TheBennyB

It's not a material issue and as far as I know mine has been the only one damaged. Their is a slight bow in the fender area so I do think it was dropped or something heavy was put on it for this to
occur. It is the same pot metal used in the 222/223 kit though so I'm guessing some redrilling and tapping will be in order. Hope I'm wrong.

Carson L

Here's my the PUMA I'm building now, not going to hijack Bret's thread,
just want to share.

Here is the linkto the album on FB. enjoy.

TheBennyB

No worries Carson, I wasn't considering this a build thread. I figure this could just be the start of some discussions on it.
Thanks for the link to your build.

Carson L

I passed the issues to MO and they will look into it in future production.
Anyway, comments are welcome whatever they may not visit this forum to see what you guys telling out.
but I will pass what you guys concern on the kits, continuous improvement is needed.

cleong

More to the point, quality control appears to have been sleeping, or non-existent, to allow these items to end up in the hands of the end user.

That goes a long way towards improving the build experience for the modeller, justifying its price tag, and establishing Metal Origin as a credible model maker, instead of being regarded with almost-universal derision like Hooben/Arkmodel.

rivetcounter

Hang in Clong the Puma has only just started making its way to customers and so far 1 and I mean only 1 customer has this problem to condemn them so soon is not right as I have previously said even Tamiya send out damaged parts but if the next 4 or 5 customers all report the same problem then so be it there would be a major problem.

caribmar

Greetings,
This is so unfortunate, a true buzz killer "if" this is a trend with their kits. I thought the project was dead years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Puma was being released. I have been following the project since it was announced back in ~2008 and lost interest when the project seemed dead a few years ago.

Has anyone else received their kit yet? I am going to hold off until folks can verify the quality of these vehicles. Did their SDKFZ 222 suffer from the same issues?

Reagards,
CaribMar

TheBennyB

The 222/223 was pretty awful as an "r/c" kit. Not bad as a static but pricey. I've heard from other Puma owners that their chassis were fine, Mine just fell through the QC cracks I'm hoping.

wright 971

Hi Have to agree with rusty ,looks like stress induced by cooling , if they had put a radius instead of a sharp corner it may not have had the same problem .Square edges and corners have a greater chance of cracking , that's why they don't put square widows in aircraft (the comet crashed because it had square windows).


regards pete

caribmar

Ok, I wanted this kit so bad I had to place a preorder despite the issue. OHhh please arrive safely! Has anyone brought this discrepancy to Xion's attention? Did they respond? Man this better be an exception and not a trend!

CaribMar

TheBennyB

Update: Got my replacement chassis in today! Also it was brought to MO's attention that the ball screws used in attaching the wheel assembly were to big in diameter thus making the movement tight. I also received the new smaller ball screws with my repalcement chassis (original screws are on left in pics). Also a new "C" sprue as Carson pointed out that some of the casting is thin on hinges. I have to really thank Carson at DKLM r/c for all the help with getting my replacement parts. I pre-ordered through him and he could of just thrown me off onto MO for help but instead took the responsibility himself to get my parts to me in a quickly manner. Always great to see vendors get their hands dirty with manufacturer's!

TheBennyB

I don't plan on really doing a build thread as you can follow Carson's as he previously posted and he's ahead of me. I will report back once the lower and running gear are assembled and put through some trials.

TheBennyB

Came upon a small glitch. One of the rounded screws used in the steering linkage hits the steering servo mounting plate limiting throw. Not a big deal, could just raise the plate a bit with some spacers but not sure on any clearance issues with the upper yet.

Airbrushler

Awesome can't wait to see it done

TheBennyB

Lower is pretty much done. Need to dial in steering tie rods and mount ESC. Hope to get her on the track this weekend. Some size comparison next to a T-34 as well.

Max-U52

Are you going to use the elmod board for this? I saw a post that said it's now available.

TheBennyB

Yup, already pre-ordered. Just using a basic ESC for chassis trials until it shows up.

Rustytrax

How hard will it be to do a pinion change?

TheBennyB

Not much of a problem. Like most r/c trucks/buggies, you use a mounting plate on the motor that is already window'd for motor movement. To go bigger you mave have to lengthen the window but smaller will be no sweat. Did a couple short runs in the shop last night and it has speed contrary to the video we've seen.

Airbrushler

Wow Looking Good i like it a lot

rivetcounter

This looks impressive, I would be interested to see this move across uneven terrain to see how the suspension works and also to see how it manages off road.

TheBennyB

As soon as I can finish up the lower I'll take it out to the track and take some vid.

Onondaga

How hard would it be to seal the lower chassis? Watertight would be ideal, but dust and dirtproof is good as well.

TheBennyB

Would be pretty tough, lots of big holes where axles and steering linkage go through chassis and they need room to articulate with suspension movement.

Panther F

Okay... I'm salivating now.

I want a wheeled vehicle and might I ask what this would cost me $$$ as an RC project?




Jeff