One of the omissions of the Tamiya Leopard was rubber tires on their idler wheels. A set of King Kong RC machined aluminium idler wheels were duly procured off eBay.


It arrived in Singapore very quickly, taking just a little over a week.




Machining standard was good, although I encountered a slight hiccup trying to fasten the bolts that tied the two wheel halves together. The solution in the end was a 2mm hex bolt head with nuts stacked at the end of the screw thread for extra purchase. Remember to use thread lock!


The rubber that is visible on the Tamiya idler wheel are bicycle inner tubes cut and glued to the wheel.


Side by side comparison with a standard Tamiya 2A6 idler wheel shows some differences such as a different bolt count (undoubtedly due to space limitations for hardware) as well as a simplified wheel hub. Oh well given that it is mostly hidden under the tank's armoured skirt, this is function over form.



The differences are more obvious once painted. I've had to insert a washer into the idler shaft as the rim of the King Kong wheel would rub on the idler arm. I guess with each manufacturer having slightly different tolerances, the variances start adding up. I don't think this will affect too much, though.