Heng Long Plastic vrs Metal

[michaelwhittmann]

This is very disturbing. My Panther in all likelihood has the crap gearbox.

Where can I go to get the proper replacement part for my big cat?

I was about to pull the trigger on a Pershing with the similar pot metal gearbox.

I'll get the plastic and pay to switch out the panther's gearbox.

I hope its not hard.

[Ecam]

Swapping the gear box is pretty easy, as long as you know how to separate the upper and remove the tracks (soldering may be needed if they don't come with leads). Just for the record, most of my fleet runs plastic tracks and nylon gears. I have two with steel gears and two with the pot metal ones. I've not suffered any failures yet but I will admit none of them have many miles on them. My heavy M32 which has the most run time and usually towing a disabled mid weight Sherman, has had no issues. It ran a fair bit as a lighter M4 hybrid before the M32 conversion.

[MrChef]

Plastic vrs metal.

1.Drive wheels,
2.tracks,
3.gearbox,
4.etc.

5.Is the metal steel or some alloy?

6.Does metal add anything beside cost and weight?

Thx to all.

1. Metal Drive wheels add weight providing better scale performance and ones with rubber/plastic tires look better and are easier to paint and finish. Biggest example I have is the HL plastic Tiger I road wheels are a complete abomination compared to the metal wheels.

2. Metal Tracks are a preference. Their weight adds to scale fidelity but isn't necessary.

3. Metal Gearbox. You don't want the "Metal" Gearbox from Heng Long or Taigen. They are Zinc alloy or white metal or "pot metal" that is known to wear and fail. "Steel" gearboxes are what you need to look for.

4. etc? like turret? Not necessary especially when modeling and modding. Barrel? Sure it'll be harder to snap the metal one for sure.

5. The "Metal" is "Zamak" a Zinc alloy. There are different blends, some better quality than others but the product used on Heng Long and Taigen tanks is commonly known to fail with gearboxes. Other Zamak parts aren't really an issue.

Ultimately adding Metal parts is preference. For the most part the weight of metal parts adds scale fidelity when running the tank. Many of the castings for plastic and metal counterparts are identical unless you move up to higher quality aftermarket modeling parts.

[michaelwhittmann]

Where can I go to get the proper replacement gearbox for my panther?

[MrChef]

Where can I go to get the proper replacement gearbox for my panther?

What gearbox does yours have currently? If your unsure if the metal is the Zinc or Steel, just open it up and use a magnet on the gears. Sticks? Steel, Doesn't Stick? Zinc.

Motion RC has some Stock HL replacement Steel gears- https://www.motionrc.com/products/heng- ... lg6020-010

You could shop further at ToucanRC or even Ebay for different pricing and availability. There are even the Heng Long Ultimate gearboxes and Taigen Gearboxes as well.

If you have plastic or zinc gears currently you could also just run them till they fail then do the steel gear swap.

For certain though I'd upgrade to the steel gears and metal sprockets at least if you're also going to add metal tracks.

[michaelwhittmann]

thx to all. going plastic until gear disintegration.

[jarndice]

www.forgebeartanks.com
for gearboxes and before you fit them I would recommend Gearbox output shaft bearings they will take out any distortions or inbalance in the gearbox shafts and prevent that distortion in the drivetrain tearing the gearboxes out of their mountings,
Talk to Dave and he will recommend the most suitable gearboxes and he can also supply the output shaft bearings.
It is important to know the diameter of the Gearbox output shaft so you will then know what size bearings to fit..

[MrChef]

Jarndice, IIRC the OP is in the states. While I fully support and promote Forgebear, heck I just got a delivery from them last week. Shipping prices might dissuade him from that choice. But yes Dave is the man and will help get you what you need for sure.

[Rob59]

In fact you are all right in what you wrote.
Metal tracks, wheels etc, do give a better performance outdoors, may last longer, but do cost some extra money too to invest.
But it all depends on what you want to do with your tank, I mean are you an always outdoor driver, or just occasionally?
I do own quite a lot of tanks, most are Taigen metal versions, but I also own quite some HL plastic ones.
Most of the time they are all on the shelf, and from there it makes no difference at all if it's a metal one or an all plastic tank.
The plastic ones I mostly use as some kind of deco in photoshoots, and with some aging and weathering they do not look that bad at all.
The advantage of an all plastic one can be, that you can upgrade as your finances allow it, in the beginning they are cheaper than a metal version, but in the end you might have payed quite some hard earned cash more, than if you would have bought a metal one in the first place.....but as I mentioned before, it all depends on what you want with your tank.
I also prefer the plastic turrets compared to the metal ones, which do not add anything extra except the weight!
Also with plastic turrets the maingun is not wobbling up and down as much as when you have a metal turret. I do have some KingTigers, all plastic but they do have a metal maingun. The mainguns mostly stay where they are during outdoor rides, when I compare that to my metal Tiger 1's, their guns move quite a lot up and down.
But it is all everybody's own decision what to do, what to buy, upgrade or not upgrade, outdoor or carpet driving, most important will be the fun of modelbuilding and making the tank your own.
I do like both versions, metal or plastic.

For example, this is an all plastic KingTiger:


And this is a metal version Panzer IV with home made metal Schurzen, messing brackets and much more:


As I said, on the shelf there is no difference at all.
Rob.

[ColemanCollector]

thx to all. going plastic until gear disintegration.

You might be waiting quite awhile! The plastic gearboxes can be pretty robust and quiet. The metal gearboxes are pretty clattery, but can be tamed a bit with some flash filing, tooth polishing, and bushing adjustment for lateral movement. The steel gears are pretty good, but the plastic are still the quietest. I'm mostly an indoor runner so they suit me just fine.

I don't spend loads on my tanks, but I'm leaning towards putting my cash into a quality control board like the Beier to get better and more realistic running and sound. If it can tame Coolbank's Stuart--the most disappointing stock tank I've ever bought--it has some real virtues in my books that far outweigh metal thangs.

YMMV!

Mike.