Heng long T34 first images

[jeff1101]

That is a beautiful effect. Moves like the real thing.

[ALPHA]

Brain wave moment for the suspension.

I noticed that were two holes for the spring stopper to sit in. This is the normal angle of the spring, a bit to much spring/hard damping.





What I came up with was to swop the springs from the other side of the tank which gave the spring less far to travel when the suspension arm was installed. This gave a dramatic result with a low tank and soft suspension. See video its very cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tO6Zl6U ... UhvVhBZHcQ

Interesting Phil... two holes you say... what happens if you just rotate the spring in the same side??? I mistakenly swapped springs when rebuilding my PANTHER,,,and found when the springs are mounted backwards ... they tend to slip out of the suspension arm...do you think the walls of the arm are thicker?

I might try this as well... but I have to wait for some spare track to come

Right now.... my T-34 is a half and half.... one side is plastic track... the other metal

Have a good one dude

ALPHA

[Phil]

If you rotate the spring if makes it stiffer, the arms and spring are fine.

[Phil]

Another good feature of the T34 is the standard track tensioner not found on most tanks, I went for a after market metal version as I’m running metal tracks, but the standard will work fine with the plastic tracks that come with the T34.




I had to use the original treaded screws for the idler wheels as the new shafts didn’t fit.


Once fitted, I just cut the remaining tread off. Luckily the idler wheel lined up with the main wheels below.

[ALPHA]

If you rotate the spring if makes it stiffer, the arms and spring are fine.

I didn't look at mine... so the second hole is one back from the one in the photo? what if you just drilled a new one a quarter after it ?

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

Another good feature of the T34 is the standard track tensioner not found on most tanks, I went for a after market metal version as I’m running metal tracks, but the standard will work fine with the plastic tracks that come with the T34.




I had to use the original treaded screws for the idler wheels as the new shafts didn’t fit.


Once fitted, I just cut the remaining tread off. Luckily the idler wheel lined up with the main wheels below.

I noticed that tensioner when I changed my tracks unfortunately the ones I ordered were still too short so now I have to wait for the company I ordered them from to send me a few more links...the tracks are nice though...have a better "footprint" than the stock HENG LONGs ... which IMO they dropped the ball on... as there is little or no traction with them

That tensioner is nice... saw it on welshdragon....I just don't know if I want to wait any longer for parts...my T34 has been sitting on the bench for awhile now...and I'm loosing my enthusiasm for it

Thanks for posting some updates Phil... as it might help revitalize my interest in the tank... I've done only the simple stuff... the commanders hatch... brass rails.. and your suspension mod

Good luck with your build... THANKS AGAIN

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

Hello again Phil... Guess what ... I actually bought a second T34... first off.. HENG LONG fixed the height problem...the new model sits only 1/8th of an inch higher than what was accomplished with your mod...so I thought I'd try the spring trick on it....I'm going to reserve a pass or fail on it ... but my results... where might I say... interesting....switching sides actually made the new model sit lower... than the previous modified T34...it runs ok... but the reason I'm not coming to a conclusion is... the suspension is now so soft...the tank if pressed upon lightly... it wobbles to and fro...so when sitting.. it's like pressing on a marshmallow ... running slow like in your demo it looks the same.... so I'm going to test run it in one of the areas of my torture test field... and see how it really performs....because I ran the old model through it with you mod.. and stiff suspension ... it passed every test except one... but I attribute the failure to the plastic tracks..not the suspension...the new one has metal treads... yeah HENG LONG mundane mold.... so I'm still uncertain of the traction...BUT... if the suspension works... it would make up for the bad design on the tracks

Anyway... one thing for sure... the new version rocks RTR does mean it's ready to run... now ... more than before

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

T34Update Phil... resetting the springs on my new T34 helped the weak design of the tracks...and over lumpy surfaces... allowed the tank to cruise over the lumps with almost level ease....and climbing over barriers... almost effortless

I don't know how you set your springs... I set mine at maximum tension on the back three bogies and low in the front on both sides...it ran perfectly through my test range...
The best thing about it in this case... was it made the new T34 sit lower..and that "tad" I spoke of before... is now gone... all that without doing the mod with the plastic squares..SO IT'S A GO

With that said... I'm not going to do it to my first tank...mostly because of the mod.... as it will make it sit even lower...and should I get the links I need to make those metal tracks work....I feel it will perform just as well ... because of the better "footprint" of the tracks themselves..the imaginary crew will have a rougher ride... but isn't that how it is in real life ? That being older models aren't refined yet

You're one of the best Phil (cept your tanks are dirty ) keep tuning those HENG LONGS...
(and if I have the same model... I'll run it through the wringer )

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

Here you go Dr Phil.... some pics from my torture tests







In the top two... the softened suspension allowed the front wheels to support the tracks... while they gripped whatever they came up against... also allowing the hull to remain relatively level...ROLLS ROYCE BENTLEY ... who needs those when they can ride in a T34

The last is the "WALL"...scale wise ... about a four and a half foot barrier ...stopped my first one because of the plastic track... lowered ... I thought this babe wouldn't make it ...but the flexibility of the softer set suspension added traction to the mundane HENG LONG tread print.... allowing the front end to "give" enough to grab the upper level ... and the slightly stiffer rear to drive it up and over

The new improved HENG LONG has revitalized my enthusiasm

ALPHA

[Phil]

An unexpected find, I was having a look at cutting the back engine grill off to replace with metal mesh when I found the engine cover with a little help popped off to reveal some bulk head detail. I think Heng Long have come a long way since they made the first Tiger1.

I’ll ad hinges and drill out the mesh as you can see I’ve started just to see how it looks, on the flip side it looks good enough but a long boring job!