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Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Old 01-14-2013, 07:41 AM
  #1  
DirtyBird69
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Default Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Hey guys, just thought I'd leteveryone know aboutsome new upgrade parts/service available to us. His name is Carl Steckler(http://www.radiocontrolcustomtanks.com/M-48.html) he's been doing some custom work on my Elefant(servo recoil,etc), anyways we found that the factory hooben set-up for the gun traverse is very weak and the plastic cam forthe cut-off switchesthat alsoconnects the traverse gearbox to the gun is prone to disintegration, so after much trial and error Carl has managed to reproduce the cam in metal which should eliminate that problem once and for all. As far as I know hewill be offering these for sale to anybody that's interested,.Also I believe he's looking at also offering his version ofa metal plate to replace the plastic gun deck to add some extrastrength. The guy doesexcellent work at very reasonable prices, andseems to be able to even design and build custom parts on an "as need" basis....I highly suggest you check it out...will post some pics as soon as he sends me someIn a formatI can upload..

Old 01-14-2013, 09:20 AM
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harleridr
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Great web site Thanks I will call today for 2.4 upgrade. I 'll see that you get credit for the info.
Harle
Old 01-14-2013, 10:33 AM
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yellowshaker
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

The plstic part for traverse in metal is  agood idea, ETO already offers the metal main gun deck in metal.
Old 01-14-2013, 10:45 AM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

I think the problem comes from the fact that the cam is designed more for the plastic gun barrel, but when you add the weight of the metal barrel upgrade and also considering how longthe barrelis, the plastic cam just cant handle the forces envolved. I also concur with Joe(Yellowshaker) that the factory Hooben elevation/traverse/recoil gearboxes are garbage(even the replacement ones I received were bad lol),so wewent with a new cut-off switches on the Tamiya traverse motor Joe had alreadyinstalled as well as a Tamiya elevation unit,followedup by acustom servo/servo control boardrecoil set-up which has a much more realistic action as compared to the Hooben offering....As for the gun deck I think I recall Carl saying that he was going to design it a bit differently then the ETO version(which I have and like very much), so as to allow for more modifications of the gun mechanisms,lighter weight, things like that. Not that it would be any better then ETO's just different..



p.s. To any Elefant owners: If you decide to ship or travel withyour Elefant,I highly suggest you use the travel lock that comes in the kit..... it not only looks good but in this paticular case, mightactuallybe a necessary piece of equipment to prevent unecessary damage to the fragilegun mechanisms..
Old 01-14-2013, 03:25 PM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Hmmm I see on their site a Magach3 I know the pic isn't of an RC but hmmmm none the less

Cheers,
Wade
Old 01-14-2013, 04:54 PM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!


ORIGINAL: DirtyBird69

I think the problem comes from the fact that the cam is designed more for the plastic gun barrel, but when you add the weight of the metal barrel upgrade and also considering how longthe barrelis, the plastic cam just cant handle the forces envolved. I also concur with Joe(Yellowshaker) that the factory Hooben elevation/traverse/recoil gearboxes are garbage(even the replacement ones I received were bad lol),so wewent with a new cut-off switches on the Tamiya traverse motor Joe had alreadyinstalled as well as a Tamiya elevation unit,followedup by acustom servo/servo control boardrecoil set-up which has a much more realistic action as compared to the Hooben offering....As for the gun deck I think I recall Carl saying that he was going to design it a bit differently then the ETO version(which I have and like very much), so as to allow for more modifications of the gun mechanisms,lighter weight, things like that. Not that it would be any better then ETO's just different..

p.s. To any Elefant owners: If you decide to ship or travel withyour Elefant,I highly suggest you use the travel lock that comes in the kit..... it not only looks good but in this paticular case, mightactuallybe a necessary piece of equipment to prevent unecessary damage to the fragilegun mechanisms..


The arms and other parts of mine were broken apart/disentigrating by the time I got them



Old 01-14-2013, 06:07 PM
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DirtyBird69
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Id give Carl a call and see if he can rebuild yours like he did mine..probably much easier now that he's familiar with the Elefant lol..

ORIGINAL: Martellus


ORIGINAL: DirtyBird69

I think the problem comes from the fact that the cam is designed more for the plastic gun barrel, but when you add the weight of the metal barrel upgrade and also considering how longthe barrelis, the plastic cam just cant handle the forces envolved. I also concur with Joe(Yellowshaker) that the factory Hooben elevation/traverse/recoil gearboxes are garbage(even the replacement ones I received were bad lol),so wewent with a new cut-off switches on the Tamiya traverse motor Joe had alreadyinstalled as well as a Tamiya elevation unit,followedup by acustom servo/servo control boardrecoil set-up which has a much more realistic action as compared to the Hooben offering....As for the gun deck I think I recall Carl saying that he was going to design it a bit differently then the ETO version(which I have and like very much), so as to allow for more modifications of the gun mechanisms,lighter weight, things like that. Not that it would be any better then ETO's just different..

p.s. To any Elefant owners: If you decide to ship or travel withyour Elefant,I highly suggest you use the travel lock that comes in the kit..... it not only looks good but in this paticular case, mightactuallybe a necessary piece of equipment to prevent unecessary damage to the fragilegun mechanisms..


