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New here & Modern Tanks

Old 02-20-2018, 02:53 PM
  #1  
Fsttanks
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Default New here & Modern Tanks

I am new to this forum but not new to the R/C world. Have loved r/c tanks since I saw a built Tamiya Leopard 1 sitting in a display case almost 40 years ago. It was not until I was in my early teens that I was able though to buy one and thus later a "Flak Panzer", two King Tigers, Sherman and much later a Leopard 2. All gone now except for a few parts that I managed to somehow save.

Recently I decided to give the Heng Long "Modern" tank line a try as I have been wanting to get back into my first love r/c TANKS, modern designs to be exact, but did not want the crazy expense of the newer Tamiya line. So I found a cheap price on a Challeger 2 and was pleasantly surprised. It was not as cheap looking as I expected and ran better than all my early Tamiyas. I also discovered just how easy it was to work on and modify.

Fast forward and now I am hooked on these cheap Heng Long tanks. My current fleet consist of a Challenger 2, T90, two Abrams and a M41 Bulldog. All have been upgraded with steel gears (not zinc), HL red motors powered by 8.4v 4200 batteries, thats just the start. I did take some "license" with how I painted and kitted them out, but then there are so many different variation in the real word nothing is really out of the realm of possibility.

I will be posting up my thoughts on these tanks and detailing each in regards to my tweaks so check back soon. I posted some basic photos of the tanks in "MY GALLERY" and a few here.

Note: The tanks are not suppose to be "show quality" and the paint/detail work was intended to simply enhance the look a bit while running them as I fully expect dirt and damage to take their toll.
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Last edited by Fsttanks; 02-21-2018 at 07:08 PM.
Old 02-21-2018, 12:50 AM
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CaptainB
 
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Welcome FSTTanks - the best thing about these cheaper HL tanks is they are upgradeable as far as you want to go and can be easily modified/improved to give a better scale effect. the Chally 2 can be enhanced with an after market board like a Clark TK22/24 to give better sound,driving and barrel recoil with a bit of modelling ingenuity.I have found the dash for metal to have mixed results because the HL's are not really up to the upgrades so you end up spending a ton of money with all the other upgrades to achieve what you had in the first place only in metal!!! - it works mostly on the Tiger 1 's etc but for newer tanks, I have found the stock set - up especially with the chally to be great.

Cheers

CaptB
Old 02-21-2018, 06:57 PM
  #3  
Fsttanks
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Originally Posted by CaptainB
Welcome FSTTanks - the best thing about these cheaper HL tanks is they are upgradeable as far as you want to go and can be easily modified/improved to give a better scale effect. the Chally 2 can be enhanced with an after market board like a Clark TK22/24 to give better sound,driving and barrel recoil with a bit of modelling ingenuity.I have found the dash for metal to have mixed results because the HL's are not really up to the upgrades so you end up spending a ton of money with all the other upgrades to achieve what you had in the first place only in metal!!! - it works mostly on the Tiger 1 's etc but for newer tanks, I have found the stock set - up especially with the chally to be great.

Cheers

CaptB
Yes, I would agree about the majority of metal on the modern tanks with the exception of a quality sprocket and "metal / rubber padded" track upgrades. The DKLM "Abrams" track I run on the both the Challenger 2 (not show installed in above photos) and one of my Abrams has proven indestructible and enhances rough terrain conquering abilities beyond all my expectations, well worth the expense. I plan on going to all DKLM "Abrams" track on my modern tanks. Heck I even modified my T90 to run "Abrams" type tracks. Can not wait to see what a monster the T90 becomes once the "metal & rubber pad" track is on.
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Last edited by Fsttanks; 02-21-2018 at 07:03 PM.
Old 02-22-2018, 01:43 AM
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CaptainB
 
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What gearboxes are you using in them?

Cheers

CaptB
Old 02-22-2018, 12:14 PM
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Fsttanks
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Originally Posted by CaptainB
What gearboxes are you using in them?

Cheers

CaptB
I am using factory Heng Long "3:1" steel (not zinc) Mid/Low gear boxes in the T90 and both Abrams ( yes the M/L fit ). In the Challenger 2, I am running the Taigen Ser.II High/Low "3:1". Interestingly the far less expensive Heng Long gear boxes are much quieter and produce a higher top end speed than the Taigen gear box. This even with the heavier weights of both my Abrams vs the much lighter Challenger 2 (My Abrams have added weights to balance the CG to more of 50/50 front to back). My thought is the difference in top end is either due to the HL "receiver unit" (Challenger is one generation behind) or a slight difference in gear ratios between the Heng Long and Tiagen boxes given all the tanks use the same motors and 8.4v battery types. Have not played around with the switching around the "receivers" to see if this is the cause for the differences in speed.

The T90 is a whole other story. As fast as the Abrams, but only because the sprocket was changed to run "Abrams/Leo" track. Running the stock T90 track and sprocket it was the slowest due to a smaller overall sprocket diameter.

Sorry long overly answered response to a short question.
Old 02-23-2018, 04:53 AM
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CaptainB
 
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Ok - I've got my Chally 2 on stock plastic gearboxes and it runs great - good turn of speed and reasonable torque and very quiet - could do with more torque of course but I'm a bit reluctant to go metal with this one as don't want the weight, noise and extra cost issues...............

Cheers

CaptB

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