Rad_Schuhart

Hi, after some long months this Tamiya Tiger II is finally running.






I am using the Open Panzer electronics and radio with 16 channels.

Do you want to see some building tips?
Here they are https://radindustries.wordpress.com/...igstiger-ruhe/

Shorty54

Very nice as usual Rad!
I see you have a OP Sound card on that tank, have you tried to make your own card, since they are not in production?
I know you had a demo version to test. Can you substitute the OP sound card with the Benedeni? Switch back and forth?

Thanks,
Shad

Rad_Schuhart

Hi Shad! Yes, as you mention I got a prototype card back in the day from Luke, in exchange I had to do testing and creating some sound sets which took me ages to do. Currently I did two sound sets which are ready to be download at the Open Panzer forum: this one for the king tiger, and another much better for the Sherman. I have some more sound sets in process, now we only can wish somebody decides to produce the board, or to make one ourselves. I might try to do my own soundcard and my own TCB at some point for sure, because the sound card is definitelly worth diamonds!. Surprisingly I have seen some threads making the own versions of the TCB but no one so far for the sound cards. I definitelly might try to do it at some point, but the smoke of death worries me a lot. Only the sound chip is worth about 20 bucks (yeah, I fried one two weeks ago, while experimenting wiring a new amp, lol)

Answering your question, yes, you can of course use the Benedini mini (and even the micro!). This is well documented in the open panzer wiki and that might solve any question you might have. Nowadays that the benedini mini has been cloned by the chinese, if you have a TCB you can have a very very nice and cheap setup.

And, by the way, thank you very much, for showing interest in my threads! I believe most people want to only see tamiya electronics in tamiya tanks and old radios, so some coments encourages me to write and to share more.

Shorty54

Thanks Rad. I know the TBS can be used with the Open Panzer, I have 2 OP boards and 2 TBS Minis. I have been working very slowing at building 2 tanks.
Im not sure if you remember helping me with the 9erx software configure. After I programmed my radio, I got really busy and have not revisited my tank project.
Im struggling making decent sounds with the TBS mini. I thought maybe if I made a OP sound card, it may be easier...? My question about swip swapping the TBS mini and OP sound card was if you could simply have the same sound set transfered back and forth from the Mini to the OP sound card. Example, could I load your Sherman sounds from your OP Sound card directly to my TBS mini? Maybe thats a simpler way to put it???
I will probably contact you again when I get back around to actually working on my tanks again.
I am amazed at what you have accomplished in a short period of time being as busy as you are!

Thanks,
Shad

Rad_Schuhart

Of course I do remember helping you, with that defective radio from factory (how could we know?! lol)

Ok now I get the question. The question is not to replace the boards, the question is to use the sounds of one board in another.
The answer is what in german countries say "jain" (means YESNO) Lol.

I dont have the exact numbers in my mind, but the benedini and OP sound card use different sound quality (open panzer is better, CD quality) and if I am not wrong, benedini boards were not able to play things that good. Also if you open the benedini software you have a list of the sounds you need, which is very different to the sounds needed for the open panzer board. For example the running sound, in the benedini is a smal clip that loops, and in the open panzer I did three long sounds, depending of the speed of the model. Also due to the OP sound card has no memory restrictions I did longer sounds, like for example a cold start of about 30 seconds and so on. You have more info about the sounds that the OP plays (and the one I did) here: Open Panzer - Open Panzer Sound Card

Anyway with time and having some basics of Audacity (the free software for editing sounds) you can adapt the sounds I did (or any other) to the benedini board. in fact some years ago I did some custom sounds for my P-40. It is just a matter of having some free time and patience.

If you want to give a try, let me know because I can help you!

EDIT: And nope, I found making sounds for the OP is harder than for the benedini, just because there are more, and need more quality!

Shorty54

Thanks for all the Info Rad!
You answered my questions.
I look forward to contacting you in the near future when I begin working on my tanks again.

Thank you!
Shad

Pcomm1.v2

Rad_Schuhart

Glad you liked it!
Ill try to make another video this weekend, where you all can hear all the sounds, and also to see the smoke generator working!

Pah co chu puk

That looks and sounds great. Well done.

dingobattler

Looking good. Was the zimmerit sculpted on? Also, I see you got custom track hangers.

Did you get the gearbox brace and an aftermarket idler?

The screws on the skirts can actually be removed. Use it to position the skirts, cement it down, then remove the screws and fill the holes. Should take only a couple of hours, including repainting.

