icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I can understand why people warn you about this kit. [] It looks cool, but the gear boxes are wimpy, the tracks are snap together links (which do not stay together), and the tiny parts, like the little hinges, are a real pain in the rear end. [:@] None of my hinged openings are going to function on this model. [&o]

I have the electronics and gear boxes (if I can figure out how to make them work) from a Tamiya King Tiger, but this kit needs much more help than that........and it is becoming a nightmare. According to reliable sources, in order to make this kit battle-worthy I will really need metal sprockets, return rollers and tracks, which I am not going to have, so I am going in another direction with the Hummel build. Since it looks like I will not have the money for those upgrades, I have started clipping and drilling the stock track links, and I am installing metal pins from a set of HL tracks (not my recent HL Tiger). When I get them finished (very tedious), the tracks will be much stronger and I will go ahead and complete the kit (stock) before installing the Tamiya DMD, MF unit etc. to make it run well.

We'll see how it goes.

Jason

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

......a few more........

sownare

The Hummel is one awesome looking machine. In order to make your Hummel function reliably, you need a spring loaded rear idler (prevents tracks from sliding off) and an adapter to install Tamiya gearboxes. Ask Daryl at his email address: [email protected]. He's doing my Panzer IV modification and should lead you in the right direction. The Hummel, once completed, should look awesome on the club battlefield!

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

Thanks for the e-mail address, Sownare! I will contact him to see where I can find a set of adapters for the Tamiya gearboxes. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Supreme Reign

Damn, that's beautiful.

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

.......finished a lot of the weathering (I'm TRYING to emulate Tom's work). Before I started painting, I dabbed "rust" colored paint onto some key places and then covered it with liquid mask. After painting (and before weathering), I scraped off the mask with a fingernail and exposed the rust color. Then, I used a product called Oops to blend the colors together and give it a washed out look.....I may have gone a little overboard, but I am okay with that.

Jason

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

.....forgot to attach the pictures.

tomzag

My Feedback: (-1)

I know how fast a person can ruin a tank.j/k

Jason, really fast and great!!!

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

[X(] It is not that bad! I can always repaint if I need to.

Jason

sownare

I gotta get me one of these!!

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

It is a very cool looking WWII vehicle. It is weird, though. Hitler was evil and there were 666 of these vehicles made.................coincidence, I think NOT!

Here is where I am on the electronics:

The battle unit emitter is under the main gun and the flash unit is mounted in the barrel (of course).

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

.....haven't run the wires down through the floor into the lower hull yet, but I'm getting there:

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I have to wait for sprocket adapters and a gearbox plate before I can mount the drive system, but I decided to test-fit the electronics in the deepest part of the hull (and I don't feel like working on the track links anymore, today [:-]). I am also making a mount for the Tamiya Battle Unit from an old wooden spool, which will be removable and fairly unobtrusive once it and the "apple" are painted to match the Bumble Bee.

Jason

heavyaslead

Jason

Your tracks pinned should work fine with existing running gear. My P4 uses existing sprocket, idler, roadwheels etc and track pinned with paperclip wire.

It has run for a couple of years with no major problems, keep the tracks snug to prevent thrown track as the Bandai does not have sprung suspension.

TANKDUEL

Jason, one of the guys in my club uses the stock gearbox/sprockets with metal tracks and it works fine, so as Eric says, with pinned plastic tracks you should be OK; try that first, then upgrade later if you want.

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I thought about using the stock gearboxes for as long as they would last, since that would be the easiest thing to do, but several things made me decide to order the adapters for the KT gearboxes instead:

1. Having never seen a stock Hummel in action, I do not know if it would run fast enough to compete with the Tamiya tanks in a battle (gearing may make the vehicle too slow). Scale speed is nice in theory - everything as close to the actual vehicle as possible - but in a battle, I want performance.

2. I would have had to either buy motors to go in the stock Hummel gearboxes or buy a pinion gear puller to remove the pressed-on pinion gears from the KT motors, in order to install the pinions that came with the Hummel gearboxes.

