Metal upgrading new Heng Long Panther G

by **walter** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 2:20 am

Having metal upgraded a Heng Long Tiger 1.I wanted to do the same with a Heng Long Panther G.
I found one on ebay for $166 AUD including tax and delivery. A bargain I could not miss.
Unpacking the new arrival was a pleasant surprise. Nothing broken, nothing missing and the tank looked quite handsome.
Charging the battery and starting it up, everything worked well except the suspension. The tank was rocking like a model boat on water. Definitely needs stronger springs.
The same day I ordered the tank I also ordered all the metal upgrade parts from Tankarmy.
Looking for stronger springs Retank sells stronger Panther springs for 7.90 Euros,but low exchange rate tax and shipping they became a bit expensive for what they are.
The first and last original spring on the tank had a wire dia of 0.9mm the rest the rest where 0.8mm dia.
To make my own springs I will start with 1mm wire dia. I found a web site called *houseofadorne* that sells a 5m x 1mm dia wire spring steel coil for $3.50 AUD more than enough to make 18 springs.
Other things I did not like was the ON-OF switch being located at the very bottom of the tank.
Heng Long track tension design in a way is good if the right tension was set it would never move,but if you want to reset the tension you have to loosen a 3mm nut inside the tank,then push the idler arm out of its engaging teeth reset the tension then push the idler arm back into its engaging teeth.What could happen is the 3mm screw that goes through idler arm and into the tank fusing with the nut and making it impossible to loosen it and pushing it out of its little teeth. If that would happen it would become a messy job to fix it.
So the changes I will make are mounting up.
The tank came with nylon gear boxes, I will leave them in and see how long they will last.
The speaker is located right behind the gear boxes and i found the sound some what muffled.
The best spot to relocate the speaker would be under the right hand exhaust fan, where currently the tank controller is. The only place to shift the tank controller is where the smoker unit is and it will have to go. Personally I do not care much for smoke anyhow so I will not miss it,but before I removed it I tried it out,it looked different from the standard one it smoked well.
The ideal place for the ON-OF switch would be under the engine hatch I would have to cut out the plastic hatch and make a new one that opens and shuts.
I am almost finished except for some painting and detailing, the new access to the ON-OF switch is perfect , the track tensioner works as expected and the new springs give the tank a more realistic feel.
The tank drives well and crawling capabilities are excellent.
The tank came with a TK-6 version controller but I think there are now newer versions out.
The quality of this Heng Long Panther G is very good all parts are much stiffer they are strait and there is no tension in any parts. A very pleasant surprise .
My hope is that some of you Fellas will get some enjoyment out of it as I did.
Cheers Walter