Anyone notice....The thinness of the newer GB casings?

[mitchell]

Its the Taigens im referring to. They've become quite flimsy and easily bent out if shape. Next to the old ones its like a milimeters difference

[jarndice]

I don't have any new Taigen gearboxes and so I cannot make a comparison but if it means that a location for a second speaker has arisen it is perhaps quite useful.
Shaun.

[B_Man]

Do you get any interference from the motors coming through the speaker when it's in that position?

[RobW]

I have one there in the T34. Most of the gunk stays in the same plane as the gears so (so far) the speaker is clean.

[mitchell]

yes well spotted the motors are at a slight angle, ive loosened the motor mount screws to increase the distance between the pinion and gears, it seems to run smoother and quieter i find

Nope no interference from having the speaker so close to the motors.

You cant see in the pic but i have a thin piece of perspex covering the speaker to protect the speaker from grease spray

[mitchell]

Couldn't agree more with you on that one bud

[43rdRecceReg]

These are the units currently on offer from Taigen.
This is the V1 (not to be confused with a bomb of the same name
It boasts bearings for the final drive shafts, but bushings for the gears.

Taigen V1 gearbox

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This is the V2 (ditto about the bomb)

Taigen V2 gearbox

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It sports bearings for all shafts, and is shimmed to nullify lateral movement, apparently.
There's no mention of skimping on the thickness of the steel frame, however. But maybe it really is made of steel this time. I was trying to find pics of the earlier models with thicker frames, but i could only find this one (indicated by a red
arrow..and not to be confused with an RAF display jet of the same name )
It's in my Cromwell project, and these Taigen/Asiatam motors had 2.5mm thick frames, though it did them little good. For all I know they were just pot metal painted black. Why? Well, i dropped one on the carpet from less than a metre high, and the frame actually bent appreciably. Maybe they ditched the cheapo alloy in favour of better- if slimmer- steel. Click pic to ENLARGE..

Cromwell with thick walled Taigen gearboxes..

[Dusty Steppes]

What you are looking at in the last picture appears to be the latest version of Taigen's 5:1 gearbox with steel gears and just like their original ones that used brass gears the frame appears to be made of aluminum, soft steel or some type of alloy. I have yet to try them. Are they as quiet and smooth as the brass version?

[43rdRecceReg]

What you are looking at in the last picture appears to be the latest version of Taigen's 5:1 gearbox with steel gears and just like their original ones that used brass gears the frame appears to be made of aluminum, soft steel or some type of alloy. I have yet to try them. Are they as quiet and smooth as the brass version?

They have a little lateral movement, but with a little Tamiya grease the sound is not too intrusive. In truth, none of my tanks has ever had a lot of wear and tear. I build them, test them out, and..like many others here, I suspect- start building the next one. Members who get together for IR shootouts, are probably better placed to say which boxes are more robust than others and last longer, than I am.
My point here is that while the frames of the boxes in the Cromwell appear thick and substantial, my impression is that they're made of an inferior grade alloy...because of the bending incident. In other words, I wouldn't buy them again..
I have yet to try out the latest V2 casings from Taigen. I'd hope that they were an improvement on earlier version. At their current price, they ought to be. But price is no guarantee of quality in the global world. 'Made in China' is on everything.