thomasjohnmurphy

I'd like to start a thread where people can show and discuss upgrades that they are doing to their new HL Panthers. I'd like to start with my matorro 3:1 gears which I am adding. The pics show what you need to do. These are the Matorro 3:1 gears which you would normally get for the M41/Pershing (they have a longer shaft. As you can see they don't just drop in. I am using milliput to help set them in place. Also, you will have to re-solder the wires (reverse) as the power to the electric motors for a matorro tank is different than it is to an HL one. Also, you have to dremel out just a bit for the final drive axel gear does not rub on the front plate.

thomasjohnmurphy

the gears sit quite nicely once the milliput has set. Once my upgraded springs come in I will show pics of that upgrade.

Panther F

It certainly would be more impressive if you actually took the time to fasten the boxes to the lower hull with coming up with a system, than using putty.


- Jeff

thomasjohnmurphy

I also plan on bolting the gear boxes to the chassis. (there is actually a place in the centre of the gear box that allows you do bolt it on. Remember, the putty is to allow you to make a level (solid) base. Without that level base the drive axel would more than likely not be true and you'd have a drive sprocket that would not be aligned to the tracks. And we all know what happens when your drive sprocket and tracks are not aligned. I've used this method on over a dozen tank and there has never been a problem. I'll get a pic once I get the bolts from the hobby shop later today

Panther F

I never questioned that it was a problem, just maybe build a better mousetrap out of wood, styrene or even aluminum would look nicer and be a little more professional. You guys spend all this money on the tank, on the aftermarket gearbox, fantastic zimm work and paint-work and this short-cut is a big cringe factor for most of us.

I was only commenting, not condemning.


- Jeff

thomasjohnmurphy

No worries. I always questioned the quality of the look as well. I look at milliput like a floor leveler. Not all tank chassis are the same so at the end of the day its been a great solution to a sticky problem

thomasjohnmurphy

started working on the Panther's suspension. Like the Jagdpanther the suspension is soft (Heng long now puts in stronger springs in the front and back road wheels) I used the technique of re-drilling the suspension spring holes and rotating them 90 degrees counter clockwise. Here's a step by step

Pop off the road wheels hubs

Pull off the outer part of the outer wheel (held together by one screw)

thomasjohnmurphy

Unscrew and pull off the inner road wheels

Pull off the inner part of the outer road wheels

now you have access the the suspension arms (held on by a screw - with a hex head)

you will have to remove the idler wheel to get the last road wheel off. You will need a thin philips head screw driver for that

thomasjohnmurphy

I tired to show the difference in the gauge of the spring between the front and others

thomasjohnmurphy

you can see the new holes I made for the suspension springs. I also used a dremel to allow for the suspension arms to move lower (so the tank will sit higher - I always thought the Jagdpanther and Panther sat too low) It gives about another 2-3mm hight as you can (hopefully) see

thomasjohnmurphy

I put on the metal tracks to show how it would sit. Now onto the next side

thomasjohnmurphy

Just wanted to show here how my upgraded gear boxes look. You can see the bolt that secures it. These gears are not going anywhere

Flyn Chris

Great step-by-step how too, thank you!

philipat

Nice work. Maybe it's the table, but the picture showing the increase in travel height of the hull looks like one side rides higher than the other. Innovative ideas, though.

thomasjohnmurphy

its because I had only done one side. I did prop up the other side but it still wasn't level. I'll be getting the other side done tonight so I'll show you what it looks like (with the top on)

Panther G

A site called SERVOCITY has a very nice selection of plastic and metal stand offs you could use instead of the Milliput. I would rather use those with a nice big fender washer to ditribute the stress out away from the posts. not a bad idea in a pinch though TJ.

googlydoogly

Thanks for the photos, I need to stiffen up the springs on my Jagdpanther. Is there a trick to removing those wheel hubs without mangling them?

thomasjohnmurphy

they just pop on. s sharp knife allows you to get under them. then twist the knife and work your way around until they pop off

googlydoogly

Thanks for the tip, and thanks for the detailed step-by-step photos again.

thomasjohnmurphy

let us know how it goes.

YHR

Nice tip G. Thanks

[link=http://servocity.com/html/standoffs___spacers.html]Stand offs[/link]

Ex_Pat_Tanker

Thats an interesting mod - I have been wrestling the shafts from one side to the other to uncover the front mounting point: I had undone the grub screws in the one collet, slid the shaft all the way over, removed the offending gear, tightened the mounting screw, replaced the gear, spacer sleeve, and collet, the placed the other gear box, undone the collet, slid the shaft all the way over... - you get the picture, its just about do-able, but you will tear your hair out in the process - especially the Pershings with their narrow rear hulls.

If anybody wants to see this tedious process, I can post a thread - I did a bunch of them in a hurry ahead of a club meet so I didn't take pics, sorry... [&o]

I guess to sum up all this rambling - I managed to use 2 screws per gearbox with this procedure, not sure if my original post made that clear.

And I still like what you did there TJM, looks very robust [8D]

One more question:
I find that there's a lot of float on the 1st gearshaft due to the spacer being to short, and I have to put a washer in to keep the motor gear aligned. Have you done this, or is it not a problem?

Thanks
Martin

thomasjohnmurphy

I agree, there is alot of float in the first gear's axel. I used a number 6 washer (from my local hobby shop) in my Stug's 3:1, but didn't do it on the Panther. The gears in the Stug are snug whereas the Panther is loose. after the Stug I'm not sure if there is value in taking the gear box apart and putting the washer in. (maybe I was lazy this time-lol)

pcsguy88

I was able to mod my Jagd springs without removing the wheels. You can get to the first swingarm's hex bolt after removing the sprocket. Once you get the first one off, it unblocks the next and you just go down the line.

thomasjohnmurphy

interesting.