HL Panther G customization diary

[maxmekker]

I'll get that set asap. Thanks for sharing the info. I love the shape and look of the P and JP. I think , after reading this build tread and seeing you're, I'm on for a Panther.

Kepp up the good work jeff1101 .

[jeff1101]

Updates 11/08/12 Detailing the front tool racks

In late model panther Gs, the side of the shovel head is partially embedded in a hole on the tank's side fender. The hole was purposely done to create more space to put the shovel in. The tamiya Panther G had this feature but sadly the Heng Long panther does not.

I attempted to copy this feature on my tank. First I marked with pencil the approximate dimension of the hole I wish to create.




Then I cut a plastic strip to size, applied hot glue (So its easy to remove later) and glued it to the side fender as a guide.




Then I started drilling holes along the pencil marks.




Drilling holes closest to the tank's body was tricky since the tool rack was in the way. I was forced to drill the holes on the underside of the fender instead.




After the holes were drilled, I used a knife to cut along the holes...



And used a file to smooth out the edges of the hole.


I then fashioned new fasteners out of metal strips for the new location of the shovel. Since the tool rack was already glued in place, there was a limit as to how deep the shovel side can be embedded on the hole, so I just used my judgement on how the shovel should sit in the tool rack.



I also added a hook for the tow rope guide using a metal strip to complete the look. Below is a pic with the tow rope test fitted.



And here is the picture of the tool rack after the mod compared to the picture of the original tank. I tried to make the composition and perspective the same for both shots. ( picture of actual panther is from Darren Baker from armorama.com http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op= ... artid=3739)

[jeff1101]

Updates 11/17

These are more photos of the detailing I have done for the tool racks. I continued detailing the right side tool rack this time.

I made a holder for the engine crank rod by bending a metal strip to shape.




Next I decided to make a real strap for the spare axe instead of the molded one. First I sanded down the molded strap on the axe handle




Then I fashioned a strap using metal strip.




I also attached the tow ropes to the tank.





The tow rope is secured in the rear of the tank by the PE parts I added. This renders the molded on pin on the Heng Long tow rope useless so I cut it off.



I then test fitted how the tow rope will look on the tank's rear deck.




I freed the locking pins from the PE parts sprue. This will lock the ends of the tow rope in place.




And here is the ends of the tow ropes secured by the locking pin.

[jeff1101]

Updates cont'd

I also added a particular detail on the tank's cupola.

On panther G's there is a metal stop at the front rear of the cupola hatch. This prevented the hatch lid from sliding too far forward and hitting (and damaging) the front cupola periscope housing. (see pic below)



Using a thin plastic strip I cut the approximate shape of the stop.




Then cut the final shape and attach.

[maxmekker]

thanks for sharing .

[jeff1101]

Updates 12/08

The upgrade continues with the panther G with the arrival of the Mato 3:1 gearbox and a 1/16 scale metal bucket. I was excited to start installation of the gearbox as the stock plastic transmission was slipping and making grinding sounds due to the added weight of the metal tracks.



Needless to say it was the start of a lot of hours spent fixing the gearbox due to quality control issues that while annoying was in the end fixable. In fact, after I made the fixes, the gearbox runs as smooth as butter. However I would still call out Mato for selling a metal gearbox that needed a lot of tinkering to run smooth, when it should have been that way from the factory.

Anyway I started by installing the metal bucket to the pintle mount in the rear of the tank. I always liked the way panther's looked with the bucket attached to it like in the Bovington panther or from old panther pics like the one below.



And here's my version... granted my bucket needed a couple of dents.



After that I started with the gearbox installation. Right away I noticed the left drive shaft was severely bent. I spun the shaft a couple of times and the ends of the shaft (where the sprocket attaches) would wobble up and down at least 3 degrees from the horizontal. The brass shaft was pretty thick and would be impossible to straighten by hand. Hammering it was also out of the question as that will scuff and scratch the shaft and ultimately damage the shaft bearings as well.

