Chieftain

[wibblywobbly]

Almost done now. I had a nightmare moment when I airbrushed the varnish on and it went foggy. Managed to recover it by waiting 24 hours and then wiping it all over with a Dettol kitchen wipe, this takes off the top couple of microns.

Did some idler wheel inserts, so they are Chieftain design, though the wrong size as I am using KV2 idlers.

Printed some track links to go into the basket as well. Will need to do some tow hooks front and rear, and then decide what electrics are going in there.

A quick video to show how it currently runs. No detracking on carpet which is a good sign. Its running 5:1 gearboxes so quite slow, but very torquey.

[AlwynTurner]

Great looking model Rob, nice tip too about the Dettol wipes, is it because they have alcohol in them? Alwyn

[wibblywobbly]

I assume so, I just wipe over once, let the film of moisture soak in a bit and then wipe a bit harder. Doing a small area/panel at a time seems to have the desired effect. It also flattens the surface and leaves a very smooth surface on the paint. Don't rub too hard or long or it will remove the varnish and then start removing paint, so keep checking the wipe to see what is coming off.

[Bogeyman]

Rob, it looks amazing mate.

[wibblywobbly]

Despite the apparent size of the KV1 hull, the sloped front on the Chieftain reduces the vertical space available to fit a board, speaker and stick battery. I have therefore ordered a 100w soldering iron and some nickel tabs, and printed a cell holder. It doesn't seem that anyone manufactures Nimh batteries in this configuration, so I will have a go at making my own when I have all of the bits.

If it works, it will be cheaper to buy cells and make my own batteries than to buy them, and I can make the holder in any shape I want to fit whatever tank they go into.

Just been watching some You Tube videos on some in depth testing of Chinese batteries, though he was testing AA's. They were marked as Nimh 2500, they were actually Nicad's and 333mah?? Two of the eight were destroyed after one charge, and only four of the eight would produce 1.2v?

[AlwynTurner]

Hi Rob that's really interesting, I didn't know you could reconfigure the cells like that. I'll be following along with much interest. Alwyn

[wibblywobbly]

Ideally it needs a spot welder, but a high wattage soldering iron will do it, preferably 100w. As long as the batteries are joined + to - , with a positive wire coming off the + of the first battery, and a - wire coming off the last one, it works.

I had to order some of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-x-7-5cm-So ... xyMxpRx9Fq

The trick is to solder as quickly as possible so that minimal heat passes into the battery cell. The spot welder would be best for the job, but I don't have one. Interestingly one can be made from an old microwave oven??

Loads of videos on You Tube demonstrating how its done.

[wibblywobbly]

This old warbus has been sat on the shelf for months, so I have started weathering it and getting it ready for electronics to pop straight in, fitting a battle system will be a challenge, probably a crate containing the led's and sensors on the roof somewhere. Still some dusting and shading to do, but its getting there.

[HERMAN BIX]

This goes alright Mr Wobbly
Hell of an effort well executed.

[wibblywobbly]

Thank you kndly Sir. I have given it a light dusting of bare earth and dark grey, just enough to make it look as though it has come off the firing range. Will post a couple of pics when I get some daylight.