Taking the top off for the first time!

[supersaint]

I took the top of my Panzer 1V for the first time today as I am looking at getting metal drive wheels and idlers, rollers etc at the end of the month. I was a bit surprised though by how much the pan was distorted on both sides, ( see pic with steel ruler by the side) so now I am wondering if I am going to have to strengthen the hull somehow?. Also I was thinking about taking the battery pan out and refitting the battery inside, but now I have opened it up I am a bit daunted at the lack of space and all the wires ( never understood wiring) any ideas of easy fixes would be great. I suppose I will just have to buy a soldering iron and go for it,LOL!

Cheers Colin.
PS Is it normal for the hull to be this distorted or was I just unlucky?

[Spartan Mart]

Hello mate,
The bent hull is a bit of dodgy injection moulding, if you cant see it then leave it.
I've never needed a soldering iron but a Dremmel is a must.
I wouldn't move the batt compartment myself, its liable to cause damage if it comes loose inside the tank plus how will you swap it out?

[jackeb]

Hi,
Still of a bit of a (enthusiastic) noob with tanks but fairly experienced with RC helis.
My feelings are that you're always likely to get that kind of distortion with plastic mouldings. It's the nature of the beast. The choices are: Re-enforce with metal, which would involve a little work with clamps, screws and glue; or replace the hull with an after market metal item (Asiatam etc); or (my choice being tight fisted!) live with it. I think that providing it isn't causing any problems mechanically, or cosmetically who cares? As an example I'm really happy with the way my HL Tiger runs (Elmod, metal sprockets and idlers, metal tracks and 3:1 metal gear boxes) and I haven't felt a need to check out the, plastic, chassis for any kind of distortion. On the other hand I wouldn't even consider putting one of my helis in the air without thoroughly checking the entire air frame is running totally true. Two different applications so two different requirements in terms of mechanical tolerance. If that makes sense?
Which is a long way of saying I'd put the lid back on and if I couldn't see it I wouldn't worry.
As for the electrics! Coming from helis I found the Elmod quite intuitive, simple even compared to an eCCPM system found on helis (even worse now we're all going to three axis gyro systems!). I would seek advice from the guys on this forum, though, before playing around with a soldering iron (which in the heli world is far more important than the Dremmel!). All I can say is, once you have a grasp of basic radio control theory, it becomes fairly simple to apply across all sorts of models.
I hope this helps.
Laters.

[jonger]

A lot of people take the battery compartment out to move the battery to the inside but it does need securing (velcro straps) then you can move the switches from off the bottom as turning the thing upside down all the time is tiresome and risks damaging the detailing on the upper hull. once you go that way you end up opening up hatches etc (to get to switches) or getting a quick release system for the hull top, don't worry about the wonky side if its not affecting your enjoyment of the tank.

[supersaint]

Thanks for that everybody, I will probably live with it for a while and then when I get more confident I will have ago at moving the battery
inside and moving the switches etc , and try and put a charging lead in!!.

Cheers Colin.

[Triton]

Hi Colin, I've two lower hulls and there both like a dog's rear leg! Don't worry about it!
Your confidence will improve the more you work on it and there is always flea bay for mistakes! that's why i have a second hull now!!! Lol!
Stewart

[supersaint]

Thanks Stewart, I have just noticed that you can pick up hulls and tops of of ebay, so like you say, I feel better knowing that if I cock it up I can start again.LOL!