Hello all,

Well, I bought a Panzer III a few months ago, and upgraded it to the max. I'm happy with it, and learned a bunch here on this forum and working on the Panzer III.

Now, I'm shopping for another tank, and have decided to go with a Tamiya 1:16. I have over 55 years of model-building experience, and have a good electronics background, so I am looking to max out with the Leopard 2 A6. But, I have read a few bad things about it. Mainly, the road wheel struts (supports) are plastic, and I have read of many breaking. I have tried to find metal struts online, and am unable to find any.

So, I am also looking at other Tamiya's. I am looking for metal struts, sprockets, idlers, and some metal in the lower hull. So, I am also considering the Pershing and Panther G.

Any help on the Leopard metal struts? I've searched this forum and some vendors, no luck. Does the Panther G have metal struts? I know the Pershing does.

Also, does anybody know of a source in the U.S. for the Futaba 4 channel radio recommended for Tamiya tanks?

Thanks much,

Howie

Have you tried this site?http://www.mitosal.com/leopard2a6.htmlshipping is high though.I haven't researched enough about Tamiya upgrades cause I don't own one yet, but I'm curious about some of the responses.

edit: Lets see your PIII!!!<br type="_moz" />

Tiger 1, King Tiger, Panther, Jagdpanther, and Sherman have metal suspensions and metal hulls. All are quite reliable. Of course, for all there are many mechanical and cosmetic upgrades. Try here:
www.etoarmour.com
Warehouse located in USA, order fill rate exceeds 97%.

Leo 2a6 is Tamiya's crown jewel tank.  Not much in common with their WW2 tanks.  Robust motors and drive train.  Traverse is very smooth, and elevation is crisp.

ETO is the  way to go for metal road wheel arms.  That's where I bought mine.  Your information is correct, the Tamiya originals will eventually crack.

If you use CA glue, be careful with the accelerator, as some of the tank is styrene and some ABS.  You'll feel a big difference when you handle the parts sprues.  They are about 3 times heavier than the rest of Tamiya's line.

As to radio's, I'd suggest going with a ghz radio versus the mhz antique Tamiya recommends.  Pretty much everyone makes ghz radios now.  No glitching, no frequency clips, no hassle.  I am using a Spektrum Dx6 on our Leo 2a6 with a BR6000 rx.   

Here's some starting points:

http://www.afv-model.com/4711shop/in...-2.html&page=1

eBay seller manheader (Hobby Summit)

Hi, I have 2 of these Tamiya Leo 2A6's and find them to be the best 1/16 RC Tank in the market. Yes, as opposed to other Tamiya offerings the lower hull/road wheel arms are plastic but these are sturdy and of high quality and seem to be good enough. Several features make the model stand out such as dual 540 motors, unique gearbox configuration similar to the real tank's transmission, fiber optic cables for lighting, the best-sounding Tamiya tank, invisible gun flash bulb (concealed by translucent main gun tip), auto gun elevation adjustment when turning 180 degrees and reliable stock tracks. It is the only Tamiya tank with the least after-market upgrade parts hence suggesting the high quality of its stock components. I also have the Tamiya King Tigers (56004, 56007 and 56018), Sherman, Panther, Jagdpanther, Tiger 1, Panzer IV, Leopard 1A4 and Gepard. Among them, the Leo 2A6 remains to be my favorite and seems to be the most reliable.

Hi

I have to agree with phasor as I have a Leo as well as a few other Tam tanks. The Leo is by far the best tank by Tamiya as far as out of the box goes. I did get the metal suspension arms from new as I had heard that the stock ones would eventually break and I did not want to have to strip the tank down to replace them later but apart from that it has only had the barrel stabilization unit and some cosmetic changes like adding the DARKAS units and such like. It just runs and runs without any need for repairs and is more powerful and capable than the other tanks. Sounds are awesome and the recoil and muzzle flash are way more realistic than the other ones as well. I am not criticizing the other Tamiya tanks as they are all superb, it is just the Leo is the best of them all.

I use a Futaba 2.4Ghz system in all my Tam tanks and found it to be excellent and reliable without interferance. There is nothing wrong with the older FM\AM stuff as suggested by Tamiya but I moved over completely as I also fly heli's and preferred the 2.4Ghz as it was not likely to get interference which is a bit more of a problem when flying if it happens.

cheers
Gorehound

Hello,

The Leo 2A6 is the dream tank that I want. I am still trying to finish my conversion of the Tam Sherman to a M4A2E8 (mostly just adding the final details and painting). I was looking at this site for upgrades for the Leopard:
[link]http://www.afv-model.com/4711shop/index.php?cat=c8_Leopard-2.html[/link]

I know nothing about them except that they seem to have the parts you are looking for.

James

Hi Howie,

I have a few Tamiya tanks. About a dozen or so which my wife insists is more than enough. I do own or have owed all of the Tamiya 1/16 tanks (except the Pzr IV and KVs) from the original simle 2 channel M4 Sherman and single motor King Tiger to the very sophisticated Leo. The Leo is in a class all by itself. It does not compare to the rest of the WW II vintage iron. What do you want to do with the tank? If you just want to turn and burn the Leo is great. Very fast and very big. If you want to IR battle is has an unfair advantage over the others. My favorite is my best IR fighter, the Panther. It is a fighting machine.... super fast and reliable as can be. The Pershing is fast too but more complicated and the interior is VERY tight and prone to wire hygene issues. The track adjustment system is also more complex. The M26 sounds fantastic but there are not too many camo patterens to chose from like the ones you can use on the Panther.
Good luck and enjoy, Bob

Hello again,

Thanks for the replies, guys. I've just about decided on the Leopard, I just want the top of the line. I was worried because I couldn't find metal suspension arms (I looked at ETO, couldn't find them), but now I have a few sources. Those plastic arms were my main worry.

