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Leopard 2 beach edition!

Old 05-26-2013, 10:53 AM
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tomhugill
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Default Leopard 2 beach edition!

Took my leopard 2 upto freshfields beach today for a little run. She performed admirably although the plastic pieces on the sprockets that catch all the grass also clog with sand. I took them off and she ran much better, although the track did ping of a couple of times. As the tus and most of the other mechanical bits are fully enclosed I'm not to worried with the ingress of sand, but I will be doing some maintainance just to make sure !
Old 05-26-2013, 11:30 AM
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

Heh that looks great! Still r/c tanks & sand always makes me cringe >
Old 05-26-2013, 11:32 AM
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tomhugill
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

Video to follow!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMzujJ42rmY[/youtube]
Old 05-26-2013, 11:39 AM
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tomhugill
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

I figure the worst that can happen is sand gets into the tus and I have to buy the replacement gear bag for $15. Even that's really unlikely!
Old 05-26-2013, 12:50 PM
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

I've sheared off drive shafts completely as sand worked its way into my Tiger tracks and turned them into nearly solid blocks :P

That hurt my ego lol
Old 05-27-2013, 09:31 PM
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

leo suffers from that when crap gets into the center guides around the sprockets.. solution is to remove them. however that means that there is nothing to hold the track onto the sprocket during turns. unlike full scale, the weight of the track (even the metal ones) is vastly insufficient for realistic operation. another solution is to go with slippery flat metal tracks a4 style. those dont have the epic grip of the rubber/ice grousers that dig into any surface, allowing the track to slip over the ground as you turn, keeping it onto the sprocket without the inner guides. im yet to find such tracks though.... for the a6. absolutely love the original a4 ones. tamiya actually put some common sense back in the 70s into its models

dry sand is fine as it doesnt cake up and the shields prevent it from getting into the gb.. but snow/mud/pebbles are its bane. also your tracks appear to be too tight. stock tensioner i suppose?
Old 05-27-2013, 10:47 PM
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tomhugill
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

Desanded her last night and all seems well! I've been thinking about how to get round the issues with the track guides, I think a partial solution would be to use something that just prevents outward movement so there's a bit more space between the sprocket and track. I'm running the upgraded metal tensioners actually. I have them well tensioned as it seems to help stop throwing tracks on my t-55. Do you fine slacker tracks of benefit?
Old 05-28-2013, 04:02 AM
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

You have beaches in the UK?

Looks great, like a helicopter shot of desert movement (until you passed a giant footprint).

What, no sand castle crashing?
Old 05-28-2013, 05:25 AM
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tomhugill
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

Cheers ausf! That was the effect I was going for, managed to keep my shadow out the way for most of it! The foot print is a real life giant....honest!

Regarding the sandcastle bashing some one had build about 20 in a square and I was all set to go demolish. However my missus decided they probably belonged to a small child who's day I would ruin with my tank based demolition
Old 05-28-2013, 07:50 PM
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Default RE: Leopard 2 beach edition!

less wear of trackpin holes and more realistic suspension travel (track doesn't precompress/prevent compression of roadwheels). and less strain on the bearings but that's a bit irrelevant being how much use the toys get. i've noticed track jumps are far less violent with less tension - easier to track back on.

the main issue is the track gets pushed back creating slack before the intake sprocket teeth and as you turn the ground bites it and pulls it left or right (depending on turn dir). then in that kinked position as the slacked up links make contact with the sprocket they are off center and jump the teeth. what's causing the excess track slop is that the first roadwheel (after the idler) compresses as the track pulls and thus creates slack that is not accounted for by the static tensioner. i have tried all sorts of solutions... i even ran double torsion bars on the first wheels to give them more tension.. same difference. the metal suspension parts are actually angled more aggressively for the 2 front wheels to create extra tension, but again, insufficient solution.

weight is not enough to overcome the massive traction the tracks have with the ground. as for a dynamic self adjusting tensioner, doubt that will work as all it will do is pull the track and compress the suspension causing weirdness.

we need reduced traction tracks for this thing.... i dont want to spend more money but i wonder if the impact ones with ice grousers all the way around, after you file the ridges on each pad will do the job. aka a4 style which has the subdued metal pads.

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