RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

So a while ago I sold a NIB PZIII to one of my friends who wanted an RC Tank for his youngest son. All plastic, HL 2.4ghz, BB shooting, no smoker.

While his son lost interest, he suddenly wanted to have the tank upgraded to IR Battling compatible with the rest of the crew at the Reimer Field (Can-Am RC Tank Club field in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). Needed to be complete by Aquino tank fest in September.

So I started the quick and dirty upgrade which stuff I had available.
1. take everything outta the inside of the tank.
2. hull brace (Cutout on brace is for rotation ring (Oops!)
3. Epoxy battery box and large openings
4. seal up suspension openings with CA applied poly sheet and ShoeGoo on the spring holes.
5. resin pour the lower hull. for strong solid motor mounts, hull rigidity, and a flat surface for the insides to mount.
6. make sure I have the electronic heart and brain (FS I6S & TK40S)
7. mount motors (M3 screws through bottom of hull with nylock nuts on inside.
8. mount magnets for hull securing.
9. Rough layout of components. All tanks have different internal sizes and structures. No smoker = more space to use
10. mount main components (TK-40S and RX)
11. revise motor cables to proper lengths and secure.
12. complete major wiring (Power switch is in the rear "Vents" and accessible from outside the tank)
13. tester hull (Motors & polarity on them, sounds, etc...)
14. strip turret from upper hull (Rotation and Lights stay the same)
15. rebuild BB unit/mantlet with JCC Recoil unit (& non-std servo, I'm awaiting a shipment) and add IR tube to mantlet.
16. Test IR emitter & recoil unit.

Still to Go, IR Receiver harness & test (mount for TBU is installed), reassemble turret, final assembly.
Should be complete in a couple days. I'm a simple mechanical junkie so my tanks guts are my forte.

Skilled modelers and artists like many of the forum member make them look AWESOME (just look at the TOTM entries).

Lots of room at the back. Is it nose down at all, with all the weight at the front?

The plastic gearboxes help. Would definitely be more front heavy with even pot metal gearboxes... Battery sits on the foam pad which helps distribute mass.
If it does seem to be a tad front leaning, I'll just adjust the second set of swing arms to be a tad stiffer.

Completed the PZ III upgrade to be an IR Battler. Very basic setup. No smoker, stock speaker, no Flash (neither LED nor HID). Stock driveline.
The stock tank had no MG wiring either, which was odd IMHO, but <shrug>. I can always add them in later (along with barrel flash).

I tested and setup everything. Proper servo direction, medium Tank IR Battle setup, No more Super Spin (YAY!), IR hits and takes hits.
Many thanks to DGSSelkirk for the having the TK-40S and FS-I6S available on such short notice and allowing me to acquire them.

Accessories and painting to left to the owner (Not me).