RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Yes I know it's nothing new but at this point some of you have had these for awhile and an amount of experience with them that maybe you can share?

1st, What are your experiences good, bad, ugly?
2nd, Which brand would you suggest? 1 over the other?
3rd, DKLMRC offers a "fast" or "slow" version? Does Heng Long as well?
4th, Who is this "other" brand? With the plastic case but supposedly metal gears?
5th, Do they have/offer "steel" gears?
6th, Have any of you mounted one of these in a Taigen Leopard? I'm guessing the quick latch system would have to be disassembled for the gearbox install.

https://www.toucanhobby.com/products/hl ... 4282026234

https://www.dklmrc.com/product/dk-fmpdsgb

https://www.toucanhobby.com/products/hl ... 3825764602

TIA

There's several videos of the DKLMRC version but non I could find of the Heng Long.

Some videos-

Mr. Hugill


Mr. Sollie


Mr. Sollie torture testing


Mr. Sollie installation

1st, What are your experiences good, bad, ugly?

Mixed. I have one of the DKLM versions, plastic housing/metal gears - been good so far, but not much use yet. I have a couple of the Heng Long plastic housing, plastic gear version - two have failed or had wrong gears installed, but two were great. Currently upgrading the failed gears to metal. I also have some of the Heng Long plastic case/metal gear versions. Not many hours on those either. I think they are slightly overpriced, but probably the sweet spot for durability/price. Never used the metal case/metal gear version. I think they are overkill and overpriced.

2nd, Which brand would you suggest? 1 over the other?

The PDGBS was the original type sold and it was sold exclusively through DKLM RC from what I've seen. Heard from some the Heng Long ones suck and heard from others the DKLM versions suck.

3rd, DKLMRC offers a "fast" or "slow" version? Does Heng Long as well?

Both the DKLM version and the Heng Long version have a fast and slow version. DKLM versions are usually available in both speeds, but the Heng Long versions are hard to find in the slower version. The fast version of the HL units are not overfast or overly slow.

4th, Who is this "other" brand? With the plastic case but supposedly metal gears?

The PDGBS stands for Propulsion Dynamics Steel Gearbox. These are the units DKLM sells. Both Hooben and Tongde sell a version of this gearbox, but unsure what is the origin of the gearbox (either HL or PDGBS).

5th, Do they have/offer "steel" gears?

No, I have been researching and finding metal gears for my own replacement parts and/or upgrading the plastic versions as it is cost effective to do so because of the large difference in price from plastic/plastic to plastic/metal gearboxes. The gears I ordered to replace the 1st gear reduction have been stuck in customs since Dec 31st so I got a refund and ordered them again. Still trying to verify they are the correct replacement gears. The gears don't strike me as steel in any of the versions. They are listed as "iron", but I'm sure that is Chinese for sintered metal or something similar.

6th, Have any of you mounted one of these in a Taigen Leopard? I'm guessing the quick latch system would have to be disassembled for the gearbox install.

Sorry, have not. The are two different gearboxes, I high and a low version. That describes the position of the 550 motor. I would assume the Leopard would need a high mount motor to clear stuff on the bottom of the chassis. They are sold as L49 (Low, 49mm shafts), L55, L65, H49 (high, 49mm shaft), H55, H60, and H65. There may be other version, but those I could find on the Toucan site. Keep in mind that if you use these gearboxes that these shaft lengths may not be the same as the gearboxes they replace.

I love these gearboxes for custom installations as the shafts can be shortened and the D slot recut on the gearbox side to adjust the sprocket backspacing. DKLM used to sell empty motor mounts so that you could buy one of these gearboxes and swap it between multiple tanks, but I haven't seen the empty mounts for sale in quite some time.

I was trying to find a video of the Kranvagn running, but it seems I never posted one. I suppose I can update the IS-4 thread with a short video possibly tonight. That tank has one of the plastic gearboxes with the two upgraded gears in it. I say possibly because the tracks are off right now as I'm mounting the rear fuel drums. I could probably pull the Kranvagn out though as it needs to be tested prior to my Feb 14th tank meet.