RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hello,

i open this tread to explain step by step the ‘little’ project I’m about to end soon (I hope!), i write this here with the hope it will be for some use to others, like i have taken ideas from this and other forums

Since I bought my first tank 18 months ago, an HL Tiger I, I’ve been doing things to it bit a bit, but never intending to end the project as a whole… until now

I bought it from Dominique at rctank.de (nice guy and better vendor); it’s the Tiki one, with asiatam metal lower hull, metal tracks, idler and sprocket wheels, BB shooter. After a deep search of info about Tiki, I’ve decided to mod the HL tank to be more accurate and similar to the real one, including the paint

The almost complete list of things/mods/corrections I’ve done (not in chronological order):

- Tracks jumping off. I’ve tried a lot of ideas and tips. I’ve been only able to solve it exchanging the track tensioning system (with springs) for the HennTEC one. No more tracks off since then (I will cross my fingers…)
- Ball bearing supports for gearbox shafts
- Plastic road wheels and axles reinforced with polyester putty. ‘Double’ wheels simulated.
- Frontal ‘armor’ added, sheet of metal under the extra track links in order to protect the lower frontal hull from rock hits.
- swapped HL airsoft system for a VS Leo2A6 one. It hurts now!
- correct canon length
- Track change cable made from cupper wire, supports from bits of metal (from a floppy disk)
- Tow cables made from steel, supports made from bits of resin
- Gun cleaning rods made from wood
- Discarded HL aerial, made a internal one from an old radio antenna (the cable type)
- Moved aerial to the correct spot, simulated it with the HL one cut to size and shrink tube.
- Corrected position of the commander cupola. Now to be exchanged with a metal one.
- Cut ‘separation’ between fenders
- Added armored cover to the lower hull air intake (next to the jack wooden block)
- Added engine grills
- Added periscopes
- made the turret vision slits look as if they were actual slits
- modified exhaust, off the protecting cover
- modified Feifels to early two drums type
- modified the jack: added base, supports and crank handle
- added the Bosch lights wiring
- Added transmission armored covers
- Added cooling fan to the RX18
- Sound changed to a Beier USM-HL Soundmodul, customized sounds made by myself from internet sources.
- Speaker upgraded to a Visaton FRSW5 in a wooden box. If I could fit it, I will change it for a FRS 7.
- New ‘waterproof’ container for all the electronics inside the lower hull
- Rigid gearbox covers to prevent oil splashes
- moved sound potentiometer and all switches under radio operator and driver hatches
- Two wireless mini cameras installed one on the driver visor port, the other looking via the turret MG hole.
- swapped 'metal' gears with steel ones, very noise reduction achieved

And the list of things/mods/corrections I’m doing at this moment:

- working frontal fenders made from brass
- correct turn point for the turret
- correct shape to the Rommelkiste
- correct shape of the elevation trunnions (without hole and with mushroom shape)
- Added wiring to the smoke grenade launchers, and smoke grenades
- sanded off: molded tools, water tight cover for air intake, extra aerial tube on the left side of the hull, right convoy light.
- New jack block made from wood
- New pry bar made from metal

I’m going to add pics and explanations soon.

Best regards!

Jussek

hello again

As every HL user, I was deeply disappointed with the sound performance of my tank, so I I’ve installed a Beier USM-HL soundmodul on my HL Tiger I.



About this soundcard, I don’t need to say too much, sounds great! The acceleration can be heard perfectly, but in my cat with metal gears and tracks (very noisy ‘environment) the sound results is a bit toned down. So I’ve put in new gears, the 4:1 steel ones (black), and they are superb and a lot less noisy.

She comes with preregistered sounds, but the good part is that you can put in it all the sounds you want. The configuration software is easy to use. I’ve yet entered this terrain, I will soon.

With the engine stopped (but with the transmitter on) she has a new set of sounds, no movement sounds, but you can put ‘ambient’ sounds and run them with all the buttons and sticks positions of the transmitter.

I started looking for a place inside the hull for the soundcard, and finally stripped the entire lower hull and relocated all elements from zero. I did a new ‘waterproof’ container for all the electronics, so if water enters for the lower side of the hull, it cannot harm the electronics. Also, the frontal section will be the firewall between the gearboxes and the electronics, so neither oil nor grease will be splashed to them. After trying a lot of different layouts I opted for the one you can see on the pics. I know, the receiver board is too close to the motors, but I’ve tested it, and no problems had appeared. I’ve tested the tank at my yard, and from 30m away it responds to commands without issues, and with my home between the tank and me. The tank was over his ‘bed’ (with the tracks off the ground), and from my location on the other side of the yard, I was able to hear all the sounds: engine start and stop, acceleration, brakes, caterpillar squeaks, turret left and right, gun elevation, MG and canon fire, etc…





Also, I’ve installed two pinhole wireless cams, in a first instance, one on the turret, canon aligned for aiming purposes, and the other on the lower hull, near the driver’s hatch. I’ve tested them, and both work ok with the same AV receiver, I have only to switch a jumper on it to be able to have one view or the other one. So the cams and their cables must be camouflaged, I don’t like see elements on the tank that were not there in reality. I did it with camo nets and foliage to solve this. But I didn’t like the appearance, so, as my initial plan was to put the cams inside the turret and the hull, to be able to achieve a ‘realistic’ view I decided to do it, a risky business for a newbie (I did it months ago), but I triumphed



I will describe the process later.

