RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Dying to see more progress Jd !!

Currently on hols in Sri Lanka, and have to finish off my sons car bed, so no progress until September I'm afraid.
Jd

Well I haven't had much time over the summer to work on the Merkava, but what I did do was get most of the opposite side roughed out with side skirts etc. However, after a while I got a little sick of dealing with details and my attention moved on to other things, non tank related.
Today, I wasn't planning on doing anything, but I had promised my boys that we would spend some time working on their two models, one Meng and one Academy model of the Merkava. It is their first attempt and all I am hoping for is that they enjoy the experience and want to do more (currently I'm not sure they are )
It was when I picked up the Meng turret that I suddenly decided to work out the dimensions and geometry.....



One thing led to another and I drew up a template, transfered it to some sheet aluminium and cut it out



I even found time to fold the edges



Next stage is to fold the flat plate to achieve the basic geometry.
Not bad for a day of doing nothing!

Jd

hello mate that's a hell of a build well done, look forward to seeing it run

You get more done when you're doing nothing then I do when I'm trying...

So I had the late summer break and then cut out the base of the turret, so I couldn’t leave it lying around as a bit of flat plate, which meant I had to get the blow torch out again.
Unfortunately I do not have the equipment or skill for tig welding, so I have been using a aluminium braising rod instead. It is tricky to get the hang of and I am not convinced of the strength so I have used rivets as well. All in all, it turned out well.



The whole thing would not have been possible without the super accurate Meng Models Merkava 3d kit to scale from, so I have Michael Mass to thank for that!

I should really learn CAD and prototype in card beforehand, but I am ever so lazy and give that this was done ‘old school’ I only had on error along the way that could not be resolved with a little filler. Not to be sniffed at in my book.



Whilst I wanted to get on with the fabrication of the turret, I realized that a lot would hinge (No pun intended) on the positioning of the main gun, so I collected a few components from work and spent an afternoon putting it all together.
To begin with I chose to use some HDPE pipe as the main barrel in order to keep the weight down. This has an aluminium inner lining to thicken the barrels bore and make it more realistic.
The heat shroud is curved and folded 1mm aluminium in two pieces (Upper and lower) with a folded overlap. I was surprised that I managed to get it right on only my second attempt.
I ended up using cable ties for the securing straps and with a bit of filler and trimming, I should be able make them look realistic. If anyone can suggest a better way I would be interested in hearing it.



The vacuum extractor is more plastic but towards the back I switch to a polished steel rod and a linear bearing, courtesy of VX Bearings ( http://www.vxb.com/ ). This has been sitting in my box of supplies for two years up till now! The nice part of the bearing is that it has mounting holes pre drilled.



I be off on a hunt today, in search of a cone to take the barrel from 25mm to 30mm in diameter directly behind the fume extractor. And then the rest of the main gun assembly should be plain sailing (famous last words!!)

And finally, I have found the perfect crossover for my two main hobbies, enjoy

http://youtu.be/gYZmFo3_F1g

Jd

A very nice work.I really liked the merkava and in this scale you have done an amazing job.I don't even know what to say to this build.The skill involved in building this thing is beyond me.Real hands on engineering and great thinking there too.I really like to see this thing run.Thanks for sharing with us.

Regards
Brett

Thanks Brett,
I did get it moving a short distance just to test it, more to prove that it would move and not tear itself apart
I'll be heading off today to pick up a sub leveller to incorporate into the gun elevation mechanism. It has been half way around the world and back, finally arriving in my post box yesterday.
This little bit of electronics is designed to keep an RC submarine level when diving or surfacing, I however, will be fitting it to a servo arm that in turn will drive a second servo. All of this will ensure that the gun elevation will remain constant no matter how the chassis moves. Well in theory anyway.

Jd