RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Thanks Herman.

For the tracks, I’m going to try a second hand treadmill belt - found one online for £30 - and wooden tread blocks. The timing belts look a good option but a pair would be over £100 so that’ll be Plan B.

I’ve ordered some electric motors (12V DC) with reduction gearbox dropping it down to 60RPM. I’ll link those to the drive axle via 90deg bevel gears. I’ve found some 6mm diameter steel rods for the axles themselves. If I’ve done my sums right, that should get the tank to 75km/h scale speed.

I’ve also started researching second-hand paintball markers for the gun system and am scouting for one that’s pistol sized.

Today was spent getting the road wheels trimmed up. Rather than sand them and risk odd-shaped wheels, I wanted to use a lathe. But they were too expensive so I bought a small router instead. I then had to work out what to do for a router table. I tried a couple of options but couldn’t get it right so in the end, I just made up a small strip of 9mm ply, drilling holes at opposite ends - one to fix to the router itself, the other to set up an axle for the wheels. I then drilled a larger hole in the middle (8mm) for the router bit to poke through. Had to carefully measure the distances so I didn’t take too much off the wheels. Worked a treat!

So, I’ve been having some trouble with my road wheels.

After a great tip from Herman, I looked for some rubber tube but couldn’t find the right size so opted for a rubber strip which I cut to length. But after sticking it on, the adhesive failed. I’ve tried a few different ways to fix it including tape & clamps to hold in place for a few days but it always fails (see picture for today’s condition).
So now I’ve resorted to 2-part epoxy and await the 14 hour curing time to see if it’s worked!!

Oz

Wow, that is a lot of hardware costs. You sure the 21st Century 1/9 RC Abrams wouldn't be cheaper lol.
I look forward to seeing this project progress!

Tech-Com wrote:Wow, that is a lot of hardware costs. You sure the 21st Century 1/9 RC Abrams wouldn't be cheaper lol.
I look forward to seeing this project progress!

Now where’s the fun in that?!

This is really interesting! Nice BIG build

This is rather cool

Just in case you don't know, you can get all steel pop rivets, should you choose to use them.

Oz Abrams wrote:So, after a disastrous start due to a wilful jigsaw I had to start again after buying myself a bandsaw. Then man-flu, snow & work put me back a bit but I’ve now got the Hull form and the photos show it mocked up.

I will work on the detail to get the angles right so the joints are snug.

Next decision is what suspension to use. I’d appreciate some advice on that. Should I go for:

• Spring tensioned trailing arm, or
  Spring tensioned, vertical slots in which the axles move vertically

I’m also starting to think about motor and drive gear. My current preference is to buy a couple of 18v rechargeable drills and strip the motors out of them. A bit of fiddling to lock the gearbox but I was thinking of Mounting them 90deg to the drive axle with a single gear.

Anyway, that’s it for now.

8CE30510-6398-483A-87C7-CA640BDEC15F.jpeg

E833F95A-6ECB-4055-80FF-DA2E620BAF26.jpeg

PS - We’ll spotted. Some auscam gear from a former life. Mind you, my tanks were full of fuel,

Hi, no need to worry about locking the gearbox wind the head of the chuck to max, that will lock the box, loads of drills about with kettled batteries and go cheap, I am using one 18v motor to give the power steering to my 8X8 I joined two gear box's together ,that way you get loads of grunt and slow speed, just the job for turning 8 wheels. Good luck with the build.

So, progress has stalled for a few months because of work and kids. I’m trying to get some time in the shed to finish it off but it has dawned on me how much work there still is.

I’m not happy with my axles as they’re a little sloppy and don’t particularly sit well.
So I’m looking for a new design - has anyone got experience making new axles? Either bending steel rods or using wood/bolts?

Thanks,

Oz.

So this is my last post about this project on this forum.

The project hasn’t been abandoned and I’ll continue with it but I haven’t the time to keep updating social media too.

Good luck with your own projects.

Oz

There's no time limit mate.................carry on with the project & just pop in when you like, we'll be here !
Any added advice we might possibly help you with-ask away.
Its a great thing you have there, be a shame to have us all miss out on it eh !
Thanks for sharing with us along the way