sturmgescheutz

Hello friends of model making,

after a long time I can finally present you a new product.

The new track tensioning system for the Tongde M60.

With the new product, the axles are no longer held by pressure. They are clamped. This allows much higher breakaway forces to be absorbed.

The components are laser-cut from steel and black chromated after machining so that they will last a lifetime.










The set includes machine-turned axles for the tensioning wheels.

Illustrated instructions are of course included.

The system will be available to order in the store or at rc-tank.de in the course of next week.

RichJohnson

Nice piece of machinery but I just don’t see where this product is needed at all.
I have a few of the metal version M60 series running the plastic tracks and have driven them very hard on very rough terrain with no issues. The stock tank has a nice adjustable idler mount that is robust enough that it holds up well under heavy use.
I feel like this product reinvents the wheel.

Fsttanks

I have to agree with RichJohnson, a cool product but WHY is it needed? I don't see any benefit of this product over the stock idler set up. The TD M60 is a very forgiving tank when it comes to track retention with either the plastic or metal TD tracks. Even when modifications are made to run a DKLM "dual current" drive, HL Abrams sprockets and running Tamiya tracks the TongDe M60 is still very forgiving and retains the tracks exceptionally well using the stock idler set up.

I have a few TongDe M60s so I do know what I am talking about. I have a number of videos of them running on my Instagram @ fsttanks and on my YouTube @ Fsttanks1. Feel free to have a look.


The USMC "RISE" version has a dual current drive, HL sprockets and Tamiya Leopard 2 tracks.

Rad_Schuhart

Hey, at least that new clamping system looks good. I am sorry to say that I have issues with the Henntek tensioners in my king tiger and in my t55. I wonder if those new clamping systems could be added to existing set ups.

tankme

That was kinda my thoughts.

sturmgescheutz

Hello,

I would like to ask for your forgiveness.
How could I have done something without permission?

I have a business and my code of honor forbids me to write badly or negatively about other people.

I think everything has been said and in the future I will build what is needed and what I feel like doing.

Rad_Schuhart

Man, one thing is talking bad of someone's business, and another one is having customer feedback which is the most important thing you can ever have.

I am no seller, neither I want to be, but many people know I make and ship stencils worldwide, besides fitting electronics or programming radios for friends (I refuse to call them customers) of my website and forums. And I always do ask for feedback, and I always ask for what can be improved, because I want people to be 100% happy, and I want to be 100% happy with my stuff as well, and I enjoy new ideas more than anything else.

I also gave feedback to many people. I do write honest reviews on my website and I write about the great, the good, and the bad things I find, and I found for example Elmod, Beier, Open panzer, RCTA ASP and Kim Olsen corrected some bugs I found, or added new functions I wanted to have, which ranged from to more user sounds to very specific things in controls and lights going trough loads of things in the code of Open Source radios. I believe this is a win-win situation, I get what I would like to get, and the seller sells a better, more refined product, most of the times at no extra cost..

About your track tensioners, I have two. One on my king tiger and one on my T54. And I cannot say I am happy with them. No matter how I tight the grub screw, I always end with a loose tensioner, and I am one of those who only gently drive from the salon to the kitchen, and is afraid of the garden and mud. I have met quite a lot of people experiencing the same issues with your tensioners. Maybe, if somebody gave you the due feedback years ago, your products would be better than what actually are. Yes, they might be an improvement in some cases, like in the Tamiya king tiger or when a Heng Long tank has given up, but not a 40 Eur improvement, neither something I would install in a new tank right now.

Said that, I have seen a substancial upgrade in your new M60 tensioner, and if you sell the required parts to upgrade the existing tensioners at a fraction the cost of a brand new unit, I will be buying both from you as soon as I save some money. Please keep me updated because I really have an interest in fixing my tanks.

But please, be open to your customers feedback.

Fsttanks

Sorry you feel your product is under harsh scrutiny. Please forgive us poor customers daring to ask questions or making legitimate comments. All that is being asking is for you to please explain what the benefits are of your new idlers over the already proven excellent stock TD M60 idler. You indicated you designed a new improved locking clamp/method, ok that's great it says you finally recognized a problem with your old system, but it does not answer the root questions to how and why your product is needed in the M60.

People asked if the new locking method would be backwards compatible with older idlers you sold. That's a fair question and not an attack on you or your new product. So is it? That is a simple yes or no answer. If "yes" great! If "no" that's ok too. Not answering a fair and legitimate question though does speak to your business ethics.

Enough people have used your prior designs myself included in other tanks and found them lacking in reliability, often a step backwards. I think it is only fair to your potential customers that you explain the noticeable improvements in performance they will be receiving once your product is installed into their M60s. Short of being able to do that would indicate you are selling a product that does not return a "bang for the buck" and is simply throwing money at a non existent problem.

RichJohnson

My issue is you have a new version of your product for a tank model that absolutely does not need it.
Through a lot of experience, any upgrade to the TD M60 series idler mount is not needed. Period. The tank runs excellent with its well designed idler mount and you have simply reinvented the wheel so to say. If it is not broke don't fix it means alot.

Your new product appears to be much more stout and robust than your older products (Which I have witnessed fail again and again and have had to recommend people not use based on my observations)

But when it comes to the TD M60 I do not want anyone to get confused or convinced that there is any kind of problem at all with the tanks idler design.
The idler is excellent and does not need to be modified at all. Both Fsttanks and myself have beat up M60s pretty hard and if it was going to fail we would have done it already for sure. I also feel that modfiying the tank with a different kind of FIXED idler mount will not improve anything at all, so therefore could possibly lead to failures of any substitute device installed. I am not saying that your new hentec mount will fail (as your older products have) but that it just leaves an unknown and unproven vital part on a tank model that absolutly does not need it. Period.