Panther G

Tool making, such as a die is one of the most expspensive services machine shops provide. the set up time needs to be designed into the cnc equipment. the making of the die takes now time at all.90 % percent of the cost is the programing. But once you have the die you can make pads over and overagain,therebest way to do thiswouldbe with an arbor press. If you where smart you would have the die cut to a depth deepenoughto makeat least5piecesin one press. You could sell the pads and earn back every cent you spent. BUT the initial cost will be high. I would check with a few different shops. Some just wont make a single set up. The cost prohibits this but a small shop with the proper equipment may be very happy to have the buisiness, since it can lead to future customer returns for other parts. Many Bulldog owners would be interested in you track pads i'm sure. So this is you chance to actually make a contribution to the hobby instead of asking a bunch of reduntant qyuestions that have been answered over and over which you seem to ignore.
Do something once worth while for the hobby and earn some respect and gratitude. It will cost a few bucks but in the long run it will be worth it to you and Many M41 owners.

diabolic-mind

if i can get track links for the other tank models im going to have die's made for making pads for all the tank models that heng long puts out. if its lucrative then i may consider expanding out to even more models. im going to look into having some other parts made aswell, but i wont get to into detail on that just yet. i might start a thread to see just how many people would be interested in getting track pads. another thing to think about is mounting. im thinking about possibly having tiny screws that hold the pads in place that way changing a worn pad is as easy as unscrewing the worn one and srewing the new one in place. ill know more as the week progresses

Panther G

Very few tracks styles even used track pads. The WWII German tracks non of which used pads are out. you didnt see pads until the allies used them on certain Sherman tracks. then the LEOPARDS and Abram and some British tanks. not very many. most tanks used open pin LIVE tracks with no pads.

diabolic-mind

do you know off hand which of the HL tanks would have used pads? if so i would know which ones to get track links from to use as molds for the die's

yellowshaker

My Feedback: (1)

The HL tanks? Just the Bulldog

SgtPearce

hey they are all the same track length are they not? i mean really in the pictures they all look the same. so i assume there is not much difference.

philipat

I remember those pre-made tracks.  Only TankZone seemed to carry them.  What did you make your rubber tracks out of?  How did you glue them to your tracks and did you use metal or plastic tracks?  Do you have a pattern that you made?

Mal, I remember seeing your work.  It looks good and it came out flat.  Why did you choose What-a-liner over the other brands?  I used the Duplicolor Truck Bed liner for my metal tracks.  I used IC-2000 glue for my plastic tracks (http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8274796/tm.htm).  My painting techniques must be off, though, because its rounded in the middle of the tracks (http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9158677).

Overall, I have to agree...weight in the front end to keep the nose down and something on the tracks helps with the traction.  But, I do have to keep my expectations realistic.

Panther G

No, not all the tanks use the same track lengths.

afv aficionado

Hi Philipat
Why the What -a - liner? I had tried liquid electrical tape, which was a suggestion that I'd seen in one of the posts, but found that that was rather expensive - in NZ - and came off much too readily, plus the stuff dried up in the can very quickly.
Googled and found Chirienterprises, then saw their free sample offer, so thought I'd try it. Got the non slip first, which basically is the 'goop' with sand, which fills in the holes in the tracks really well. Unfortunately I then realised I should have got the smooth version to do the track pads, to get the right 'look'. Have stuck with the non slip tracks though, as I intend to use them on my ARV, when I get around to doing that, because it will need extra grip to tow with.
Since got the smooth version, and found that it is not only good for the track pads - 3 coats - but also fills in as a Mr Surfacer replacement to do cast armour, can be used to do rubber areas - wheels, antenna etc. Have also thought it might be good as asphalt covered roadway.
Basically as a freebie - even with the $25.00 postage to NZ - it was well worth it.

PS I'm not an employee/shareholder of Chirienterprises - in case you wondered.

Mal

afv aficionado

Hi Philipat
Just noticed re the weights - I try to avoid 'dead' weight, I intend to have 2 batteries packs  up forward instead, though with the AVRNZE the dozer blade is reasonably heavy, as are the fascines - though still haven't done the carrier as yet.

In case anyone else reading this wonders what  AVRNZE is - http://www.hobbyhavoc.com/forum/index.php?topic=1991.20

Forgot to mention, have also used the What-a-liner for welds too. Re the track rounding, just adding extra coats will fix that.

