Matorro King Tiger w/ Tamiya-HL upgrade

[xrad]

the whole upper deck slides back and up seperating itself easily from the lower hull. Turret will stay attached.

there are grooves in the Impact drive guards into which the upper hull slides. Strong little magnets used to secure the deck to the rear area.

[xrad]

some detail work:

I found a few net pics that show rear bulkhead fuel can mounts in place of the block/box. These pics show the can mounts having the ability to hold 1 -3 'jerry' cans. I soldered up a brass unit for three because one vendor sent me a three can resin casting.

Also built a drain cock/compression fitting out of brass and a hollow copper drain tube. Some pics show a second fixing device on the tube..some do not have this.

[xrad]

net pics:

[grim_marmazet]

Really nice work xrad! I like the jerry can rack, I think they look great on German tanks. It hints at the desperate fuel shortages in the German army.

I can't wait to see more!

Cheers,
Rik

[xrad]

Thanks, GM! these are obviously not factory items, but placed on in the field. I like the modelling freedom of adding these items pretty much any way you can.

For example, most likely, shape could be for any type or number of containers. Common being common, I went with the J-cans. I did bolt the rack in place(because I have a bunch of small bolts), but most likely, it would be welded on.....

[GreenAmphibian]

This build is looking better and better.

[xrad]

Thanks! I finished the wiring last night and did a few test laps on the driveway. I used some micro connectors so that it is easy to remove the upper hull. Everything works fine. Flash and recoil look great.

Forgot to completely tighten the track tensiones and tha lead to some crunching noise in the thick dirt (pile at end of driveway)

The power of the impact gearboxes with the drop down gear is awsome. Noisy but getting less so. Able to easily climb a 35% grade. can fairly easily turn in cut grass.

tank is pretty heavy. I figure that at least half the weight is unsprung (tracks , wheels, suspension bits)

[xrad]

cycled a 3000ma battery with a run around on the driveway, mulch, and dirt and grass.

a solid 25 minutes before any noticeable power loss. ran at full speed even time forward and reverse to loosen up the tracks and flesh out any drive issues. NO mechaincal problems!

Some heat from the motors(enough to warm the lower hull) but no other issue. I will consider a small fan to circulate some air up front...

Tracks and wheels worked fine.Tension now correct. very slight pull to the right can only be seen over 20 feet . happens in forward only. reverse is dead on . ...so I can live with that.

turret rotation limited to about 25 degrees beyond broadside due to front deck lifting points, but I don't want to go any further anyway because of the wiring.

On off switch mounted at loader's hatch works like a champ. switch is double wired in parallel to take full battery current.

Tank balance is very nice and the weight works very well with the Tammy suspension. These tracks are awsome and show only minimal wear after many concrete turns. The paint wears off the wheels at contact points giving a nice effect.

[xrad]

some more bits:

[xrad]

Cammo....any thoughts?

dirt red, panzer yellow, dark brown (testors German yellow and brown) over olive drab (testors). The cammo paints are thinned with 25% alcohol so that they flow into nooks and the color is washed out a little. Coat of testors dull spray..not quite dry...

I only did this side to see how it comes out.