RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

After a long lay-off on the build (well actually I have been doing bits and bobs in between the usual demands of Father, Uncle, dutiful husband and handyman - but I cannot lie, it has been difficult to sneak in quality time on the Chally). However, I had got to the point where I could claim victory on the mechanicals and electricals. I had managed to plumb in the TARR to test, got the Recoil to work reliably and was happy enough to rip everything apart for paint. A Primer of Hycote and 2 Tamiya Sand rattle cans later and it was time to fire up the Airbrush.
I have never used one before, so I was a bit worried that I was about to trash a rather expensive metal sculpture. Whilst I am sure more adept members of this forum could have done a far, far better job I can live with the results.
I have applied some weathering powder (VMS Spot on in 2 flavours: Dull and Intensive. Applied using their Alkyd Binder). The binder is certainly interesting stuff - and takes an age to go off - but I am pleased with the texture it creates. Just to finish off, I applied Matt Varnish - in this case Windsor and Newton's Professional. The varnish had me seriously worried for a while. It reeks to high Heaven and looked to have a wet sheen for quite a while after application. I needn't have worried - the final finish is great.

Here are some pics: So, all in all I am happy with my first attempt with an Airbrush. I like the VMS Powders, and would certainly use the Windsor and Newton varnish again. All I need now is another free weekend to get everything back together, including the cunning plan I have for final plumbing of the TARR smoker. Fingers crossed, there will not be quite the same delay in posting what I hope will be a final installment.
Tony

Nice effect mate. The entire component inventory bought together with the paint & pigment is real nice

So finally, I think I am at the point of declaring pyrrhic victory. Everything is now "complete" such as these things ever are. I have posted a couple of (awful, sorry - I had to enlist the support of a teenager who may well have preferred to have been doing GCSE revision to filming) videos on a certain Tube site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1yYFH6T5w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJwcDKZyZEY

Everything works, including the TARR Smoker.
I had to do a fair bit of engineering to get this to fit - so will now add Plumbing to range of skills. Actually scratch that, the last time I did any plumbing at home I ended up having to call an emergency plumber and explaining why hot water was finding its way into an ensuite toilet cistern. A long story, and not one for this particular forum.......

Anyway, back to the TARR. You may have divined by now that I was obsessed in this build with ensuring that upper and lower hulls be separable with the minimum of faff, and I have achieved that aim with a few compromises. One of those compromises (or design flaws if we are honest) led to the over-engineered slip ring. This encroaches significantly in the lower deck space with the result that the TARR was going to have to live at the front of the turret. The exhausts are affixed to the upper hull. Wanting to make especially difficult led me to the decision to use a combination of aquatic tubing, brass tubing and "rubber" columns formed out of SUGRU - the idea being that this would create a seal which was flexible enough to withstand the knocks a tank might reasonably be expected to encounter off carpet. I even used brass tubing to facilitate the connection of TARR to the air tubing.
Here are some pics: So that is about it. There are/were a few additional jobs to do: finish off some of the painting (hub caps for example), glue on some of the accessories both done after the video was taken. Not totally happy with the recoil, but that can/will be adjusted on the IBU, and the elavation needs tweaking. Of course that will be a turret off job. Let's hope that I can avoid breaking anything - particularly wiring. My eyes need a break from soldering wires which could have been made of graphene they are so thin.

Great build, just hope mine will go as well.

I have the dklm chassis and want to disassemble it to spray it but I can’t see how to get the final drive sprockets off. Could you let me into the secret please. Thanks

Regards
Steve

I am puzzled,
You have been a member of this Forum since August 9th and since then plenty of other people have joined the Forum and you may well have read their introductory texts and that's what is puzzling me,
You know the score and yet your first text is a question asking for help before going to the "Introduce Yourself" Page to tell us about yourself.