Heng Long T72 "Modernization" build.
#26
i wish they had used the original T72 track too they are so much more aggressive looking. There used to be an aftermarket supplier for metal T72 tracks but I haven’t seen them offered for a while now.
#27
I have a set of those metal T-72 tracks. The Hooben T55A I bought second hand had them on it, but I replaced them with the normal metal T55A tracks. Before anyone asks...I'm not selling them since they don't make them anymore and I will be getting a T-72 eventually. They just didn't fit the T-55A as well as I would've liked. I'm not even sure they would fit a T-72 anymore. They might not have the complete set of links although they were really loose on the T-55A.
#28
Here where I got from, but I guess you can easily get from USA
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-16-Russia...I/382868278712
#30
DAY 3: Since high heat temps are produced at the higher power levels I plan to run this tank, and only made worst due to the fact that the inner hull volume is much smaller then on other modern tanks. I decided to install a engine bay heat separation bulkhead and exhaust/cooling fan after seeing my HL speaker which was located between the gearboxes in my first T72 start to melt (see photo). Melting plastic has never been an issue in my past modern tanks I have built and run hard, but the T72 with its afore mentioned small inner hull volume just has nowhere for the heat to go. Since this build will eventually be using a 3 cell 5000Mah Lipo battery and these batteries are not high heat friendly, it was prudent to add the bulkhead.
The other issue addressed at this time was the very poor upper to lower hull fit that has a number of large molded in holes that let large amount of dirt/sand and other debris enter the hull. This can be seen in the photos below of the melted speaker which were taken after only a few days of running and battling the tank. The holes are now sealed to reduce the dirt/sand getting in on both tanks.
Melting to speaker box seen on my first T72.
Melting to speaker box seen on my first T72.
Engine bay heat bulkhead consisting of multi layered hight temp black silicon sandwiched between dense cardboard walls. Simple yet effective heat barrier.
Exhaust/cooling fan. Also the heat exhaust port cut into the rear deck face.
Heat exhaust port air deflector/cover. The deflector is a repurposed front splash guard form my old T90. It fit perfectly and it's lines blend well with the overall design of the T72 hull.
Heat exhaust port air deflector/cover.
Fan pushes enough air to blow out a match.
The other issue addressed at this time was the very poor upper to lower hull fit that has a number of large molded in holes that let large amount of dirt/sand and other debris enter the hull. This can be seen in the photos below of the melted speaker which were taken after only a few days of running and battling the tank. The holes are now sealed to reduce the dirt/sand getting in on both tanks.
Melting to speaker box seen on my first T72.
Melting to speaker box seen on my first T72.
Engine bay heat bulkhead consisting of multi layered hight temp black silicon sandwiched between dense cardboard walls. Simple yet effective heat barrier.
Exhaust/cooling fan. Also the heat exhaust port cut into the rear deck face.
Heat exhaust port air deflector/cover. The deflector is a repurposed front splash guard form my old T90. It fit perfectly and it's lines blend well with the overall design of the T72 hull.
Heat exhaust port air deflector/cover.
Fan pushes enough air to blow out a match.
Last edited by Fsttanks; 11-28-2019 at 05:12 PM.
#31
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: HamiltonWaikato, NEW ZEALAND
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Hi Fsttanks
Do any of the engine grilles penetrate all the way through? Might pay to open them up - I've done that on a number of my M41's - push through with saw blade Xacto or similar, then feed a strip of fine garnet paper
through & sand the gap wider.
Mal
Do any of the engine grilles penetrate all the way through? Might pay to open them up - I've done that on a number of my M41's - push through with saw blade Xacto or similar, then feed a strip of fine garnet paper
through & sand the gap wider.
Mal
#32
Yes some of the molded radiator intakes have been opened up. I did not shoot photos of this prior to installing the new radiator grill covers. You can see the new radiator grill covers above and the air intake gap between the new and old. I also added air intake holes to the top deck further forward yet inside the engine bay (visible in many of the photos already posted) that sit under the rear section of the turret. I wanted to create a negative internal pressure zone that works to help suck air into the engine bay when the fan is on and to do this I needed to restrict how many holes were added. Also had to use smaller openings to control dust intake somewhat. Overall the engine bay is rather well sealed off from the main hull and the exhaust fan can be turned on and off as running conditions require. The fan is plugged into the smoke generator slot/port since this was not being used any longer as the smoke system was the first thing I ripped out.
