RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi all I was just wondering what is involved in converting a H/L tank to have recoil and what parts are needed , IE servo, new barrel etc Thanks

Spartan,

Some Heng Long tank comes in recoil model, so if yours fall into that category, you only need to modify the main barrel. The Heng Long Leo is one example where basically you can mod the BB version barrel and you will have a nice recoil. Clark model also produce a universal recoil set for Heng Long tanks and everything is included, including the servo.

Michael.

I don't believe any of the newest HL tanks have barrel recoil. Many of the older ones gave you a choice of recoil or bb setups and if you stick with the HL system all you need is the hl recoil unit and barrel to switch out the bb units. Make sure you get a recoil unit that has the reed switch on it so that you can easily add the muzzle flash unit offered by HL or just a nice bright small led of the correct voltage. Check out EBAY to see the recoil barrel offers for different HL models like the Tiger one and the panzer 3.

I used the Clark Universal Recoil on my HL M1A2, very straight forward and easy. Tank had a BB Barrel and did not require replacement.
http://www.clark-model.com/eng/index_e.html

Cheers,
Barry

I've converted a bb unit into a decent recoil on my kv-5 takes some cutting though.

Not sure if appropriate to post this, but this may help also.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-tank ... rd2a6.html
Not sure what model you converting, and this is fairly specific to my model but may be helpful.

Morning bud
I make the recoil unit from the Bb mechanism.
It's just a bit of cutting to the housing,I file the step off the barrel and extend it with a piece of tubing to make it the length I want.
All you need is a servo.
Here's a pic of how to cut the housing,I'm making a panther one at the moment so will post the pics if it helps you.

As long as you have a barrel that slides in the mantlet it's very easy to fit a servo recoil.

Just remove the BB unit from the inside of the turret.
Undo all of the screws.
Remove the motor and all of the wiring, springs, microswitch etc.
Screw the two halves back together.
Saw off the lower section so that you are left with an oblong box.
Re-attach the mantlet and see if the barrel will slide all the way in and out.
If there is anything in the way, grind it off with a dremel.
If the barrel isn't long enough to reach inside the oblong box get a short length of styrene tube and glue it on the end.
Check that it slides smoothly.
Cut out a rectangle of 2mm styrene.
Cut a rectangular hole in it that the servo will fit into.

You now need to link the servo arm to the end of the barrel.
Don't use a direct link or the arm will try and pull the barrel up/sideways or rotate the barrel when it recoils.

I use a length of straightened barrel elevation spring wire.
Make a length that has a U bend on each end.
One end goes into the servo arm.
The other end goes through the end of the barrel.

Hook up the servo and switch the tank on. This centers the servo.
You can now position everything so that the wire is pullling centrally on the barrel, and that when at rest the barrel is 'forward'.

Glue/screw the plate holding the servo to the side of the HL BB unit.
Test fire it to check that the servo does not jam anywhere.

Check that the servo does not hit the turret ring, carve out unwanted material. Don't carve out the screw mounts.
Check that the servo will not hit the electrics when on full barrel elevation when the turret rotates, and that it is not dragging on wires etc.
Secure muzzle flash wires so that the led doesn't get dragged down the barrel during recoil.

It is wise to screw things together rather than glue them as if the servo burns out then you will need to be able to dismantle the setup to replace it.
That's pretty much it, it sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. It's more time consuming than anything else.

Thanks guys I think I need to just stop buying tanks and get down to the really fun stuff,thanks again guys, Regards Andy

ROB (wibbly) on another matter was it you that made the foam unit that housed the board receiver and smoker and was just a quick swap between tanks ? andy