mystical44

All,


I am new to R/C tanks and I was contemplating if i should get VS Airsoft Tiger or a 1/16 HL Walker Bulldog. I mainly want to use the tank for outdoor use with a mini cam but I want a powerful airsoft gun. The VS tanks of course are known for their guns but to me I want something bigger, if I go bigger I get a weaker gun though. I had a couple of questions:

1. What is the max range of a HL tank, in ft or meters.
2. I often read about "swathdiver" and his tests, Swath, could you tell me exactly what springs you buy (where, product id, length, etc.) and how exactly do you replace the barrel and spring.
3. What is the best HL tank?

Again, I am new so I have a LOT of ?'s

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

I would get a bulldog if you plan on doing repairs....you can put the guts from a VS leo A6 tank gun and barrel into your stock HL long unit with little mods and it will make your buldog shoot the same as a vs tank.... This is what i did to all my HL tanks now they all shoot very well..... BUT if you want a hard shooting gun and a tank that wont need repairing go fo a VS tank.

mystical44

Thnx for the tip Shen, but when you say "put the guts from a VS leo A6 tank gun and barrel into your stock HL long unit" what exactly do you mean?? I have done a lot of research on these forums and noted the following items as being required for the "upgraded" gun:

1. A spring from Century Spring Corp
2. A $13 VS gun from Mato
3. A 6.04mm barrel from ebay

Is this it??? and what from here. I think I would be content with an equal performance of the VS series like what you have done. I do think though that the range of the VS (transmitter) and the fact that they dont perform very well in the grass is a HUGE (-) against them in my book, but I love their quality and gun. I dont mind fixing a HL as that is a part of the hobby. If I had a perfect tank what is left??

I hear a lot of people say "Just switch the guts out" but if you dont know anything about r/c you are lost. I dont need detailed steps, just general steps like:

1. Get a 3" spring from century
2. Switch the old spring with a new spring
3. Grab x part and switch with x part (screen 1 and screen 2)

etc.


Again, thanks for the help.

Note: I actually do not even have the tank yet, but just want to be prepared in the amount of work it will take to mod it the way I want it.

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

What i did was buy a VS leopard A6 gun from toyeast.com i then took out the spring plunger parts and installed it into the HL gun unit i also used the A6 barrel and cut some off with a cutter to the proper lenth needed.

I then trimmed a little off the VS barrels plastic tabs that slide into the air gun unit and installed it so it fits.

Here are some photos i took...

And if assembled like this your gun don't have enough power ...you may have to do like i did to one of my guns i ground the e Clip that is on the barrel on both sides so you can fit it inside the guns casing as seen in the last updated photo.

mystical44

Wow thnx Shen, I hope you didnt write all of that tonight. Lastly, What is the main advantage of the Bulldog over the Pershing or Tiger??

pantiger man

Ground clearence.

swathdiver

1. The max range of the stock HL tank varies, I would say most of them shoot 25 feet with the wind at their back downhill!

2. I'm back in the testing stages again. Just ordered another $80 in springs to try out. Century Spring number 71517 is 3" long gave the best performance. But as I'm sure you've read it was not consistant. 71516 is 2.75" long and was more consistant though less powerful. Let me finish my tests before you spend money on springs, except for one. Go to ToyEast's website and buy a VS airsoft unit, they don't have many left. From that unit you'll use their spring (for now), spring guide, piston, nozzle and return spring. If you do not plan to shoot paintballs by all means use their breech and barrel is you like. With the VS airsoft unit in your hands you will notice that it is wider then your HL gun. Internally they are nearly identical, simply open them up and swap out the desired parts. Of all the VS units I've purchased, only one had a piston/nozzle that actually hindered and not helped performance.

If you choose to install an airsoft barrel here's what to do or decide on: Cut the barrel to the desired length. I cannot tell you the actual HL length or actual scale length of the M41s barrel as I haven't upgraded mine yet. You'll have to do the research on that. I chamfer the barrel opening where the bbs enter and make sure the surface is as smooth as possible. A Dremel tool does wonders here. It's likely that your brass barrel will have to be forced into the outer plastic barrel, it might crack as you push it in. Cut away what you can with a knife, fill in the cracks with putty, sand and paint. Make sure when deciding on the length to make sure the brass barrel goes into the guns breech and up against the rubber bushing. Use a cotton ball and a kabob skewer or something to clean the barrel out. I regularly clean mine this way with a little silicone oil dabbed on the swab. You'll notice now with the brass barrel that the turret is hanging forward, add a like amount of weight to the rear and sides of the turret to even things out. I use lead fishing weights of different sizes and weights and secure it with clear rtv silicone.

Do not use cheapy bbs, especially the ones that come in the little box! I've found that the two best are the yellow ones that Mato sells with the "super" tanks and the Crosman Glo .12g so far. Recently purchased some green Crosman's but haven't tested yet. As for paintballs, thanks to Shenloco there's only one brand that works- Flying Colors Seamless Paintballs. They come in Red and Blue.

3. What is the best tank? That depends on what is best to you. If you want to run around the yard with a reliable suspension, the Walker is probably best with the Pershing a close second. They are also easier/quicker to open up then the Tiger/Panther.

As stated before the stock HL gun will shoot about 80fps. A stock VS gun 140fps. Toss the Vs parts into the HL body and use the brass barrel, 170fps is what you'll see. Add the 3" Century Spring and you'll see from 170 to 210 fps.

Thomas John Murphy of the MTG forum built an even stronger gun that performed more consistantly but was very difficult to build. I'm going to attempt to replicate his results and improve on the design.

mystical44

Thnx a million Swath (James)!!!

swathdiver

You're welcome!