Old dog new tricks

[Son of a gun-ner]

Here ya go boys, some really useful box porn. . . .

Taken at Sandown Park Toy Fair a while ago, they get the space in the foyer to sell their boxes.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Son-of-a: Oh, I lust after some of those boxes! I have a motley mix of boxes in which I keep the O-Gauge trains (did I mention those?). My basement, on the other hand, as you have all seen from the pictures, does "resemble the local refuse centre"; however, modelers often liken it to a hobby shop.

David: I agree that the Tamiya Pzkw. IV is unfortunately overlooked, and yours looks great! What is the black thing sticking out where the model antenna would be?

[Snowwolflair]

I have added a charging socket as I charge the battery in the tank. It disconnects the controller from the battery when charging so an unwired plug left in the socket disconnects the battery for storage.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

That ought to be regular equipment! I spend more time pulling out batteries and recharging them than I do running the tanks. Is the conversion so simple an idiot can do it?

[Snowwolflair]

Yes it is not complicated.

I use a standard computer type charging plug and socket.

The centre pin is the +v and it connects to the battery and the VCU

The sleeve is the 0v and on the socket there are two connections that short when there is no plug and open when it is inserted, one of which will be connected to the sleeve of the plug.

You connect the one that is disconnected to the VCU 0v and the one connected to the charge plug to the battery 0v.

I also include a switch to be doubly sure as for instance on the Tamiya system the power switch does not fully disconnect the battery.

I wired one today for the Ferdinand I am building. (NB battery is on the Red/Blue pair)

[43rdRecceReg]

Taigen and Torro tanks often come equipped with a remote charging point. Often, it's incorporated into a switch unit fitted to the quick release bar. The charging point harness was also sold as an accessory. Forgebear may still have them.

[jarndice]

Some of my Tiger1s have internal charging sockets but earlier correspondence on this subject on this and other Forums drew the conclusion that with the growing popularity of Li-Pos it was not a good idea to recharge batteries while they were in the Tank so I have long since adopted the practice of charging my Li-Po Armour batteries in a charging bag away from my Tanks.

[Snowwolflair]

I would never use LiPo batteries in a tank, the peak current rate that LiPo batteries can supply far exceeds the needs of almost all tank models and handled without care are dangerous.

[jarndice]

Driving 8kg plus Tanks drinks power from any battery and in a PZ4/ Sherman/ PZ111/Walker there is little enough space for a decent Ni-Cad whereas the more efficient Li-Po can deliver the extra power in a much smaller package,
Do remember if you elect to use an aftermarket MFU then it will need a receiver in the hull as well, It all takes space which is why reluctantly I do not use IBUs in my PZ4s.

[Snowwolflair]

Oh I agree their power density is far superior, but I have seen two very valuable scale model warships "explode" using LiPo batteries and they were not meant to have pyrotechnics.

I do use them in my boats but they are in protective blast bags which wont fit in a tank hull.