manchu9inf

I currently have a HL P3 I converted over to Tamiya electronics and I need to get the tank to a "scale" speed for tank battles what I need to know is:
1. Which is the best 3:1 gear reductions for the P3 that will fit the standard HL plastic hull with no modifications to the hull mounting bolts?
2. Which is the best 3:1 gear reductions for the P3 that will fit the metal Asiatam hull with no Modifications?
Also I attached a pic of the tank, before weathering, there might be a good chance of any tankers going to Danville in March, they will get to see this tank in action.

Will

Panther G

You are more than like to have to make some adjustments to mounting holes no matter what manufacturor.They all seem to have some differences in mounting as they usually are not tank model specific. They do have 3:1 gear boxes just for the PzIII so be sure that is what you buy. they are the same low profile boxes used in the Stugs, but again they will most likely have slight differences. I even had to make some adjustments on my Tiger Asiatam mountings with Tiger gear boxes.

dash69

removed

manchu9inf

thanks for the info!

manchu9inf

one last question,
who carry's the 3:1 gear reductions for the HL P3?
thanks

Wehrmacht39

Mato-mart, RCcommand, RCtankwars, Welsh dragon models, Tankzone. And I might have missed some.

pcsguy88

I highly recommend the Asiatam 3:1's over the Matomart.
They bolt in directly to HL and Asiatam hulls. They also come with brass stands if you want to other holes.

I have heard that 3:1 gears will make the PzIII slower than scale and that the stock ratio is closer to the truth, but honestly couldn't tell you the scale speed of my tanks.

howie63

Hello Will,

I recently purchased the Mato 3:1 gearboxes from RCTankWars, to be installed in the Asiatam hull kit for the Panzer III. I agree with others on this forum, you will have to do some modifying to make these work.

There are two mounting holes on the front plate of the hull for each gearbox that fit the Mato 3:1 gearboxes, but one hole will be slightly misaligned, at least it was on my hull. I had to "ovalize" slightly one of the holes on each of the gearbox frames to line up with the holes on the Asiatam hull mounting plate. The holes on the hull plate are threaded, so don't mess with them, mess with the hole on the gearbox frame. This was no problem with my Dremel tool with small cutter. Zipped a slight bit of metal off, just enough for the second screw to work.

Another thing I had to do was to remove a set of gears to have clear access to a mounting hole and screw. This was no problem, you just have to use a Metric 1.5 mm Allen wrench to loosen the collar, and slide the shaft out. Just remember which gear went where. When you mount the second gear set, this gear shaft will have to protrude slightly into the first gear set in order to remove the shaft. This actually helps to align both gearboxes in respect to the hull side.

All considered, it was no big deal, just a learning experience. I am pleased with the results. The Mato 3:1 gearboxes and Asiatam hull both seem to be of good quality. I also used Speed 400 motors on these gearboxes.

Good luck.

Howie

manchu9inf

Who sells the Asiatam 3:1 gear boxes?

dyeager535

My Feedback: (1)

I know rccommand does, not sure of others.

The aluminum housing of it makes adapting it to other applications/mounts a bit easier IMO.

One of the two gearboxes on mine makes quite a bit of noise (out of the box), but to be honest, I havne't paid much attention to the noise when I've run it with the superstructure mounted on top. I doubt that is a common problem, but they are still mass-produced, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if many of them exhibit the same "issues", which include:

Gear spacing isn't solid. Most of the gears can move laterally on their shafts because the spacers aren't cut precise.

The gears aren't (apparently) drilled precisely for the shafts they sit on. The gears "load up" which causes their contact pattern to shift a bit. Side loading the gears with a screwdriver tip changes the amount of noise the one gearbox makes.

All but two of the mounting holes pre-drilled were worthless for my application...the other holes were completely buried under other gears. Not a big deal if mounting to a hand-made or Asiatam hull plate, but in a plastic hulled vehicle it might be an issue.

I am seeing quite a bit of runout on the drive wheels. I don't know if thats the shaft they mount on, or the metal drive wheels themselves, I haven't put a lot of effort into determing it. Some might ignore this, but based on the fact that I had to dissassemble both rear road wheels because they had seized up on their shafts (metal), I suspect runout can be a real issue. That was apparently caused by the idler not being true with the road wheels, but again, something to consider. Granted, I have (and cause) a lot of problems myself.

$80 isn't cheap, but I believe you'd pay a fair bit more for Tamiya's, which I assume would be considered the gold standard in quality. (having not had one to compare) I certainly don't expect for $80 to get something this big, silent, and built with the precision of a watch maker. I am not disappointed for the price, and you can guarantee my critical review is going to be harsher than many others. Some people might expect more for $80, but I'm a realist, and realize that is why Tamiyas cost what they do, and why HL (and their parts) cost what they do.