Yet Another GErman Newbie (YAGEN )

[yagen]

Hi everyone,

just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to this forum. I am a complete RC tank newbie from southern Germany (yes, Bavaria...) who earns his money in the IT. I am developing software solutions for medical products (a cpr unit, to be precise).

Started the RC tank hobby with a second hand Heng Long Panzer IV pro version with ball bullet turret. However, as this tank is using version 1 of the HL electronics, driving it is not much fun and, even though being a pro version with metal drivetrain, the overall metal percentage is painstakingly low.
So I opted for building a Panzer IV to my own specs (maybe I should have read some of the posts here before starting ).
I use the parts as listed below:
- Taigen metal lower hull
- HL plastic upper hull (couldn't find a metal one)
- metal turret with metal rotation gear
- swapped all hatches for movable metal ones (all switches, battery charger connection... should be accessible without opening the hull)
- LED firing simulation with metal recoil servo unit, metal cannon elevation gears, servo driven (no more 'wagging tail' functionality)
- 3:1 all steel gearbox, all shafts in ball bearings, 380 motors
- all metal Taigen / HL drivetrain with ball bearing drive shaft support

The electronics are not yet complete, but I planned to use
- sound module and motor controls by Beier electronics
- 14 channel Carson Reflex Stick remote control with Beier electronics multiswitch decoder
I also want to install a smoke generator compatible with the Beier electronics board.

I hope that I will be able to finish this project somewhere in the near future and will supply pictures once the model is presentable

I would appreciate any comments / hints.
So long,
Reinhard

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hello and welcome to the forum Reinhard

From what you describe, it looks like you are on the right track to a successful first build with your construction plans

There are many fans of Pz 3's and 4's on this forum, I have a Taigen Pz 4.
Sadly there are a few inaccuracies with the Heng Long and Taigen Pz's.

I'm sure someone would be more than happy to steer you in the right direction depending on how much you would like to do for historical accuracy.

Good luck with your tank.

Mick.

[Model Builder 4]

Hi Reinhard and welcome to the forum rc tanks have come a long way from the old days, apart from a few inaccuracies the newer tanks have good details and come with sound, smoke etc and are a great starting point if you choose to do a more comprehensive build. It sounds like you are off to an excellent start with your panzer iv, I really like these tanks myself and have a tamyia one waiting for me to paint and weather please add some pics of your build when you complete it, be really nice to see

Cheers, Lee.

[Max-U52]

Welcome aboard, Yagen. I spent some time in Ansbach, so your part of the world still holds a special place in my heart.

I recently started taking my tanks back to plastic turrets. Once they're painted you can't tell the difference, and i found the extra weight only caused problems, like warping the plastic upper hull and adding more drag in rotation (bearings can fix that). But with a tank as small as a PIV the metal turret might not be such a problem. I've never heard of the electronics you'll be using so I'll be watching with interest. I always like to learn new stuff.

Also, the 4:1 gearboxes fit the PIV so you might want to give that some thought. A lot of guys like the 4:1 better for better low speed control, but it's really a matter of personal preference. I've always preferred the dual ratio brass gearboxes for the smaller tanks, but they don't make those any more. They still have the "5:1" with steel gears and they actually did very, very well in my PIII, much the same size and weight, but I also haven't tried them in a metal hull so they might not be good with that much weight. Your original thought of the 3:1 should suit quite well, and I hope you'll get the ball bearing version.

Smoke generators can be as easy or complicated as you want to make them. One of our members designed an acoustic smoker that runs off engine sounds that's quite ingenious. Personally, I just run the $10 stock smokers in most tanks and resign myself to the fact that I'll have to replace a few each year. But I would say the most popular is the TARR series, very good little units in themselves. I don't use them because I can't seem to live without the pulsating effect you get from a piston smoker, and the steady stream always looked wrong to me. Here's one of my home modified smokers in a Jagdpanther, which can be difficult to get good effect because of the huge pipes.

