RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi All,
Great forum. Lots of good information here.
My lovely, and very patient wife surprised me with a nice, new Heng long PZ III with metal tracks and sprockets for Xmas. I had already purchased a Mato metal upper and lower hull with plans of slowly adding bits to them, which got me thinking. Would it be feasible to swap the guts out of the plastic Heng long and plunk them into the Mato to get me a metal runner without a lot of aggravation? Am I asking for a world of hurt by attempting this, or would it just require the usual amount of cussing that makes this hobby fun?
The Mato upper hull is solid and very well done. The lower chassis is far better than expected as it was only missing two of the shock springs supporting the left and right Idler. It's an easy fix once I find suitable replacements.
I plan on upgrading the gearbox to accommodate the extra weight. Both tanks are air soft configured.

Thanks,
John

welcome john

Hi John,

So far I understand you is that your HL Pz3 is RTR and in running condition while your Mato's is broken and incomplete parts. I wonder what are there in your Mato's upper and lower hulls. It would be great if you can show us some photos. If you want to swap HL's part to make the Mato run, there is some problems. The lower chassis of HL and Mato use different mechanism for suspension. HL uses roll-springs while Mato uses torsion bars and they aren't exchangeable.

Thormin wrote:Would it be feasible to swap the guts out of the plastic Heng long and plunk them into the Mato to get me a metal runner without a lot of aggravation? Am I asking for a world of hurt by attempting this, or would it just require the usual amount of cussing that makes this hobby fun?

If you're transplanting everything including the RX-18 MFU and the turret, everything will drop into the Mato chassis and will be plug-and-play. The cussing is entirely optional, but not discouraged!

Raminator wrote: The cussing is entirely optional, but not discouraged!

Classic!

Though I never found it to be optional.

Relieved to hear that Raminator. I can put the patients on the table now.
I should probably choose and install a better gearbox while I'm in there. I'll do some more searching to see what folks are using on metal Mk IIIs.
Thanks for the quick input.

John

Best of luck John, it should be pretty straightforward. We'll be able to help if it isn't, though.

Ecam wrote:

Raminator wrote:The cussing is entirely optional, but not discouraged!

Classic!

Though I never found it to be optional.

My wife has learned that any swearing that comes from my bench means I've broken something or done something wrong, and not that I've hurt myself. Anything that draws blood is met with a grim and resolute silence!

Im all about the emotional release.............things dont go right or Im cut/stuck with an instrument, the entire house and neighbors know about it.
You should be here during rugby season

Raminator wrote:Best of luck John, it should be pretty straightforward. We'll be able to help if it isn't, though.

Ecam wrote:

Raminator wrote:The cussing is entirely optional, but not discouraged!

Classic!

Though I never found it to be optional.

My wife has learned that any swearing that comes from my bench means I've broken something or done something wrong, and not that I've hurt myself. Anything that draws blood is met with a grim and resolute silence!

Yes and my experiences with injuries that are all self inflicted are ca glue and a sip of my beer

Better the beer than your nose, mate.