One of the batteries was for the tank, the other for the cams, the cams run on 5v, so a regulator must be installed to reduce the output… or… use 4xAA 1.2V = 4.8V, the cams can work without issues this way. My bad luck, I discovered this AFTER I spent some money in the voltage regulators… they are in a box now. On the AV receiver side I’ve done a similar solution for the power. I’m using a battery holder for 4xAA rechargeable batteries, so 1.2x4=4.8v, the receiver works with this setup also. The receiver is located in a way that permits a quick channel change, so I can select one cam or the other.











Well, after all this was worked, I did some tests. I was sitting in the middle of my home, and was able to run the tank all around my house and yard looking to the 7” display (or to the 50” `plasma). It is difficult to drive in this manner! But was a lot of fun.

some videos (these were made when the cams were over the turret and hull, i have to do more with the cams as they are inside now)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYb7EG7nFw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMp2EfMiCB8&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4yRrqU5Lh4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B_V8iP1vNo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lNWJRaJx9Q


best regards

Hello,

as i said before, i decided to put the two minicams inside the tank. I didn't like too much the looking of the Tiger with the camo nets on to hide the cams...
so, i went to work, i wanted one camera to look from the driver’s perspective, and the other from the gunner's one. This second one i finally did the opposite, after a careful 'study' i decided to put the camera looking from the coaxial MG hole.

One for driving, one for aiming.

I started by cutting open the driver's visor block, carefully opening the exact space in the rear wall to let the minicam to pass. Then filled the entire interior with milliput and put the visor block in place. I tested it and the vision is perfect.















and what the driver see

Hello again,

Now the turret... the very difficult one!

I’ve spent many hours with this part of the project. First, i filled the led's hole on the mantlet. Then i unassembled the entire turret, gun, mantlet and the other two parts of the interior of the mantlet. i started working from the external layer to the inner layer.





I put the cam to look via the MG hole and tested it. It looks good; the KwK obviously obscures the view to one side.

Then i used the rotor tool to thin the inner part of the MG hole, to let the frontal of the minicam to sits well against the plastic. I measured the distances and marked the second layer of the mantlet, then drilled if out and filed it with care until the cam sits very adjusted and without wobbling.

After this was done, i did the same with the third and last layer of plastic that forms the gun mantlet.

then the problems started... as the cam is long, it collided with the gun elevation axis and his support... so i have had to dremel out the support entirely and made a new one from a piece of some type of metal in L shape. I moved the support 4mm to the center, and then cut the gun axis 4mm too, to let space for the camera body.
In this manner, it is coaxial to the gun and moves with it.





Now was the turn of the lower support, the part that sits on the bottom of the tower. I cut it too, made another support and moved it 5mm to the inside. This time were 5mm and not 4mm because i glued the 'discarded' original plastic support to the top of the new metal support, so meanwhile the glue was drying, i put the two pieces together and the plastic moved slightly, matching exactly the form of the upper part.







After gluing all the new pieces in place, i put the cam on his support, closed the two parts and tested it.
No problems at all!




and the gunner (i know, the view is 'inverted', but better that nothing)



best regards

hello,

time to other 'older' work i did on Tiki

- Track change cable made from cupper wire, supports from bits of metal (from a floppy disk)
- Tow cables made from steel, supports made from bits of resin
- Gun cleaning rods made from wood
- Corrected position of the commander cupola (about to be exchanged with a metal one)
- added the Bosch lights wiring























- Rigid gearbox covers to prevent oil splashes







- Plastic road wheels and axles reinforced with polyester putty. ‘Double’ wheels simulated.















- modified exhaust, off the protecting cover













- Added armored cover to the lower hull air intake (next to the jack wooden block) done with two coins of 5 and 2 cents of euro, plus putty





best regards

hello,

the ball bearing support for the shafts is a well know old tip:








i was very disappointed with the HL 'airsoft gun', so after reading other people ideas, i decided to swap it with the VS one. I bought the VS LEO2A6 barrel and airsoft system from toyeast.

a lot of work i did, have to say. I had to 'dremel' all the barrel long (with a lot of care), so it can fit inside the external plastic barrel. I was covered in aluminium dust after this

after this 'dremeling', the barrel could enter perfectly inside the plastic one, it's too short although, for some 15 to 20mm, and not sits in the caps that are positioned and the end of the external barrel, next to the muzzle brake. But as the LEO barrel has a circlip in the other end, the one that fixes it to the breach, it can't move and shoots well, the pellets not impacting on the muzzble brake (too much)











now the difficult part, sand the vs gearbox to fit in the mantlet, because the HL is thinner in the left side (saw from above). I had to reinforce the mantlet supports with epoxy bicomponent (nural 25 in my case), and close a littel hole in the gearbox with the same product. After all the work, the mantlet is pressed againts the gearbox, i was afraid to sand off limits the vs ystems so i haven't put back the screws, yet it will not move, it's well pressed











the vs systems fits perfectly inside the turret, no modifications needed on the gun mounts. A little soldering and all is done.

the gun works, and is a lot more powerfull than the stock HL

Guess wich ones has been fired with the HL, and with one wich the VS






best regards

time to the 'new' works i'm in the process to do

- working frontal fenders made from brass







my iron solder has not enough power to permit solder the pieces, so i glued them with nural 25.

- modified Feifels to early two drums type



- Added wiring to the smoke grenade launchers, and smoke grenades

these are the main components:



completed smoke launchers







and then the Feifel modification:

















- modified the jack: added base, supports and crank handle







- sanded off: molded tools, water tight cover for air intake, extra aerial tube on the left side of the hull, right convoy light.









best regards

WOW! Great work, can't wait to see the finished product!

thank you Lingo for your kind words !

best regards

Fantastic work, love the cameras I''m using a couple of small cameras myself but I don't have wireless transfer Only SD cards.