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[yagen]

Hello again,

thanks to all of you for your kind reception to this forum. It's good to hear that my plans are not completely wrong.

As for historical accuracy: I have not yet made up my mind. I have read lots of information about the panzer iv and checked several historical photographs and pictures of museum tanks. My decision for now is to build the f2 (8/BW) version which is the base design for the HL model. It is already fitted with the long barrel 75mm pak 43 with muzzle break. The turret, so far as I could tell from several pictures, seems quite correct.
As for the upper hull, there seem to be some design flaws. However, it is hard to tell for me as even the historical photographs show different details even though they should all be f2 versions.
Currently I am painting my model in the german africa corps color scheme. However I use the so called 'Ostkette' tracks which are wider than the standard tracks and were fitted on later panzer iv versions as a standard. Unfortunately I have not yet been able to figure out if any panzer iv in Africa were ever fitted with these tracks.

Concerning the electronics: I actually do not know the modules myself. I have read a lot of forum entries and tests and finally decided to go for the beier modules as they seem to be best suited. They offer lots of potential and they can easily be mated with the motor control unit for synchronized engine sound.
I am not sure about the smoker yet. I agree that a piston smoker produces a more realistic effect especially in low rev situations. The downside is that piston smokers are usually bigger than the fan counterparts and often produce a lot of noise (at least the one in my HL model does).
The turret should not be too much of a problem with respect to drag. The turret as well as the turret ring are both fitted with ball bearings where they touch the hull. The weight might be a problem. If necessary, I will fit additional supports in the upper hull.
The gearboxes are actually an experiment. I was looking for something strong enough to move a heavy model while, at the same time, allowing to move really slow without stalling. According to the specifications, the motors are low speed (13000 rpm idle) and high torque - I will let you know if this is true once I have them installed.

I hope you are not too much bored my long stories.
See you soon,
Reinhard

[HERMAN BIX]

Welcome along Sir. Great to have another enthusiast from Germany.
The Ostketten tracks were a late entry into combat and I believe they post dated the Africa Corps defeat. I don’t reckon any desert machines would have had them fitted.

[43rdRecceReg]

Herzlich Willkommen, Reinhard!.
If you dig through the archives of this Forum, you will unearth lots of material on the Pz IV, as well as details of builds. Then, you will also notice that the PzIV has some devoted followers here. I'm rather partial to the Tamiya Pz IV, myself, and have posted a few threads on it...one a detailed build thread.
Do keep us up to date with your progress, and add pics when you can. A pic is worth a 1,000 words, as the old saying goes. But some here describe builds adequately without recourse to phoros..

[yagen]

Hi again,

thanks for the info about the 'Ostketten' tracks. I already had the bad feeling that they might be incorrect. As for the hint to delve deep into the forum - I already did so and will be doing so in the future. I already found loads of helpful information that will keep me from going the wrong direction. For example it is good to know that mixing drivetrain products from different manufacturers can be dangerous, especially for newbies.
Nonetheless, for the start I will keep it simple and add detail later, possibly even to future tanks. As for now, I am happy when I finally get the model running. I am still trying to figure out how to handle airbrush and numerous other little pitfalls in model building.

Regards
Reinhard

[jarndice]

Hi Reinhard, If you intend keeping the Taigen Body quick release I would suggest you do NOT cut out the Engine bay doors to fit working hinged metal doors because you will have to remove the body retaining legs as well and there will be nowhere for the Quick release to lock onto.

[Max-U52]

Nonetheless, for the start I will keep it simple and add detail later, possibly even to future tanks.

Did the man really say possibly? I love it! Yagen, my new friend, these things are like those potato chips, betcha can't eat just one! I don't know a single guy that still has only one tank, and I expect you'll add something before long. It's like an addiction, and we just can't help ourselves, so don't feel bad about it. A nice Panzer III to keep the IV company would be nice, or maybe even a Tiger to watch over him?