RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

With work and multiple Christmas celebrations out of the way, it was time to get back to this build. I decided the 25-pin quick-connect between the upper and lower hulls was doomed from the start, and set to work undoing the changes I made. I'll revisit the idea for another (larger) tank, but the T-34 will have to do with everything plugged in the normal way.

Without the 25-pin socket or Taigen quick-release, there wasn't all that much point in having the metal cross-member across the hull. I sawed through the standoffs it was screwed into and replaced the styrene strips on the sponsons (since they had cutouts for the standoffs). I figured this was a good opportunity to redo the magnets that secure the upper hull to the lower, since the 3mm magnets weren't doing a good enough job of holding everything together. With 200 5mm magnets arriving from eBay, I took the opportunity to fit them pretty much everywhere.

• 

One of those magnet beneficiaries was the smoker. I previously had the the smoker's outlets secured to a styrene plate that was held out from the hull on a pair of arms, but there was always a gap and it prevented the two halves of the hull from sealing evenly. I've redone it with a floating plate with a foam gasket that is magnetically connected to the upper hull. It pops off when you lift the upper hull, and the magnets pull the foam into the transmission cover; it ensures a nice seal and forces the smoker outlets to line up with the holes for the exhaust pipes.

• 

Everything all wired up in the final configuration. I crimped new connectors onto the slip ring to make sure I can get all of the turret functions (elevation, recoil, cannon flash, MG flash, IR send/receive/flash) into the 12 wires.

• 

I made up a little custom circuit board to redistribute everything. The unused connections are for the battle unit; I'll use them once I figure out how to mount the Piranha. I guarantee magnets will be involved!

• phpBB [video]

A quick function test; all good so far. There's a cutout in the turret floor for the recoil unit to fit through. Hopefully I'll be able to get a video of the entire tank reassembled for a better video with driving and shooting. I'm off work next week too, so I need to make this time count!

Love the custom circuit board, Dan. Relocating components can make access much easier for servicing, and sometimes facilitate easier fault diagnosis (electronic) when needed. Apart from that: it looks good

Mr Raminator quite a nice job getting all that functioning properly in such limited space I agree that circuit board is a really nice touch and makes troubleshooting and sorting the wires a breeze.

I applaud your hard work!

Enjoy the free time next week as we all know it's a most precious commodity

I appreciate the kind words, gents. Thank you for following along, especially now that the end is nearly in sight (again!)

• phpBB [video]

I've now installed and wired up the remaining (non-IR) functions; headlight, brakelight, hull MG flash and hull MG traverse are all now working. We're now close to the limit of what will physically fit inside the tank, but I'm happy that everything that should work does work.

I've removed all of the kit handrails in preparation for fabricating some brass ones. I'd also like to revisit the mounting for the external fuel tanks; I'm wondering if magnets would be a safer way to prevent breakages. Once those are all done it'll be time to strip the whole tank down again and prep it for repainting.

"Niiiice Gary "

Today's efforts revolved around replicating the handrails in bronze and brass. These run along the sides of the hull, the top of the engine deck, and the perimeter of the turret. My first attempt at soldering brass, using the paste many have recommended. It was a lot easier (and certainly more successful!) than I was expecting. They're nice, strong joints and only required a minimum of cleanup.

• 

Original kit pieces in green for comparison; mine have longer brackets so that they can be embedded for strength. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get them all mounted onto the tank. Emboldened by this success, I'm tempted to redo all of the fenders in brass, even though the kit ones look good and are nice and strong. I should probably avoid any additional feature creep so I can finally finish the damn thing, though!

Lovely brass work my Friend

The solder paste is THE best thing since internet porn........................ahh, scratch that, since sliced bread

After the few tanks I have built, using expensive imported plastic accessories like Schurzen is no more than importing templates for brass.

The stuff really is easy to use, and allows a large degree of 'disfigurement' without distortion like plastic does.

Making a good thing even better Mr Raminator

Yeah, I don't think I'd have been brave enough to attempt this metalwork without solder paste. Worth its weight in gold, and then some. Since I was still buoyed by enthusiasm after the success with the handrails (and still had the blowtorch out), I remade the next-most fragile parts on the tank; the turret lifting rings. I'm pretty pleased with how simple they were to make and how strong they are.

• 

With a little bit of Mr. Surfacer around the mounting points, they blend in fairly well. I think this pretty much wraps up the structural work for now, so the next thing to do will be to prep for (re)painting.

• 

And here's a gratuitous butt-shot for Painless. The taillight has a surround made of brass and heatshrink, but the LED is mounted to the hull-top itself. I don't think I'll change the mountings for the external fuel tanks, I'll just do a better job of securing them. Otherwise, it's time to start disassembling and stripping!

Hi Mr Raminator. What size led did you incorporate for the tail end of the tank? I've one but it's a bit too large. I want to place it in the t34 I'm finishing but mine looks a wee bit to clunky to give the effect you have achieved Thank you