1/12 Scale Hetzer

[Spinnetti]

Howdy.

My odd hobby is building rarely modeled complex WWII German aircraft landing gear (mostly) in 1/6 scale and as scale as I can possibly make them using a combination of machined and 3d printed parts and functioning as exactly like the real thing as possible. I do these because nobody else does and its a satisfying challenge to get into the minds of the original designers. Most of my planes are more like 1/12 scale for space and cost reasons, and since suspension is "my thing" anyway, I decided to build my favorite German tanks in 1/12 scale to go with my planes. It will take years to fully debug, but I'll start with the Hetzer, then Stug, Jagpanther and then figure it out from there, probably a Wirbelwind, Panzer I-IV and ending with the Tiger I & II if I live that long lol. Looking through materials here, I see the 3d printed 1/16 and 1/6 Hetzer and am duly impressed. I like to do my own stuff though, and some of the details I think need to be different and of course this is 1/12 scale. As a suspension guy, I started with the bogeys and have them pretty well debugged. There's a few tweaks to go, and I need to add a bunch more camber to the spring leaves to be accurate - this shows in the mostly compressed state and each leaf is a separate part. I think I'll take scale a bit further also as the later Hetzer used stiffer springs in front than in back, so the spring packs and spring holders are slightly different front to rear. I scoured every source I can find and I'm sure there will be a few corrections here and there over time. I decided to use beefy double 12mm bearings and 4mm axles on both ends of the swing arms to take all the slop out that I get in the 1/16 HL stuff. I also plan to power it closer to the real thing - a single brushless motor in the scale spot inside a dummy engine running through a driveshaft to a dummy transmission with working differential and band brakes on the output shafts to a scale reduction gear just like the real thing. Should be a fun project. I'll finish debugging the bogeys, then do the drive and tension rollers (return roller and mount are done), tracks then onto the hull.

[tankme]

Good luck with the project. You may find that getting a single motor setup built is MUCH harder and more complex than you would think. Depending on how much the tank weighs, you might need a pretty beefy motor. A 4x4 R/C vehicle does ok on a single motor, but it has much less rolling resistance. One of our members has already designed and built a Hetzer to 3D print and he does sell the files for people to print on their own. Might save you a lot of headaches designing your own Hetzer.

[Spinnetti]

Thanks.. I'm not trying to save headaches, I'm enjoying the engineering. Making progress. Not seen, but in there are the bolts and bearings to make it work. I got the springs recambered same as the original after I found an image of the springs in the relaxed state. With more research, I found the rear spring pack uses thinner leaves, so later I'll adjust the rear spring leaves and the spring pack holder to match. On to the front final drive and housing, then the rear idler.

[Will01Capri]

You are doing same as some other of us here and i wish you best of luck and enjoyment

[Herr Dr. Professor]

"My odd hobby is building rarely modeled complex WWII German aircraft landing gear (mostly) in 1/6 scale." Indeed, yours is an unusual hobby, but fascinating! If you have not already done so, perhaps you could post some photos in the aircraft section. I would enjoy seeing them! Among 1/16 AFV projects, I am building a 1/48 Tamiya Lancaster bomber. Just two days ago, I started on the landing gear: it is complex but appears particularly sturdy, supporting the main wheels on both sides. Now if someone were to offer a 1/18 Lancaster kit ... ) Oh, yeah, I would find room for it.

[Spinnetti]

Thanks for the comments. On the plane stuff, other guys build the planes, I just build the gear to go on them (built for RC flying airplanes rather than static). I have a thread up on RCScalebuilder - I think you need an account, but its free to view https://www.rcscalebuilder.com/forum/fo ... 20781&PN=1 Lancaster is interesting, but the real thing gear wasn't very reliable. I'll probably do that one too one day due to its interesting and complex nature. Below is a pic of landing gear for the FW-189 Uhu I did in 1/6 scale. Its all metal with working shocks. I build these, because nobody else does, and these airplanes without scale gear look horrible so are rarely modeled (I also did functional contra rotating prop spinners for the 189 as these are unique too)

I got the final drive to about 90% now. its got the same function and reduction as the real thing. Now to design or source a differential.

[Spinnetti]

.. Progress for today. Rear Idler and mount mostly done. I also FDM printed a road wheel to get a feel for size. The tire is PU "Rubber". While FDM is ok, I'll resin print much of the model I think. The hull will be FDM but most the rest and pretty much all the detail will be resin.

[Marco Peter]

What resin printer will you use?

[Spinnetti]

I've got a Prusa MK3S for FDM and a Elegoo Saturn for resin. I had a Mars but sold it and got a Saturn for the bigger print size and higher resolution. The FEP is too sticky though, and I have yet to get a good print off it. Eventually though. Do you have Armortek? Amazing things those... when I have a machine shop again, I'll probably do a few like that in 1/6 scale with a welded steel hull (I'll have the parts laser cut) . Will have to dust off my TIG welding skills too.

[Spinnetti]

...Chipping away. Figured out the track tensioner. Don't have the internals of that done yet, but not long to go. I've got the bearings and differential on order to figure out fitment in the hull. Hoping I can use some off the shelf "dog-bone" axles too, but will see when I have the diff mounted. My plan is to complete a running lower hull, then build out the superstructure.