My first Tamiya - a Gepard -

[puramo]

Hello all, very long time since I last posted
great to have a new project

I have been quietly browsing through some posts and will be doing some more browsing now

I sold my HL T34 and really wanted a Vintage Tamiya. I was looking for a Leopard or maybe a KT but I picked this up in auction for about 30gpb

It looks like a fair few parts are missing or broken. If you can help me list the broken parts that would be a good start to a nice long slow rebuild

If you have suggestions as to what I should or can do with it do let me know. Thanks to all you Gepard fans

It comes with it's own diorama base and cover - wow a first for me !! What do you think ?











It came with the radio unit - and very vintage it looks too

[puramo]

I have some summer vacation so inspite of the 36 degree days and 26 degree nights I may take a look at this thing. I was thinking of it as a winter project really.

I took the easy route and just superglued the main gun arms in place (an aluminium insert would have been better I think)



The Futaba Attack 4WD tx that came with it feels good quality and the light comes on as does the batt meter, but the receiver doesn't appear to kick in, so I put in a Flysky 2 channel 2.4g for testing
- both servos work (but this means you need 2 channels just for driving)
- there is a batt holder in the turret taking 4 aaa batts, when you operate the secret switch the guns flash and pop a little (when you turn it off, you push the red button and it flashes one last time)

I had to solder up some wires for the motor and it works but has no coupling - I think a universal joint would do the trick



the PO seems to have put a 6v bec instead of the dry batt pack - if I'm not mistaken it has 2 wires, not sure where to connect them if anyone knows


there is a switch and 2 rear lights, can't get the lights to light up though






there is a very long wire coming from the upper hull - don't know where to plug that up either (on the bec would seem right but in the manual one wire goes to the turret support, but I don't know where the other one goes)


there is some gubbins in the turret and it all looks reasonable



finally I can't get the radar motor to spin yet
any suggestions, comments, ideas, parts compatability and so on please do comment
I am looking for some Pershing M26 tracks as a replacement
I wonder if the pershing wheels and idlers will work as well, a wheel is missing as are 2 idlers

[puramo]

OK
the bec at the rear of the tank is input to the rear red leds
the turret wires power the turret but how does the operator signal the turret to turn ?

It seems the turret system is all linked together - the turret turns, the guns elevate as the turret turns and the rear radar spins all the time, the guns flash if you switch the secret switch (using a dry battery source)

this being my first Gepard, I can see why people ditch everything and go for a Full Op affair (expensive as it is) I kind of like the single motor and gears but it has 2 major setbacks
1 is space
2 it takes 2 channels on the Tx to operate which is not really much good imo

so I wonder if HL electronics from the Leopard 2A6 would be a good next step
twin motors and using the other power sources to power the various other parts more independently

If you have had one of these and want to share some information - I am learning as I go

[puramo]

I think I need to take a walk and scratch my head,
looks like the economically viable option is to get the HL RX18 2.4G and custom fit everything

the net is full of upgrade parts at Lambourghini Aventador prices - nice but !

Here is some Geppy info for those who want






The Gepard entered West German service in 1976 as a anti-aircraft tank to protect armoured formations. It is based on the hull from the excellent Leopard 1 battle tank with reduced armour. The powered turret contains the main twin cannon armament, ammunition and fire control system and can traverse 360 degrees. The two cannons are located outside of the turret to avoid the problem of gun gas in the crew compartment. The acquisition radar at the rear of the turret can traverse 360 degrees and has a range of 19 km. The tracking radar located at the front of the turret has a limit traverse of 200 degrees with a range of 15 km. This controls the firing of the twin 35mm guns. each gun fires burst of 20 to 40 rounds at a rate of 550 rounds per minute with an effective of 3000 m. The Gepard is primarily a self propelled anti-aircraft gun but has a secondary ground combat capability. A total of 680 rounds of high explosive incendiary and armour-piercing ammunition are stowed onboard.

Specification:
Gepard
Country of Origin
West Germany
Crew
3: Commander, Gunner and Driver
Armament
Two 35mm cannons and four smoke dischargers
Performance
Speed: 65 km/h, Range: 550 km
Powerplant
Diesel engine generating 830 hp at 2,200rpm.
Dimension
Overall Length: 7.68 m, Width: 3.27 m
Combat Weight
47,000 kg

I wonder if you can put 2 motors onto each of the Tamiya gearboxes or if it's just better to remove the whole gearbox. I'll have to post a question about that. I am pretty sure some 1A4 people have been through all these different options

[puramo]

I wired the bec and the turret wires to the motor and everything works
It's probably going to be too costly to make it work smoothly and nice
so I put it back on auction -
It's a superb RC model but seriously it needs today's electronics or it just ends up as a little driver...

[Cruiser133]

Ambitious build as it is a difficult one. You are correct that it would be better to scrap the old electronics and put in new F/O components. I converted a 1A5 using modern stuff but only after Daryl Turner worked his magic on it. I have a Gepard as well waiting on a conversion but other projects have taken priority. There is also a German company making items for the Gepard but they are quite pricy.

[Jay-Em]

You say "it looks like all is connected.

It not only looks like that, it is, indeed, how all was wired on the original release. I owned one, built it, complete with the 200-something parts the tracks consisted of...per side! No pre-built tracks on that one. I believe that each link consisted of 6 parts, excluding the pins. That was fun.....

It was constructed as such that it could be driven with a simple 2-channel, and the turret, the guns and the radar dish would all rotate and go up/down on their own.

My advise would, indeed, be to gut everything. You could decide to keep the clutch-drive. Be aware that it's a "disconnect to steer" type of clutch, i.e the long arm simply disconnects one of the spring-plate connected clutches.

Works like the real ones, however, with big power it'll start slipping. On mine it already started slipping with a technigold on 8.4v.

Oh, and most of all, get rid of that mechanical speed control. It's more trouble than it's worth, unless One insìsts on a "genuine" vintage rebuild.

[puramo]

Thanks for all the comments and advice
the Gepard is sold and I am now working on a Leopard 1A4 - hoping to get it to FO conidtion one day. That's all for this thread.

[MEXAS C1]

A the leopard 1A4 nice tank as wel..