Impact Sherman gearcases/sprocket covers.

[Wight]

Hi Guys.
As some of you may or may not know I have been selling these gearcases for the Sherman on ebay for the last couple of years.You may have seen them on there and a few of you may have bought some,if so I hope you are happy with them.

My gearcases.


A couple of months ago I sold a set to a buyer called impact upgrades from Singapore.
And then today I find this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IMPACT-Sprocket-Covers-for-Tamiya-1-16-Sherman-M4_W0QQitemZ350240302589QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518bf2e5fd&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

Now I'm sorry this seems like a bit of a whinge but I'm a little annoyed.
I know I have no copyright on this and I admit he has made a good job and what looks to me to be a great improvement by adding the bearings.
However what I'm not too chuffed about is that the main piece looks to my eyes to be a direct copy of my piece.I know this becuase mine as well as his have the same number of bolt heads and same position,this is something I guessed at when making the prototype and I do not think is in any way accurate.
I think if he had made his own,as others I've seen have,I would not complain and think fair doos.But this to me looks like a blatant remoulding of my cast part!

Sorry,just needed to get this off my chest.

Steve (the whingeing old bugger!)

[971wright]

ask them for a set of tracks for all your hard work by way of compensation after all it would have cost them more than that to get a mold made .


  regards pete

[Matdragon]

stingy bugger ..... like pete says, ask them for that ............

Matt

[DOG]

Hi Wight I got a set from you and I think there great However I can understand how you feel >:(>I notice he's not shipping to the uk .

[Tankie]

Its a shame but you certainly aren't alone - I reckon quite a few of the aftermarket metal items are moulded off their plastic ancestors eg tools, suspension, wheels.  Obviously a lot, like Schumo, are far superior and are from new tooling.

[sevoblast]

Schumo has also been a victim of copying in the Orient. However, apparently the quality is not there in the copy(s).

[Woz]

It's a bugger when this happens but when you do accurate scale upgrades for something then there is always going to be a chance that someone else will make them.

Impact wanted to do GB covers, they could have bought a 1/35 scale model and scaled up from that instead they bought something already to scale then made metal versions.

If you were making metal ones then Impact might not have bothered as the market is too small.

[sevoblast]

The problem with a seperate carrier bearing, for instance in a final drive cover made on to the hull of the tank, is if, and it is quite common, there is the slightest out of plumb on the output shaft of the transmission, the resultant final drive wobble will cause significant problems in the aftermarket cover, to wit, it won't work. A variant of 0.2mm or less and you have a problem, big time. Besides, a well made trans does not need the additional support of a second outer bearing, even with metal tracks. I've been running metal since 2002, and never had the need for a carrier bearing. My tanking in USA included many trips to the slaughterhouse in Danville, where any flaw in the machinery will show up asap, and the current abode in what is kindly called a rock garden held together with acc gumbo, which makes Danville look like kindergarten. If it don't break here, it won't break, period.
Cosmetically, however, it's a good idea, as the part is missing on the Sherman, and the area where it goes looks kinda bald without it.
Sev

[fv432]

nice one sev

so basically forget the metals and stick with steves lol

[sevoblast]

Either that, or remove the carrier bearing and have at it.