Al done putting the bits together on it .... but the wheel caps do you need to glue them in? really hope not... All i have to do is hit it with the airbrush a little to make it look dusty... will do that tomorrow.

Nice! is that thing floored? I recall tamiyas leo flying are these HL leos slow like the old tiger and old style tanks newer model tanks like this and the abrams should move way faster?

I never took the hub caps off of the sprue since I knew metal roadwheels were a certainty.

Yes it's floored with 4:1 gearboxes in it. This has been the mental struggle since the 3:1's give it speed, but the 4:1's give it control and power. I chose the low end performance over speed in the end. I apparently enjoy a tank that can turn over one that can fly.

I choose this:

https://youtu.be/SxFh4MhusyA

the stock motors are cheap..they 280 or 380 size don't anyone make better motors with better magnets like the stock ones that are fast...would make you have speed but more torque ...these stock HL motors are garbage they can hit a certain RPM but a good motor will also but have much more power.

Erik praises Banebot.com motors, but they sent me 360's instead of 380's, so I have yet to test them. My Graupner Speed 400's actually are slower in the 4:1's than the stock Taigen motors when installed. I put one in and my Leo went in a big circle.

I think the 360 are faster

Just curious what battery you using to run your tank?

I use quality 7.2v NIMHs, 3000 and 3300.

O my a 2S lipo will give you some nice PUNCH! at least in my RC's when you use a NIMH pack then go with lipo it's like you got lightning for power so much better....may not notice as much in a tank though.

Yeah, I was talking to my hobby shop of what I'd need to make the converion with my current charger and it looks pretty easy. I'll probably make the switch the next time I feel like spending tank money since it'll be about $100 for the alarm, batteries, charger balance adapter and bag. Just having a flat power source will be nice.

Thats BS! there ripping you off! it will cost you maybe a bit less than a 10th of that quote of $1000.00 Let me know I been into RC and owned hundreds of RC's over the 35 years of having and being into RC!
I can source you out some stuff probably wont cost more than $75.00 for everything needed!

O and by the way I finished up the leo she looks nice! Have to get some nice photos of it ...It's crappy out today!

Here is a lipo charger all you need is this $24.00 FREE shipping right now, then they have $4.00 lipo buzzer alarms you can set the voltage to what you want.
charger
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDVNT&P=7

Lipo bag
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXZFB0&P=7

lipo alarm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-8s-Lipo-li...gAAOSwB09YE5qC

lipo battery and charger good deal! get this the lipo bag and the buzzer all thats needed! A $1000.00 bucks what a JOKE!
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGFGU&P=7

I think you added an extra 0 to the $100 ⬆

$100, not $1000. Obviously I'll buy everything online considering two 5000 batteries at the shop would be $100 alone.

Hi you don't need 5000mah batteries those 3300 will be fine.

and you can buy 5000Mah batteries for way less than $50.00ea if you wanted them but I don't think you need them.
very good pack
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZIPPY-Flight...AAAOSwiYFXD8FQ

Nice. Not sure when I'll make the switch since it ain't broke and I still get 45min run time out of each of my 10yr old NiMHs and they charge in 30min.

That's T-90 money.

Dude if your NIMH packs are 10 years old there shot trust me no wonder why you have no power or punch with your tanks a 10 year old NIMH is beyond shot and its life was well over..
if your packs are 7.2v 6 cell and when they charge if they go over 10 volts when they peak charge there done for. A 2S ipo will be far much better! and they charge at high rates and can be charged many times faster than NIMH packs if your lipo has a high C rating. normal lipo is x1C 3000 = 3amp charge but you can easy go 2 amp and with high C much more so they charge much faster than NIMH[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #f0f0f0"]SPECIFICATIONS[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Capacity: 3300mAh
Rated Voltage: 7.4V
Max Charging Current: 6.6A
Max Continuous Discharge Current: 30C (99A)
Burst Discharging Current: 55C (181.5A)
Watt Hours: 25Wh

.

battery specs from above 3300 lipo with charger see you can charge at higher rate so it will charge more than 2 times faster than a 3300nimh pack, See above this 3300 lipo can be drained continuously at 99Amps your old NIMH packs probably cant handle 10 amps!

They both have about 1800MaH's of useable charge and still run my 3:1's as fast as ever (even faster with the 2.4). Remember, they've been on ice for 7yrs and all research says age has no effect, only charge cycles. I'm guessing you have not seen these new wave 4:1 gearboxes in person and just how slow they are, but I can assure you the low end performance is incredible and addictive. The Li-ion that came with the Leo performs exactly the same as my NiMHs.

Anyways, it's on my to do list, but not a rush.

Hi if you left them sit for seven years without charging they are definitely bad NIMH loses 20 % of there charge after only a few days if not constantly conditioned charge to keep the voltage of each cell in the pack high enough they go bellow .9v cell and when they drain lower the cells reverse and then when you try and recharge they are reversed and no longer good anymore from sitting and draining below normal levels..... the li ion pack is garbage cheap non hi power cells are in it.
Do you have a peak charger? at what voltage do they go up to when they start to get warm right before they peak and shut off? bet it's way over 10V

just letting you know I know about this stuff been doing it for ever. just look at my youtube channel ( shenlonco)

I have an Onyx 230 combo charger (NiMH/Lipo) and I set the charger at recommended settings with 10% overcharge 10yrs ago and have not touched it. If Lipos will truly make my stuff run even faster, then I 100% do not want them on my WWII tanks. That'd make them stupid fast. I'll certainly look into the needed alarm, battery and balancer needed for my charger to use on my Leo.

If your charger needs a external balancer just buy a new one not worth spending the $ on one all chargers now a days have them all in one unit, lipo don't make your rc,s much faster just more power and get to top speed much faster.

I just spent 2.5hrs form fitting foam and adding clear plastic (which isn't even visible except for reflection) to all 10 of the periscopes in the turret and hull. It truly is a sickness.

Wow!

I also replaced every handle that fell out or were missing on the sprues with a bent and cut up paperclip. Wish I could replace all of them, but some I glued too well.