Static to FO KT

[billpe]

So thanks mcevoyi I now have a Static Tamiya King Tiger which I intend make FO. So for anyone reading this in the future, I hope to show what needs to be done to turn a static into an FO.

Still undecided on the ESC etc. but I have the various Tamiya servos on the way from Japan! I'm considering Impact Gearboxes and Elmod so I can easily put in a proportional smoker. There is a bunch of stuff that needs modifying, buying and adding too like the new gun barrel, sponsons and covering the gaps in the static hull. It should be noted that the static and FO hull are subtly different.

The tank will be done to represent a later production King Tiger which had no jack, jack block or track ropes and also considering the 18 tooth sprocket and single link tracks and armoured intake covers. I'll paint it with a hard edge factory applied ambush scheme so it can be a tank from either sPzAbt. 502, PzAbt 506 or 509 as they had these later King Tigers.

So first there are no holes for the sponsons and there is a metal brace which the top sits on. Normally there would be a speaker there with an attachment for the top to screw onto. The idler drums will also go and get replaced by shumo drums. The mounts themselves are fine.

More holes in the bottom than the FO kit and a switch opening too by the looks of it. The wheels also have allot of play in them. The screws also appear too be of a different material to the ones on the FO, but I'll replace them all with hex bolts anyway

I should probably finish my Leopard first.

[billpe]

No much to report other than got some more books for reference. So far decided on a last production block King Tiger so:
Hard edge, factory standard scheme
Possibly 18 tooth single link tracks or normal sprockets with transport tracks.
No track ropes
No Jack or jack block.
D rings for camouflage attachments
If I got 18 tooth sprockets/Single track links then 6 track holders per side.
Rain shield for the gunner.
Reinforcing ridge on front fenders - although I'm pretty sure I'll do the tank 'naked' without any fenders.

The last production block contains a mixture of these changes so there is some play in what can be added/removed.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
I really like the Tamiya series of fasteners. They have been a huge help in detailing and upgrading the HL Pershing I am working on and will see a lot of use going forward. I see all the holes for mounts there on the lower hull, Billpe. Are those for internal structures like scale maybach engines and compartment separations? I will be following this one with interest.
regards,
Painless

[billpe]

Some of them are mounts for the gearboxes however some of them I no not which they are intended. Some are quite strange as neither the FO or static version use them. Unfortunately it actually lacks 6 holes that I do need to attach the sponsons so will need to drill those out.

For this tank I will do some external details but internally it will be purely RC parts and a smoker.

[billpe]

While I wait for things to be delivered from Japan, I figured I'd start filling holes and use some Mr Surface 500 to create a rolled steel plate effect. I've build up a few layers, sanded them back a little then added another layer. The pic below shows it waiting for another sand back. Eventually it should give a fine undulated, pitted surface as though its been through a rolled press several times.

I wish they'd make a Mr Surface that wasn't horribly smelly though

[LarryE519]

Very interested in this build -

Love the KT, and hope to do another down the road...

I'll be watching....

[billpe]

You can't have to many King Tigers. Will all these Shermans about we need a proper tank to show them what is what .

I've got near the desired effect. I think I need to sand a bit more, I've got these Tamiya P2000 grit papers which give a nice polish look but it takes a long, long time to get the effect.

[billpe]

So back on track after a long wait. Decided to get on with this while I wait for my Type 10.

I replaced the old static kit hull with a FO hull as some of the holes were not quite aligned and there were quote a few more than needed. I get the feeling the static kit uses the old KT hull rather than the new one. They look the same at first glance but are slightly different. I got some Impact gear boxes with the 12t pinion through the post with some good quality 480 motors.

First thoughts were these are pretty high quality but extremely heavy then I noticed a few issues:
The right hand final axle was loose - the bearing had come out. I put it back in and it seems OK but I will need to solder this onto the gearbox, probably using several washers so keep it in place without touching the actual bearing housing.
The right hand gearbox was ever so slightly bent along the bottom - it doesn't seem to affect the mechanics of the gearbox but I'm not all together confident in these. Once in the tank it was a slight angle to the side but it didn't seem to affect the angle of the final axle and it runs straight.
There was also another problem where one axle was slightly out of alignment, which was solved by slightly altering the the alignment of the screws which held it together. The screws are very poor quality though and getting them out and in again stripped the heads pretty badly. I will replace these with hex bolts.
The studs provided are not the right height so need to have some washer added to them to get them to the correct height - luckily I have a large bag of assorted steel washers.
The left hand gear box final axle is every so slightly misaligned causing a very minor wobble. It's not a big deal but I'd like it gone. I took it all apart to see if I could remedy it but I can't find the problem and even if I could I don't have the machinery to make another axle or casing.
The grubs screws for the pinion gears come with a slightly odd sized allen key hole. I have both an old style imperial and a new metric set (plus all the ones that come with the Tamiya kits) and none of them fit precisely. Either to large or slightly too small.

Nothing that couldn't be solved but my confidence in these boxes is a little low right now. Lots of quality issues you'd never get with a Tamiya gearbox and they're stupidly loud. Impact stuff used to be pretty good but my last pair of Tiger tracks I got them them had some finishing problems (hang them up by one end and they curve, and in turn don't sit on the sprockets very well on one side) and these gear boxes aren't what I expected in terms of quality. I'll attach all the running gear and see how it all works out.

I also bought a gearbox brace for the boxes to sit on and drilled out another sit of holes for the other attachment points, so each gearbox is attached by 4 anchor points, two onto the brace and two directly onto the hull. It's structurally very strong if nothing else.

Just waiting for the idler mounts to arrive now and toying with the idea of replacing all the bushing for bearings. It's not needed but they're not expensive so nothing lost.

[sassgrunt]

It occurred to me today about one of the differences between the older and newer King Tiger kits. The axles for the roadwheels on the older kits have one bushing (inserted into the outer wheel half) and a flat head that makes it look like a nail head. They wobble quite a bit, even when you first assemble them new. The newer kits have a second, smaller bushing that is inserted into the center hub that fits into the outer wheel half, and the axle has a small extension on top of the "nail head" that goes into this bushing. It is a LOT less wobbly. I know that people like to change the bushings for actual bearings, but I don't know if doing that on an older roadwheel will make it wobble any less than the bushings do. It may be possible to buy a new set of axles, and drill out the outer wheel halves to accept bearings.

[billpe]

I'm not sure what the are in this kit, I guess I will need to take the wheels apart to find out