place. No worse than magnets I suppose.
Next came the rear air intakes. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the Heng Long engine intakes have a textured top in place of the mesh covered opening and as a bonus, my Stug came fitted with a right side air intake fitted on the left side. Presumably the Heng Long assembly technician who stuck it in there knew from the other side how it was supposed to look, and figured no-one would notice.
Fortunately they are not glued in, being held by clips which were easily released.
I got hold of some Asiatam items with the correct openings and some photo etch mesh tops.
Having heard how good it is, I used some solder paste for the first time to stick the mesh to the frames.
I then sprayed them with some automotive etch primer, which happens to be a close match to the existing grey paint, and clipped them into place.
- c.rainford73
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- Location: Connecticut USA
- HERMAN BIX
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
Those rear fasteners are supposed to engage into slots on the rear lower hull tub. I had to fit washers under mine to allow the spring loaded bar to properly slide into the slots.
They work ok but are very finicky & not user-friendly to release.
Having Schurzen on will make it worse.
Don’t forget to add the small rivets to the mesh screens!
They work ok but are very finicky & not user-friendly to release.
Having Schurzen on will make it worse.
Don’t forget to add the small rivets to the mesh screens!
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
Looks good so far.
Seems it was the same glue monkey built my Stug as your rear Convoy light and fire extinguisher are glued on backwards , as was mine.
Seems it was the same glue monkey built my Stug as your rear Convoy light and fire extinguisher are glued on backwards , as was mine.
Don't get your panties in a bunch , we still got hand weapons and the fifty!
- Raminator
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
It's probably hard to care too much about those sorts of things when you're making two bucks an hour.
The solder paste is fantastic, I've found that applying it with an old fine-point paintbrush is a convenient way to apply it finely. Interesting that you're heating it with an electric soldering iron, it's bound to be a more controllable way than using the blowtorch tip on a gas soldering iron like I did.
The solder paste is fantastic, I've found that applying it with an old fine-point paintbrush is a convenient way to apply it finely. Interesting that you're heating it with an electric soldering iron, it's bound to be a more controllable way than using the blowtorch tip on a gas soldering iron like I did.
- Estnische
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
I thought the same thing as both of you. Firstly, disappointed at the control over the assembly process and then I considered who this guy likely is -'a poorly paid factory worker'. What does he care about a toy tank?
Long as I get paid...
Long as I get paid...
- HERMAN BIX
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- Location: Gold Coast,Australia
Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
If we could get a direct Lind to the guy we could save a fortune AND create a wealthy peasant
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
- Estnische
- Warrant Officer 2nd Class
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Re: Sturmi - A Finnish Stug
Hi folks, its been a while. Change of jobs and lots of commuting means less time for hobbies.
Stugs have a plethora of hinged metal hatches available from Mato, so for no good reason, I went for the lot. At least it will give them a meaty feel and provide some options for the smoker refill and charging socket locations. Here are the front ones.They come with hinge pieces that need to be mounted.
And this is what they have to replace.
Its not as straightforward as the Tiger front hatches. Unfortunately, by the time you remove the plastic necessary to fit the metal hatches, it is apparent there is not enough left to mount the hinges.
The hinges have slop built in, so I knew I would need to locate them so they sat level and even. To align them vertically and horizontally, I decided to mount the hinges on a styrene sheet and remove the excess once the hatches were straight.
I traced the openings onto the plate and cut out the excess.
So far so good, from the outside. Using the styrene shows there never was enough thickness in the hull plastic to mount them to begin with.
Rather than fiddle about trying to get the supplied nuts to thread onto the pot-metal hinge mounts, I glued them with epoxy. But of course, nothing goes smoothly. The bottom of the hinge mounts stick through the plate and two in the front-centre interfere with the fit of the Taigen hull latch. I had to grind some of the latch away to clear the hinge mounts.
Stugs have a plethora of hinged metal hatches available from Mato, so for no good reason, I went for the lot. At least it will give them a meaty feel and provide some options for the smoker refill and charging socket locations. Here are the front ones.They come with hinge pieces that need to be mounted.
And this is what they have to replace.
Its not as straightforward as the Tiger front hatches. Unfortunately, by the time you remove the plastic necessary to fit the metal hatches, it is apparent there is not enough left to mount the hinges.
The hinges have slop built in, so I knew I would need to locate them so they sat level and even. To align them vertically and horizontally, I decided to mount the hinges on a styrene sheet and remove the excess once the hatches were straight.
I traced the openings onto the plate and cut out the excess.
So far so good, from the outside. Using the styrene shows there never was enough thickness in the hull plastic to mount them to begin with.
Rather than fiddle about trying to get the supplied nuts to thread onto the pot-metal hinge mounts, I glued them with epoxy. But of course, nothing goes smoothly. The bottom of the hinge mounts stick through the plate and two in the front-centre interfere with the fit of the Taigen hull latch. I had to grind some of the latch away to clear the hinge mounts.
Last edited by Estnische on Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.