Challenger 2 - for me, not you!

[BarryC]

I like what you've done with the bearing for the turret.

Please share how you've accomplished it!

Barry

[jimbo_wa]

I like what you've done with the bearing for the turret.

Please share how you've accomplished it!

Barry

Thanks Barry, it was pretty simple really.

Using an eyeball mk1, drill 3mm holes at approx 120 degree increments around the turret ring. File out with a 3mm square file into a slot allowing a 3x5x2mm bearing to fit comfortably. Take a 1.6mm drill in a pin vice and using eyeball mk1 again, drill in the middle of the slot wherever there’s some plastic to eat into. Then take an appropriate 2mm screw and tap carefully into the drilled hole and the centre of the bearing.

Robert is your proverbial!

As the turret ring is now a couple of mm proud of the hull, I used some spacers when screwing in the lower turret to ensure there’s minimal ‘wobble’.

Seems solid enough and gravity’s helping too!


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[43rdRecceReg]

Clear evidence of an OCD streak there, Jimbo, I'm afraid The spotless environment that your tank is presented in: the inescapable neatness, and arranged symmetries, nay even the perfectly lit pics, say much about the quality of your work... (and your nature too, quite possibly:D ). Quite where you get the idea that everyone else produces much neater, and blemish-free, work puzzles me. Your workspace resembles one of the labs they assemble satellites in, incidentally.
You needn't be so modest about your offerings either. They're certainly top drawer, I'd say- and I expect I'm not alone in that..

[Jimster]

I’ll second that opinion and go further by saying that you inspire me to think about getting a modern tank. Great work!

[jimbo_wa]

Thanks Roy - probably guilty as charged and you're just one of those pesky blemish-free workers! My workspace is in the spare room, it's *GOT* to be kept tidy

The camera work is from a phone (Google Pixel 2), but I do take the time to tweak and crop for best effect.

We're all always learning and this is a build I'm really enjoying - it was the cheapest to purchase of all my tanks, but the amount of DKLM stuff going into it is getting a bit pricey (I blame Dave and Julie at Forgebear - preying on the weak of heart!!)

Jimster, your Tiger I build is also brilliant - the attention to detail and research inspired this.

The Tankograd In Detail book has been invaluable, as well as Daz and all the other Challenger 2 builds on here - everyone should give themselves a pat on the back!

[BarryC]

I like what you've done with the bearing for the turret.

Please share how you've accomplished it!

Barry

Thanks Barry, it was pretty simple really.

Thanks,

I'm looking to do something to reduce the drag and wobble on my Abrams. With all the brass work on the turret it is heavy. I have been pondering using the Tamiya Abrams turret ring but have not been able to see a clear way to adapt it to the HL upper hull. So your approach may be my best bet!

Barry

[jimbo_wa]

Thanks,

I'm looking to do something to reduce the drag and wobble on my Abrams. With all the brass work on the turret it is heavy. I have been pondering using the Tamiya Abrams turret ring but have do been able to see a clear way to adapt it to the HL upper hull. So your approach may be my best bet!

Barry

Just seen this as an option on FarceBook: http://rctank.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... wrapheader

That'll deffo take out any wobble!

[tomhugill]

Hey folks, thanks to Jim I've been lucky enough to obtain this lovely build with hopes of completing the amazing work hes already undertaken.

First order of business (as I've learnt the hard way) is making sure she runs wel before continuing with the detailing and cosmetic work (not that jim left me much to do!).

The first order of business was beefing up the gearboxes. The pot metal ones weren't going to cut it. I'm a big fan of the DKLM PDSGB. I've used them in my centurion, king tiger and chieftain. Since selling the centurion I was left without a fast gearbox for the chieftain. So it was the logical choice to get another base and gearbox for the chally.

Installation was straight forward. Whilst the henglong standoffs dont match the holes perfectly I was able to repurpose some bits and drill into the resin hull fill where required. The added advantage of this setup is that it also adds another solid plate to where the gearboxes are which acts as a brace stiffening the lower hull further. I had to remove one of the cross braces to allow the gearbox to slide in but this didnt have much of an adverse effect. I can add it back in further down the hull if needed later. At this stage I also added electrics in the form of a clark tk60 and wired it up. (With the exception of the rear lights). I bought the chally with an open panzer/tbs mini setup but whilst I'm a big fan I wanted something a bit easier to setup initially.









Early tests showed that one side had a tendency to throw tracks on grass. Outside a hugely expensive dklm upgrade ($300!!!), no one seems to do a challenger 2 adjustable idler system. Jim has used tamiya leopard 2 tracks on this build. Imo these are far superior to the full metal chally 2 tracks out there. They're lighter than the all metal ones but have have metal and centre pieces so are just as strong. The pads come already attached and dont come off. Finally they're a nice colour out the box, no need to blueing or vinegar soaking. Another plus here is I was able to use a set of tamiya leopard track inducers which I've had say around for years (shout out to the virtues of parts hording), they needed some slight mods but fitted the challengers sprockets with a little dremel work. Now she runs flawlessly on grass, which is something I require all my tanks to do.

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[tomhugill]

With her running nicely it's time to start getting the turret functions sorted. The recoil unit had already been fitted, it.just required some tweaking to roll smoothly. The elevation unit required a small platform to be made from styrene and a tiny bit of the turret to be cut away for it to fit nicely.

There were some issues with the elevation servo being faulty causing some odd behaviour but now rectified.

I really love how theres so much space in the turret. The tk60 I fitted is the g2 version with the GBS. I'm still not 100% sure how I'll wire it up but theres definitely enough room to fit the tk60g2 in here.

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[Jimster]

Great update and video. Looking forward to seeing this through to completion.