Rad_Schuhart

Hi! Most of those questions are answered in my build log hee: https://radindustries.wordpress.com/...igstiger-ruhe/
But yes, those upgrades you mentioned and some more, are a must for the kit. Regarding the zimmerit, I did it with white milliput, and I am quite happy with the end result.
And regarding the fenders, yes, I considered that, but at the end I preffer to keep the screws, so I can easily remove the fenders if needed. If I remove them, right now the tank is already painted, so it will still look ok.
I might give it a roughed look in the future, or I might need to remove them when driving in the garden.. I preffer moving parts than fix parts, but thanks for the tip anyway!

EDIT: Yep, I threw away the fake spare tracks and I replaced them with the real spare tracks. I did the track angs with brass, easy job.

But the best thing is I have tracks easily available if I break one

dingobattler

That's great. I'm considering getting one too, and did some research on the idler issue. Found a solution online, where you continue using the original Tamiya idler, except, fill it with silicone. Also, rough up the surface of the internal idler drum, or even stick sandpaper on it.That way, its stuck in position, except in the more dire circumstance, where the silicone will give some way.

I heard that the Henntec one moves around due to the grub screw not being tight enough. Was that what you faced?

I'm also trying to find a DIY solution to the gearbox brace. Not sure if cutting several lengths of dowels and inserting them between the gearboxes will help brace it. The braces online are pretty expensive, prefer a homemade solution

Where did you get the bronze bushing upgrade from? Daryl isn't selling anymore from what I understand.

Your zimmerit is excellent. Looks like something straight out of a Takom kit. What tool did you use to sculpt the milliput?

Rad_Schuhart

Hi! The henntek idler tensioner: It is exactly what you said, it seems like those grub screws can not be tight enough. I might need to make a flat surface in the tensioner and hope the grub screw fits better over it. If I were you, id try with the stock tensioner. It is horrible and works very bad as standard, but if you can make it work, you can save some dough there.

Anyway I think the stock tensioner has some sense. When something sticks in the track, it compresses and prevents the super frágile tracks to break. Problem is they get loose too easily. Anyway, if you find something that works, let us know, because it might be indeed better than the henntek part!

Braces are indeed expensive. I have seen more options, one of them was a 1mm steel plate as big and as wide the hull is, bolted to the under part of it. If I could do something like that, Id do it, no doubt. Even with the gearbox brace the hull has still some flex. Nothing too horrible, but it is there. The aluminium hull is too thin for such a big tank. I think the flex could be way worse when using metal tracks.

The bronce bushing, yep, Daryl does not make them anymore. He did it for me as a personal favour, because we talk daily and we help each other with the models. As you all might know, he is more focused on the metal parts, machining and so on, and I focus more in radios, electronics, sounds, lights etc. Anyway If you or any friend of you have access to the tools I think it should not be too hard to fit the steel bushing inside. Anyway, no matter what tamiya fanatics say, this is a horrible and critic design flaw! If it helps, it seems the pershing gearboxes corrected that so they are a replacement. Or if you have the money, ETO gearboxes and your tank will die 100 times before you scratch them, lol.

Thanks for the kind words in the zimmerit... I am sorry but I might dissapoint you, I used no special tool for it. Well, I handmade one, it was just a plasticard flat piece, like 1mm thick, and like 5 or 6 long, and nailed it to an icecream stick. Thats all, lol. Also I that is overscale, the real ones were smaller, but hey, I like how it looks. As a tool, some other guys use screwdivers... What is important is how to apply the milliput and sculpt it (or similar brand) and in my case what I did is to hard press with my fingers a thin coat. As thin as possible as you can do with your own fingers. Put it over the model with no primer and of course no paint, just the putty over the model. Once you put it, put a drop of water in the tip of your handmade tool or screwdiver, and keep pressing it. Now repeat it one ZILLION times, lol, and wet it when you feel you need it.

It is important to not to put a lot of the putty in the model at the same time, because it will dry before you sculpt it. And also you will see that the texture you achieve in the first minutes is different to the ones half an hour later. Now I do it fast, but if you are going to start and have no experience with it, start with a small area, like 1/4 of the turret. Also beware you have to leave it to dry, and one day later you can add more putty and keep the work, so once you finish the part you did, cut it clean with an exacto knife so when you continue one day later you can just continue where you stopped.

If things go wrong (**** happens) you can always unzimmerit it. In fact I did it with the king tiger, so dont worry too much. Also almost whatever you do will be better than the stock zimmerit.
Hope it helps!
Enjoy!

Rad_Schuhart

I already posted this pic somewhere else here, in this forum. But this zimmerit was done with the same tool.

Well, now you gave me an idea, I have to write a tutorial in my blog about the zimmerit!

Crius

The KT looks great, Rad. Now box it up and ship it to Detroit. Don't think, just do it.