hi there have had a tamiya pershing for some time (must biuld it some time) but have just bought heng long tiger mk1am a bit unsure were to put oil for smoke[sm=shades_smile.gif]

Their are 2 tubes in the back that the smoke comes out of, you up the pil in by using the long extension tube that is in the back with the oil.

Jeff

you should use the left side tube for filling the oil because this line goes directely on top off the heating element.

the tube shown on the pic is the right side line and it is not a direct line to the reservoir(may spill back oil).

dont over fill it.

That was my biggest mistake was overfilling mine...took days for it to start to smoke again with the smoker running...

cool didn't know left side was preferable
thanks
wolfbane

I just got a Heng Long Tiger and am learning how to operate it but I have a couple of basic questions:

Can you burn out a smoke unit by not having enough oil in it?

How do you know when to add oil? Do you add when the unit stops smoking?

Don't get too attached to the smoke unit. They don't seem to last long.

It's because they run on "some" oil but not "heaps" -- I usually fill when I notice its barely smoking, add a few small drips and you're away for a few more runs

No oil to heat (or keep the element within a certain heat range) lets the element burn red-hot til it snaps = no more smoke (unless repaired/replaced)

is there any oil that one can use other than the original oil ?

The smoke unit in my HL M-26 stopped working after approx 1 hr of run time. By opening the smoke unit and shortening the length of the heating element to about 75% of it's original length. It not only works again but generates more smoke than it did when new.

I removed the smoke unit and gently pried the top off the chamber that holds the smoke oil. The cylinder that houses the pump piston is also part of the top section. Since it is heavily glued I started at the seam on the outside corner and slowly worked a knife blade into the seam. In just a few minutes I was able to pop the top off without any damage. After you have it opened you will see a black wire attached to a small square circuit board. This wire runs through a round peice of wick material that asorbs the smoke oil. The wire is not really black but is covered with a thin black woven material covering (what I assume to be) a very thin tungston wire. So thin that it can be confused with a thread from the woven covering. Remove about %25 of the tungston wire (discard the black material from the section you are working on) and solder the ends back together. Reassemble the smoker. After putting mine back together I had several spots where the smoke was leaking through, this was easily fixed with some silicone sealant. Once everything checked out OK it was installed back into the M-26 and is working perfectly

I understand that the smoke generators in the HL tanks are sometimes considered little more than a silly gimmick but it is neat especially when it works to a reliable degree and so adds that extra bit of realism.

There are other hobby items that smoke one of which is an electric model locomotive. It is my understanding that these smoke units are a lot more robust and can be counted on to work over and over again. What is it about locomotive smokers that make them better?

With that being said, I really enjoy this video and the copious amounts of smoke provided by the Pershing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idy2MTbXVdo