Tamiya king tiger

[wizard4]

I just bought a second hand tamiya king tiger 1/16th it is an older model with gear boxes and clutches, and turret rotation, so i decided to check out the cost of bringing it up to date, howver the cost involved is very prohibitive, is there a way to adapt heng long parts to the tamiya ie recoil unit etc.

Cheers

[ALPHA]

I just bought a second hand tamiya king tiger 1/16th it is an older model with gear boxes and clutches, and turret rotation, so i decided to check out the cost of bringing it up to date, howver the cost involved is very prohibitive, is there a way to adapt heng long parts to the tamiya ie recoil unit etc.

Cheers

Greetings Wizard....yes it is possible to change out the internals...not sure it's feasible in this case though...Unless you have a Junker HL sitting somewhere because it's not just about swapping gearboxes....the Tamiya Sprockets won't fit on Taigen or Heng long....Tamiya separate gearboxes run about 90 US a pair ...new ball bearing low profile HL and Taigens about the same...normal black steel gears about 45 US...but with the later...you have to get new sprockets and tracks...so it might be better if you source out gearboxes made by Tamiya ..Impact ...Asiatam...that are more compatible...that way you don't have to swap as many components
If your model is the NON full function...then it might be worth the change as the turret in that model is pretty much empty

Good Luck


ALPHA

PS...I have the same model...planned the same thing...after doing the math found it more feasible to just buy a mid rang Metal HL Porsche Tiger and transfer everything to the Tamiya...HL...then came out with the Henschel turret got that one ...so the other project is on the shelf for now...the kicker is HL just came out with a premium pro model that includes full metal road wheels and suspension arms ...the hobby is really expanding...so it pays to do some research before modding an old model

[billpe]

I wouldn't go down the Impact route, I got a pair earlier in the year and they were shockingly poor quality, started to show signs of wear very early on and also pretty expensive. Not to mention they were loud. Ended up putting ETO setup in my old edition KT however the cost was pretty high.

Having done this before (and still not finished it!), if you go the Tamiya route it's better to source parts in Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore. Stores like JC-RC on ebay often stock the parts pretty cheaply so have a look before you write that route off. For recoil you'll probably need a whole new barrel as the old version barrel is often glued into position but there is an aftermarket extension you can buy if you can get it separated from the plastic sleeve. To be honest though, most KT conversions use Impact or stock boxes then custom built mounting points for the rotation, recoil and elevation motors and many add servo recoil in which is cheaper but more work.

[wizard4]

Thanks guys i will look into it.

Cheers

[ALPHA]

Thanks guys i will look into it.

Cheers

Yeah...weigh out your options...especially if you are on a budget....if your clutch gearboxes are slipping ..sometimes you can overhaul those to make them usable again

Good Luck Wizard

ALPHA

[wizard4]

Just an update the metal tracks that were on my HL KT fit on to the Tamiya KT without any problems, once tensioned it runs fine on them.

Cheers

[ALPHA]

Terrific....pretty surprised that the sprocket meshed with the tracks..but good for you wizard..so are you still running the clutch gearset?

ALPHA

[wizard4]

Yes I am, I have also removed the rather large bulky gearbox that operated the turret to turn, I have found a way to fit the HL KT gear that turns the turret to fit onto the Tamiya Turret, so once that arrives I will see how it goes. One thing to point out once the gear box was removed I then removed the centre frame and gear from the turret this then gave me a problem, in that the turret collar is smaller than the ring on the upper hull unit, to rectify this I cut a strip of plasic card 1mm thick and glued it around the collar, then another strip 0.5mm this then allowed the turret to fit and turn centrally with enough clearence to turn, I also bought Taigen exhaust pipes and removed the old ones which were solid plastic, the new ones are now in place attached, to a HL smoke unit.
I will keep you informed of progress.

Cheers

[ALPHA]

Yes I am, I have also removed the rather large bulky gearbox that operated the turret to turn, I have found a way to fit the HL KT gear that turns the turret to fit onto the Tamiya Turret, so once that arrives I will see how it goes. One thing to point out once the gear box was removed I then removed the centre frame and gear from the turret this then gave me a problem, in that the turret collar is smaller than the ring on the upper hull unit, to rectify this I cut a strip of plasic card 1mm thick and glued it around the collar, then another strip 0.5mm this then allowed the turret to fit and turn centrally with enough clearence to turn, I also bought Taigen exhaust pipes and removed the old ones which were solid plastic, the new ones are now in place attached, to a HL smoke unit.
I will keep you informed of progress.

Cheers

Welcome to the gang of tank refitters Wizard ...reason mine is on the back burner is just that...you will also need to figure out a way to split and rejoin the turret assy ...many use magnets....since I'm probably not going to use the HL turret...will probably chop that baby up for the mounting points
Crazy stuff kit bashing brands ...but it sharpens your mind...makes you think out of the box so to say

Good luck with the build Wizard...will be following along

ALPHA

[wizard4]

Ok so I can fit the HL KT turret gear ring direct to the two lugs that locate the turret, however the HL gearbox that drives the ring is difficult to fit as there is a metal frame that bridges the lower hull, this allows the upper to be screwed down, it might be possible to move the bridge further back, looking at different options. I did try an experiment, the upper hull of the T KT fits perfectly on to the lower hull of the HL KT, but not the other way round as the large gearbox on the T KT gets in the way.
Will keep you informed of proress.

Cheers