Mal

diabolic-mind

i regret to post this as i feel stupid just trying it out. but i went out tonight and took the bulldog on one of the courses i set up in the snow banks at the cemetery across the street. (i got permission to do so), so tonight i said instead of gunning it and using speed to get up onto the harder parts of the course, i tried going very very slow. to my utter surprise the tank made it from one end to the other simply by using slow speed and allowing the tracks to sink into the snow rather than gunning it to get up the obstacles. going slow took much longer to finish the course, but at the same time the tank had zero problems getting through. there were a few places where i needed to re-position the bulldog to get a better "line of sight" up the hills, but it slowly and most certainly surely made its way through. it could still use better traction, and for the sake of knowing i flipped the tanks tracks so that the treads were backward during forward movement, and the grip difference is very noticeable.

SgtPearce

and what is the difference?lol is it better worse keep me posted as you know my sitch lol.

diabolic-mind

well on the bulldog the design of the tracks has the narrow end of the tread pattern facing the direction that pushes the tank forward. i flipped it around so that it has more bite. i was told that doing this wouldnt work but it in fact worked quite well. once summer rolls around im planning on switching then back to normal, but for winter they seem to grip a little better being on backwards. if anyone is wondering why i did this it is because i noticed that in reverse the tank had better traction than forward

milsurp53

I wonder how the self stick stair tread anti slip stuff would work? Maybe too abrasive? The glue seems to stick to concrete very well. Wouldn't want to use it on the hard wood floors! Just another option.

diabolic-mind

its funny you should mention that milsurp, one of the things i was thinking of trying was grip tape for skateboard decks. its pretty much the same thing as for the stairs.the only issue would be the time required to cut out all the track pads

philipat

Sounds like some good stuff. I may have to look into that variant. How did you keep the painted pads flat? Mine rounded upward in the middle of the each pad. Maybe my coats were too thick?

I hear about the dead weight. Unfortunately, it gets hot here in the summer time and Iwas trying to figure out to cool the interior of the tank with 2x 480 motors and two battery packs...didn't come up with anything.

diabolic-mind

philipat, on my HL bulldog i removed the smoker because i wasnt very impressed with it. i used the plug for the smokder and connected it to a 1" 5 volt fan and mounted the fan onto my multi control unit for cooling. i also left the switch for the smokker connected so i can turn the fan off and on simply by flipping the switch. so if your not using your smoker then that is always an option you could use

DirtyBird69

LOL...that's exatctly what I did.....personally I think smokers SUCK! Not until they can make black smoke and really pump it out..I rather not waste my time with them..

DirtyBird69

Yeah I used an old car inner tube(cleaned of course), then made a reverse template out of thin cardboard(old aspirin box), I then used a black magic marker tocolor in the templateonto the rubber(one side isnt as dark on the inner tube and will make it easier to see)...then I used IC-2000"rubbberized"Ca to bond the pad to the track(I used HL metal tracks), I then used a bead of "thin" CA to seal the edgesof each pad(like gluing the beads on rc car tires).. the IC-2000 is great for the intial mounting, but I found it tends togive at theedgeswhen the pads are put under stress, so a quick bead of thin CA and those suckas ain't going anywhere.......Ive ran it several times "HARD"without a hitch and the pads work great and stay put....

philipat

Sounds like an interesting approach. Thanks. I'll keep that one in mind.

I have a fan on the board. But, two batteries would heat the inside of the tank fast. At that point, I'm just blowing hot air onto the board.

diabolic-mind

you could make some ducting that runs from the fan to an area where there would be air coming from outside the tank.

SgtPearce

hey lol what model of tank is it lol, you could alway cut away some slips where the naterual Exost would be for Ex, on the Leo if you cut out the back you cuold put mini fans into it and problem solved i guess lol.

thomasjohnmurphy

Get metal tracks (or weight the tank down) However the heavier the tank the stronger the drive system. Here is a video of my King Tiger in the snow. It weights alot with metal tracks but comes with 4:1 gear reduction. As you can see, it has no problem in the snow. I even had it climbing up some pretty steep snow banks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBkA1PTKyhw

diabolic-mind

i added alot of weight to it and it runs in the snow much better. hopefully it isnt to stressful on the gears and motors. im running a stock walker bulldog with a 3000mah battery pack.

thomasjohnmurphy

if you put in an RX18 (over a RX13 or RX14 board you will get more power. Not sure why that is but those boards are almost mandatory for a heavy tank.