The arms and other parts of mine were broken apart/disentigrating by the time I got them



Old 01-14-2013, 06:14 PM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Are the recently made Elefants the same? I have an Elefant that should be pushing its way through customs tomorrow. 
I'll make sure I double check the parts in question while I assemble it.
Old 01-14-2013, 07:24 PM
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DirtyBird69
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

should be exactly the same...make sure to double-check all the motor wire connections on the gun mechanics...I found most of them to be barely soldered and the wire to be a very small (18 or 20 guage)guage so I swiched everything to16 guage and reinforced all solder joints with heat shrink...
Old 01-14-2013, 08:18 PM
  #10  
George Jure
 
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Hello

Sorry, do not mean to hijack this post but is there still 1/16 Hooben Elefants for sale and where?

Thanks

George
Old 01-14-2013, 09:58 PM
  #11  
thecommander
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

ORIGINAL: FreakyDude

Are the recently made Elefants the same? I have an Elefant that should be pushing its way through customs tomorrow.
I'll make sure I double check the parts in question while I assemble it.
Good luck....I am not very impressed by Hooben. They look nice....but these are not static models are they? They are supposed to be RC but it seems they haven't learned some of the basics that even H L has mastered. Be prepared to rebuild, repair and replace what you paid someone else (Hooben) to do. It is poorly engineered and built. Looks will only get it so far...
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Old 01-15-2013, 12:36 AM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

I've heard (actually read) all the short comings of the HOOBEN kit and I decided to get the static version and then just place Tamiya electronics and gear in it. I even got in contact with the people who made the thing and they will not sell any parts off the assembly line?

So, I figured it was my best shot at an Elefant so looks like another money pit but will be worth it once it's finished.


I mean, come on... REALLY? Aren't they ALL money pits?














~ Jeff
Old 01-15-2013, 07:16 AM
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DirtyBird69
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

yup I agree lol....no regrets on mine, but If I was going to buy an Elefant knowing what I know now, I would just buy the kit and whatever upgrades you can and then install quality drive/electronic components into it..


ORIGINAL: Panther F

I've heard (actually read) all the short comings of the HOOBEN kit and I decided to get the static version and then just place Tamiya electronics and gear in it. I even got in contact with the people who made the thing and they will not sell any parts off the assembly line?

So, I figured it was my best shot at an Elefant so looks like another money pit but will be worth it once it's finished.


I mean, come on... REALLY? Aren't they ALL money pits?














~ Jeff
Old 01-15-2013, 09:12 AM
  #14  
bullyhys
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Hello all,

I too have a Hooben Elephant. I purchased it for myself as a birthday present last year.

I first built as "box stock" to see what was needed to fixed.

I was totally not thrilled with the plastic tracks, couldnt keep them on no matter what I tried, so I saved up and purchased the metal
Asiantam Metal track kit, then found that the track drive sprockets didnt match up to the Hooben drive shafts.

so I redid the drive engines and installed a set of 3:1 brass gear boxes with 400 can motors I purchased from Phil some time ago.

I also found that I could not mount the wheel trucks without major work, so I modified the road wheels to fit the new tracks.

Now this is a awesome setup! All drive test are great! no track issues at all, my electronics setup is EL-Mod.

my radio is a epclipse 7 with an 8ch rcvr.
I'm still undecided as to the gun mount. so far no major issues there.

I will post pics as soon as I take them
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Old 01-15-2013, 03:05 PM
  #15  
DirtyBird69
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Just updated links and pics....looks like Carl wil.,l be charging about $15-20 for the metal traverse cams and about $30 for aluminum gun decks if anybody is interested...
Old 01-15-2013, 04:22 PM
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

Nah I will build the thing myself, Its the Kit I bought. I am thinking of keeping one of the T55 and an Elephant around. Doing the mods to make them good tanks is not an issue for me.

ORIGINAL: thecommander

ORIGINAL: FreakyDude

Are the recently made Elefants the same? I have an Elefant that should be pushing its way through customs tomorrow.
I'll make sure I double check the parts in question while I assemble it.
Good luck....I am not very impressed by Hooben. They look nice....but these are not static models are they? They are supposed to be RC but it seems they haven't learned some of the basics that even H L has mastered. Be prepared to rebuild, repair and replace what you paid someone else (Hooben) to do. It is poorly engineered and built. Looks will only get it so far...
Old 01-15-2013, 05:54 PM
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thecommander
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!


ORIGINAL: bullyhys

Hello all,

I too have a Hooben Elephant. I purchased it for myself as a birthday present last year.

I first built as ''box stock'' to see what was needed to fixed.

I was totally not thrilled with the plastic tracks, couldnt keep them on no matter what I tried, so I saved up and purchased the metal
Asiantam Metal track kit, then found that the track drive sprockets didnt match up to the Hooben drive shafts.

so I redid the drive engines and installed a set of 3:1 brass gear boxes with 400 can motors I purchased from Phil some time ago.

I also found that I could not mount the wheel trucks without major work, so I modified the road wheels to fit the new tracks.

Now this is a awesome setup! All drive test are great! no track issues at all, my electronics setup is EL-Mod.

my radio is a epclipse 7 with an 8ch rcvr.
I'm still undecided as to the gun mount. so far no major issues there.

I will post pics as soon as I take them
OMG those wheels will drive you to drink. What a stupid design. Damn, they do look good. I will build my Elefant (for me this time...LOL) when I have a load of free time and patience to spare. Hence this may be a while.
Old 01-15-2013, 10:43 PM
  #18  
sevoblast
 
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

You going to build it like this steel one?

http://www.etoarmour.com/product_det...roductID=ETO32
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Old 01-21-2013, 05:51 PM
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bullyhys
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Default RE: Hooben Elefant upgrade now available!

I've added some pics of my Hooben Elephant, equipped with El-Mod pro electronics.

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