Either way, I was going to have to spend more money in order to get the thing moving, so I chose to go with the clearly higher quality King Tiger gearboxes, since I already had them. [sm=thumbup.gif]

All I know is that one day soon, I will finally have all of the parts to make this thing fully functional and I will finally be able to finish it. Then, I will probably have to make sure I get the metal upgrade parts in order to make it as tough as possible (I REALLY want the metal tracks, sprockets and return rollers).

Jason

sownare

Icecreamslick! I totally understand. You'll love Kenny's metal tracks, wheels and sprockets. They strong and rattle and squeek a lot like the real thing. It's real cool! Are you goin to build a speaker box? There's more bass if you do.

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I don't think that I will have enough room to put one in. [] With the Tamiya Pershing, I was able to cut the speaker box down and give myself more room, so I had originally planned to do the same with the KT speaker box. However, the front of the lower hull is taken up by the gear boxes and the rear of the hull is too shallow due to the way the rear of the upper hull goes down into it. That only leaves a fairly small amount of space in between those areas to put everything. [&o]

I read somewhere that installing the speaker with no box adds to the realism, since it makes the Maybach engine of the KT not sound as deep in the Hummel. The funny thing is that the upper and lower hull fit so tightly (I won't even use the supplied screws to fasten the two together), that the entire hull might act as a speaker box. I'm even thinking about hinging the back ends and installing a rod in the middle to hold the upper hull when I change batteries (like the hood of a car ).

Jason

navspook

Jason:

I've come to believe that you really can't go overboard. You can always go back and redo, but yours looks great just the way it is.

Try a few small dents to simulate .50 cal hits. Maybe "bend" or warp the skirts to make it look like it might have scraped against a wall or two. Let the imagination loose and if it doesn't suit your tastes, re-do as a winter project.

Here are a few pics that show what I've done -- these are from earlier posts.

I plan to put it in for depot maintenance this winter. Maybe fill some holes with Bondo, maybe re-paint. Probably some zimmermit.

Cheers...

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I love your KT, Navspook. [sm=thumbup.gif] I've closely watched every post that you have made since you got it and I am so ENVIOUS! That think looks like the kind of machine that makes the 1:16 scale tanks feel like toys.

.......I will definitely have to make some battlefield scars for mine, too. I just can't get carried away and shoot mine for real or there will be nothing left!

Jason

navspook

Hey, thanks. I appreciate your comments.

In another post, someone asked to see workshops. Here are a few pics of the trolley I built for mine. It makes things much easier -- I roll it out of the way when not working on the tank.

To get the tank on and off, I use a ramp made of 1/2 inch plywood (two pieces overlapping). It creaks under the weight of the KT. I have to be verrrrry careful when steering up and off.

Save your nickels and look into one of RC Armory's kits. Theirs are much more affordable than others; well-engineered and fabricated with high quality materials, etc. A great investment like the Tamiyas, I guess. Still around $2500 shipped.

I just installed steel idlers, which chew through the toughest vegetation and don't chip when catching stones.

RC A. is coming out with a 1/6 Stug soon. I might upgrade, although this KT is such a blast to play with I might keep it. Enjoy the pics...

Cheers....

tomzag

My Feedback: (-1)

where is Tom?

nemesis4u

My Feedback: (77)

Jason as always you are doing a fantastic job!! Glad you are going full steam ahead... I look forward to seeing it at the next Battleday August 13th!... It will be awesome to have more variety on the BattleField....
Keep the pictures coming!!!!!

-TOMAS

sownare

Icecreamslick--Any updates on the Hummel's performance? Thanks!!

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

I had to replace the original plastic hinges with a set of tiny brass hinges that I ordered over the Internet........I kept breaking those from the kit. The new ones do not look accurate, but I can live with that since they are so much more sturdy.

I tried to use the elevation unit from a Tamiya King Tiger to make the cannon move up and down, but the movement is very limited, so I will probably just have to make the gun stay in a fixed position. [&o] I am just not very crafty when it comes to rigging things up to work.

Plus, I keep screwing up the paint job and having to start over. [:@] By the time I finish this model it will weight 20 pounds, due to the many, many, many layers of paint.

I want a set of metal tracks for this thing since I'm not doing too well with modifying the plastic tracks, but that will have to wait for another week, until I have the money to buy them.

.........I'm not happy at this time, but I will get most of it worked out, hopefully.

Jason