Transporting Modern Tanks Without Damage

[zooma]

The 1/16 scale r/c model tanks are longer and generally bigger than most of the WW2 r/c tanks that I have modelled previously and transporting them to and from the local club without damaging them or knocking bits off of them is a problem as they won't generally fit into a zipped shopping bag or a suitably sized clear plastic box, so I decided to knock-up some sort of carry-tray to do the job.

I wanted to make the smallest size carry tray possible that would be still be able to protect the model when it is being moved from the house to the workshop to the car and to the club and back ago on a regular basis.

Turning the turret to position the barrel over the rear of the model gives the shortest overall length, and when positioned the barrel slightly off-centre I found that I could make something 26" long by 10 3/4 " wide that would work for my Tamiya Leopard 2A6 by fitting the model inside it.

One of my other hobbies is making fast r/c model boats and restoring classic model power boats so I usually have a good stock of nice wood laying around the workshop, but for this project I wanted to use any oddments of scrap that could find....and save the new nice clean marine plywood for my new builds and restorations.

I found some 2mm scrap plywood that I could used for the base so I cut it to size and then hunted around for something to use for the sides. A model warehouse that I had made years ago for the r/c model truck club had not been used for some time so it was liberated and broken up to use for the sides and ends. I cut this 7mm (approx) plywood into suitable sized lengths and then stripped it to 90mm wide on the bandsaw to make it just high enough to offer some protection without making it too heavy to carry.

A couple of 90mm off-cuts that were left over were cut to length to provide an upright for each end to slide an old broom handle into for me to carry it with.

Suitable shapes were chopped up to make "buffers" at the front and back to keep the tank in place inside the frame and another to hold the transmitter in place. A strip of Velcro was added to hold the tank battery safely as it is never in the turret until the tank is being run to help delay the inevitable Tamiya 2A6 Leopard turret sag.

Although this was only a quick "bash-together" tank carry cot, it has worked well and so I will tidy it up (at a later date) and use it as a reference when making something similar for my other Modern Tank Models.

I took a picture of it on my iPhone and tried to upload it on my iMac, but I got the following message:-

ERROR
File too large: IMG_3323.jpeg

I will try again direct from my iPhone and see if it works better.

[zooma]

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Here is a picture of the “carry cot” that I knocked up quickly to help transport my Tamiya 2A6 Leopard to the club without damaging it.

[zooma]

Plate added to protect the turret basket.

[zooma]

A wooden "shield" was added to protect the turret basket and the length of the carry cot is just long enough to keep the barrel safe.

All the "add-ons" are only screwed-on so the carry cot can be modified and changed as I find out what works !

[Ecam]

Great idea for a transport box. Are you worried if the wood to tank contact would mar the finish? I think I'd be inclined to add felt or thin foam. I do like the fact that parts can be refigured for other tanks. I can't imagen one being much larger than yours (in sixteenth - for all you weird large scale guys).

[tankme]

Since my tanks get transported in the bed of my truck, I like to line any walled contact points with foam. Just because a sudden shift would cause the hard walls to do damage to the front or rear of the tank.

[zooma]

Great idea for a transport box. Are you worried if the wood to tank contact would mar the finish? I think I'd be inclined to add felt or thin foam. I do like the fact that parts can be refigured for other tanks. I can't imagen one being much larger than yours (in sixteenth - for all you weird large scale guys).

Hi Eric,

I use a similar method of transporting my power boats to protect them between house and lake and again the "carry cot" is made from scrap so I never get "precious" about them as they are designed to take any bumps or knocks rather than the boat (or in this case the tank).

These pictures show my first effort and I have since made a second version that is a little more refined (but still bashed together out of scrap!).

Somewhere I have some thin soft rubber sheet and the idea is to laminate a thin layer of this onto the face of the front buffer and the face of the rear buffer as these are the only two contact points with the tank body.......I just need to remember the "safe place" that I left it in (!).

The tank is spaced away from the sides of the carry cot so the front and rear buffers are the only contact points - other than the tracks that stand on the bottom of the tray. I have only used the carry cot a few times to date and the tanks have not moved at all when being transported, but I am considering adding a small "ramp" to sit under the hull (between the tracks) to take the weight off of them, but then I would loose the natural cushioning effect that the tanks suspension gives so I may not do this, but it is early days yet!

When the design is finalised I will have different shaped buffers that can be removed and substituted with other shaped buffers that better fit other tank hull shapes to make the carry cot a "universal carrier" for any of my 1/16 scale Modern Tanks. At the moment I have used wood screws to fix the buffers in place but in the future I may devise some sort of nut and bolt fixing as this would be better suited to continual removal and replacement.

The diagonal angle that the turret has to take to give the shortest overall length (and clear the transmitter body) does position the Leopards turret basket close to the edge of the cot, so an "armoured plate" of scrap plywood is added in this area to protect it as I know that it could get damaged in transit without it. Other tanks that I have tried to date do not need this, but my Chieftain and Challenger may need a similar "plate" to protect their turret baskets as the angle of the turret does leave the baskets a bit too close to the sides and potentially vulnerable.

Bob.

[zooma]

Since my tanks get transported in the bed of my truck, I like to line any walled contact points with foam. Just because a sudden shift would cause the hard walls to do damage to the front or rear of the tank.

Good idea Derek - and probably a lot safer than carrying a tank in the boot of my MINI Cooper !

I also have to walk from the car to the club carrying bags and other stuff so I am always at risk of dropping or bumping things together so I made the cot to protect the tank (mainly from myself!).

Bob.

[zooma]

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Mk2 carry cot in a nice subdued camoflage colour

[zooma]

This version is to fit my new Heng Long T90.