Trumpeter/Taigen hybrid T-34/76 (obr. 1942 model)

[PainlessWolf]

Good morning,
Spot on there! You've produced a better looking T-34 than most of the factories during the War. Top Drawer. Over all effect is used but not abused! I really enjoy the look and will be watching for video.
regards,
Painless

[Tiggr]

Good morning,
Spot on there! You've produced a better looking T-34 than most of the factories during the War. Top Drawer. Over all effect is used but not abused! I really enjoy the look and will be watching for video.
regards,
Painless

Well said Wolfy
It is indeed an excellent model

[Raminator]

Thank you very much guys, I'm really pleased you like it.

Had a clear enough break in the weather today for some driving this afternoon:

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No sound because of how windy it was (all you can hear is the microphone roaring). The wind also masked the poor performance of the Tarr, since it just looked like the smoke was being blown away instantly; in reality, it was bubbling through the tubes and blocking them. After a few minutes' worth of driving, the entire rear of the tank was covered in a thin layer of liquid Mega Steam.

Crappy smoker aside, the tank's strong enough to handle the grass and gravel without any trouble. It drives nicely, although the gearboxes sound like someone dropping a bucketful of ball bearings on a tin roof. I replaced the thin grease that they were originally lubricated with with the dry PTFE stuff a number of people have recommended, and while it does seem to run a little bit smoother, the noise is unbelievable. I might need to try something thicker like motorcycle chain lube and deal with the additional strain on the drivetrain; I'd like to be able to hear the sound effects.

[Raminator]

A few photos, too:

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[PainlessWolf]

*laughs* Is Soviet tank, da!? Loud noise only mean it is running Ok! ;o)
regards,
Painless

[Raminator]

I wanted it to be loud but a different kind of loud, so I did a bit of shopping. A nice big Visaton FRS7 increased the sound of the IBU2 and some high-performance lithium/teflon grease decreased the noise from the gearboxes. At low speed you can't hear them over the speaker, and at high speed it just sounds like drivetrain noise.

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Tidied up the wiring with some cable management, relocated the DC step-up away from the motors, built as big a speaker box as I could fit, and replaced the piddly little trimpot that Taigen supply with the chassis with a proper solid potentiometer.

Just got to figure out how to do the markings I want, and I'll be set!

[HERMAN BIX]

The markings I got for the Pz IV were from www.dnmodels.com

[siegfried]

Very nice job.

[Raminator]

Resurrecting this, because I can never leave things alone. Out with the IBU2, in with the Elmod Fusion Pro.

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While I had the tank open, I noticed lithium grease was being flicked up off the gearboxes, so I built some covers to fit in and around the transmission.

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At this point, I figured that while everything was pulled apart I'd start redoing some things that had bugged me. Naturally, the entire tank is now completely disassembled. I'm planning to rewire the internals, add LEDs for the machineguns and tail light, fix up the exhausts, add a little detail, and I figured I'll repaint once I'm done.

I'm starting with the turret, first up I replaced my scratchbuilt servo elevation and recoil with a 3D printed one because there was too much play in linkages I used. The T-34 turret is very small so it required a lot of effort to get it to fit, but I made it work because I'm stubborn like that.

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By rotating the assembly 45° I managed to get the full amount of elevation in the small turret volume. I also fitted an LED and optic fibre for the coaxial DT, visible just under the recoil gear.

I've got a Piranha battle unit on the way, it'll let me have an LED for the muzzle flash in the main gun's barrel and save me from having to have the IR apple base taking up room in the turret. With some careful rewiring, I should be able to fit all of the functions (main gun elevation/recoil/flash, machine gun flash, IR battle send/receive) into the 12 wire slip ring to keep the 360° turret.

[Soeren]

That looks great. Where did you get that unit from?