I needed a straightening tool that I can precisely control. But first off I had to remove the shaft. I did this by loosening the 2 allen screws that hold the final gear and stopper.



Then pop off the metal stop that prevents the shaft from working loose from the mount.



And here is a pic of the shaft freed from the gearbox.



And now for the straightening tool. I scoured google to find a solution and ran across an RC Heli forum discussing the same thing.Turns out RC helicopters often bend their main propeller shafts and it can be costly replacing these all the time. EQMOD made a shaft straightening tool out of a pipe cutter.

Here is the forum link and EQMOD discussing his solution: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=913512

I made exactly the same thing (well there are some small differences due to available materials but the principle was the same)

I bought a pipe cutter from Ace hardware and removed the cutter and roller. Then I fashioned my shaft straightening tool like so:



The round nut attached at the top allowed me to direct the force at a very small spot in the shaft. The size of the pipe cutter is also important since the shaft is short and you wouldn't want the shaft ends to bend first. (see pic below)



I did this a couple of times and followed EQMOD's suggestion to make minor turns in the tightening wheel to prevent you from over bending the opposite way. I then rolled the shaft on table top glass to see if it was straight. Satisfied with my handiwork I re-attached the shaft back to its mount.

As it turns out, I also checked the right drive shaft to see if it was bent and lo and behold it was ,but not as severely as the left side. I again used the straightening tool and now both shafts are straighter than when they came out of the factory.

[jeff1101]

updates cont'd - Installation and Mato gearbox review

After straightening the drive shaft I then began installing the gearbox. Installation was pretty straightforward.

First unscrew the stock gearbox. Its attached directly to the hull with 3 screws each. As you can see I even labeled the wires for the left and right transmission. Turns out this was unnecessary since the wires are socketed in the RX18 and the sockets clearly labeled for left and right.



Here is a pic of the stock gearbox next to the mato metal one. The nice thing about the mato gearbox is how compact it is. It definitely frees up more space inside the hull both if you want to put more stuff inside your tank or for better ventilation. Plus it helps that its better looking than the stock part.



Here's a pic of the left gearbox removal.



Once the stock gearbox is removed unsolder the motor wires and transfer it to the new gearbox.



Attach the metal plate that comes with the Mato bit to the hull floor. Its made for the panther G and should just drop in with the screw holes aligned with the existing ones. One thing I like about the plate besides adding rigidity to the hull is that it raises the floor where the transmission sits by a few millimeters. (1 or 2 mm) This raises the final sprocket height by the same amount. Since I find the HL tracks and wheels sits a bit low compared to pics of actual panthers, it actually makes the angle of which the track sits between the sprocket and first road wheel steeper and make the tank look more like the real thing. (at least in my opinion)



Then just screw the new gearbox on the plate. Its secured with three screws per side. Also since the transmission screws to the metal plate, you don't have to worry breaking any plastic screw holes when tightening.



My next post is breaking in the gearbox and more issues found with the gearbox and how I fixed it.

[Dietrich]

Hi jeff1101,
Truly Great work on this Panther, ....I would be afraid to drive the tank around in case some part that took X number of hours to make got broken off and/ or LOST !!
The Mato Gearboxes are terrible !... but with a brilliant fix from the helicopter brigade....VERY ingenious ...Please can I ask you who you bought the gearboxes from ? ....PM will do if you like....
Alb.

[jeff1101]

Hi Dietrich

The Mato Gearboxes are terrible !... but with a brilliant fix from the helicopter brigade....VERY ingenious ...Please can I ask you who you bought the gearboxes from ? ....PM will do if you like....

No problem. I got it from Mato's shop in Alibaba.com. Figured I didn't want to go to the hassle of sending back the gearbox or having to wait for them to send spare parts to address the issue. The problems with the gearbox was quality control but they were still fixable.

[Woz]

Re the hatches

I remember reading an article from a Tiger tank commander written some time after the war. He describes how his tank caught fire during an air attack and his driver was trapped in the tank because of turret, they couldn't do anything to help him.