#33
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Join Date: May 2020
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Hello,
you wrote:
"I wish they had used the original T72 track too they are so much more aggressive looking."
So I would like to introduce my original T-72 tracks and sprockets. I made the 3D model from original track link, so the original serial numbers you can find on the track links. I'm new on this forum, so I can't post pictures... Sorry! See in my profile, there is a library for pictures
you wrote:
"I wish they had used the original T72 track too they are so much more aggressive looking."
So I would like to introduce my original T-72 tracks and sprockets. I made the 3D model from original track link, so the original serial numbers you can find on the track links. I'm new on this forum, so I can't post pictures... Sorry! See in my profile, there is a library for pictures
Last edited by Attracks; 05-19-2020 at 01:10 PM.
#34
#36
That is not just for the hull. That listing is for the whole tank which includes the hull. It is a Heng Long hull that is being released this year like the HL Abrams and Tiger I metal hulls. All the systems in the hull look like the HL Abrams hull. This company is trying to claim they are "customizing" the entire tank to justify the cost and they may be taking a regular T-72 and adding the hull since I haven't seen a HL 6.0 offered with the new metal hull as one SKU. This one isn't even claiming to be 6.0. Once the hulls become more common I'm sure they will come down to the price to the Abrams hull which was right around $500 which is also around the same price as the DKLM RC Abrams metal hulls.
#38
Yes I figured they would come down in price after it was more common out there was liking the ideal they were making one for the T-72 tank .
Thanks
Jimmy
Thanks
Jimmy
#39
Deception...it's really the only reason I can see. Some may not notice the actual drop. A lot of people see sale and must buy. Who knows. The price seemed high to me even with the metal hull. I saw that they were releasing this hull a while back with the new smoker and barrel smoker system. It came out after the Abrams/Tiger releases, but even those are not very mainstream at the moment and I have yet to see an Abrams for sale that includes a similar hull as a complete SKU from HL. It seems HL is falling victim to all the same issues a lot of the manufacturers are in this field...delays and product shortages. I really want a T-90 and a T-72, but I've been kinda holding off to see if they release these tanks with these metal hulls.
#40
Same here I'd like both my self don't have ether one I would buy the metal lowers and the plastic to convert or I kind of like how they did with the Hooben T-55 came out with the metal bottom plate and under gearbox plate add that with the wheel arms and arm mounts being metal makes for a nice tank to start to up grade .
Thanks
Jimmy
Thanks
Jimmy
#41
Hi
#42
Junior Member
That's a great looking custom job! It's good to know that the Heng Long T-72 can handle some modifications, because I really wanted to get myself one and "dress it up" as a Russian T-72B1 with Kontakt-1 ERA, as there's no "out of the box" T-72B1, you either have to go for a T-72M1 or T-90.
#43
That's a great looking custom job! It's good to know that the Heng Long T-72 can handle some modifications, because I really wanted to get myself one and "dress it up" as a Russian T-72B1 with Kontakt-1 ERA, as there's no "out of the box" T-72B1, you either have to go for a T-72M1 or T-90.
I have more photos and videos of all my T72s and many other tanks on my Instagram @ fsttanks
Left is a basic T72 and right is a “up armored & improved optics” themed T72.
“Up armored” T72 with updated optics.
Last edited by Fsttanks; 05-30-2020 at 09:43 AM.
#44
That's a great looking custom job! It's good to know that the Heng Long T-72 can handle some modifications, because I really wanted to get myself one and "dress it up" as a Russian T-72B1 with Kontakt-1 ERA, as there's no "out of the box" T-72B1, you either have to go for a T-72M1 or T-90.
They have a kit for the T72 Kontakt ERA, but I don't see it for sale on the OZ Armor site:
#45
Wow that looks very good with the Kontakt-1 armor makes me think of buying the T72 Tank then upgrade it before the metal lower hull comes down in price some time this year or next .Of course I've still got my Hobben T-55 to finish and a T-23 prototype tank I've been slowly building as of last year like others as I work on one tank and wait for parts to show up I start another build plus playing around with 3D printing also .
Thanks
Jimmy
Thanks
Jimmy
Last edited by bowlman; 05-31-2020 at 07:08 AM.
#46
Junior Member