I'm still considering. Definitely Tamiya will be my next 1/16 RC tank, most likely the Leopard, but am still researching.

Thanks again,

Howie

The Leo suspension arm breakage is over-rated IMO.

Have two Leo's over 4 years and never had a breakage.

Wow, 4 years is a pretty good track record of them not breaking. You must be doing something right or not driving them hard enough. I think IMO that upgrades are NOT a necessity but to safeguard against such a failure. Metal is stronger than plastic, so I would want my build NOT to breakdown just after building it. All the other Tamiya tanks have metal arms and HL owners replace theirs to metal.

Besides, downtime is a bummer.


- Jeff

Our Leo is 3 years old, and has had one road wheel arm crack out.  #1 from the front, right side.  The tombstone shaped shaft is a poor design.  All the stress is concentrated in the right angles.  That was right where it cracked.

I don't think the problem with the road wheel arms cracking has anything to do with how hard it's driven (whether it's zip tied to a fence or not ). So that either leaves a difference of assembly or a design flaw.

In my observations, the screw heads being countersunk into the arms seemed to be the culprit. I had witnessed several of mine split from the inside out with no rhyme or reason as to the placement on the tank. Left side, right side, front, rear... didn't matter. Didn't matter if I babied it or drove it like I stole it, either.

Now there could be a matter of using thread lock or not (maybe Heavyaslead could chime in on this?), but no where in the directions is this suggested. It kind of makes sense, because of the clockwise/counterclockwise threading of the screws. Leads me to believe that this was done to avoid having the screws back out by the torquing action of the arms. So, the arms may be prone to extreme pressure with the screws tightening against them when going over stuff that actuates the arms quickly. Of course, I haven't really worked out in my head how the opposing threading really works on the arms, so it may be just the opposite where they are being kept from tightening and are actually backing off. [&:]

Either way, my problem is solved with the metal road wheel arms. Nothing splitting now! And the addition of the improved idler arm adjustment is really nice with the Schumo kit. If nothing else, I would suggest the improved idlers at the very least. As for the metal road arms, get them. Assemble the tank without them and if there is a problem just put them on. It's not that much of a problem to replace them.

If you don't need them, you can always sell them to some poor guy like myself who just had nothing but troubles with the stock plastic ones.

mine is stll new in box waiting to be built...

Is there any place in the States that sells the metal swing arms? I checked out AFV (32 Euros for shipping, ouch) and Mitosal, who I have heard charges a bunch for shipping (I am waiting for a reply to my e-mail requesting a shipping quote), but I really don't want to pay almost as much for shipping as the items I am buying. I am about ready to place my order for a Leo, and this is one upgrade I want to get before building, along with the idler wheels, which I can get from ETO, and full bearings.

Thanks to the community for all the great information (and for feeding my newest hobby addiction )

Steve

That was my zip-tie tank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-0gH7d8t4

Stupid maybe, but it shows its toughness...

Also done some jumping off of rocks and rail ties at Danville with no breakages.

Just finished a 2A6 and the only problem is the rear of the turret is dragging over the cooling fan screens, the tolerance is too tight. One of the photo etched screens is ruined due to this. Any advice from you pros would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First, check your instructions again. Make sure you got this part done properly....if that peg isn'talignedexactlywhere that hole is, the turret ring will be at an angle.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm on it!

Hey Tony

Can you post se Tamiya hatch details. I am looking at modding my HE Leo hatches, and don't fully understand how they are supposed to open.

Hey Dan,

I don't have my commanders hatch or loaders hatch assembled yet. I've left those off to keep the surfaces as flat as possible for when I begin my digi camo. Only hatch that's assembled or functional is the drivers hatch, which slides side to side.

I found a source of detail and walkaround pictures of Canadian Leopard 2's in action. Once I get these I will have what I am looking for, but I was hoping I could get a glimpse of the Tamiya presentation.

When you get to that stage, post a few pictures.

Thanks

Dan

well said Tonyt, it is important that these parts are aligned properly or the turret will not be level

I missed this instruction and was wondering what I had done wrong

I don't know on the Leo , i geuss i don't like the modern profile of todays armor but that aside i love my four KT's from tamiya, although they were one of the first FO's together with the Sherman and the Tiger weren't not that sofisticated as todays one.
But when you roll with your KT's over my garden the maybach sound and the firering of the 88mm's gives you the creep when looking at, see these coming i can imagine what the allieds must have thought when saw they comming, almost invulnerble meet four of them was enough i think to let your haert stand still for a while especialy when they hitted the shermans around you one by one ... i love the look of it ... very nasty beast looks the only allied thank that does the same is the M26 Pershing very mean look at the battlefield ...

A second value is that you can add very much battledamage to your King Tigers, everywhere they were if they weren't out of business through mechanical or feulproblems, EVERYthank had severe battledamage to it, i work around "The Ardennes Offensive" they were very filty, much mud on the wheels, there was no time to spray them of etc ... My second love is the Panther very effective too but at my vieuw it looks like awolf into a sheepskin ... looked to normal ... but love the panther too, the third love is the Tiger I wich can mean looking to with zimmerit and damaged body ... looks in every camopatron awesome and big too

THe latest love in tanks is the Pershing he moved to the second place, if you look at the Superpershing , it scares you like hell when see that coming up to the battlefields, a pity he wasn't their much ... yeah i hear guy whisper it is underpowered but that were the KT and Jagdtiger also ... but in firepower the two germans were the strongest blast allied tanks away fully destroyed at 3000m were often proven for the jagdtiger their were proof he blasted TD's of 4000m away maybe very rare but they do

That's what i would archieve in IR battleling to real battle tactics on real distances, we want to battle not to play around isn't it