I am thinking of getting a KV1. I have never seen the inside of one or forgotten if I had. I know I will want the 3 to 1 boxes and metal tracks. Are they drop in with the mounting plate or do you need to cut the hull? Also is this tank larger then the KT or Tiger? Pardon if I missed all of this before.

THanks all,

David

All I own is a KV-1 but what I am told it is bigger than the tiger body wise although the barrel is shorter but I don't know about the KT...There is a ton of room in the hull but I am not sure about the 3:1s I have yet to get mine..But the KV-1 is a great tank it can climb over a lot of stuff, sometimes things that are 2-3 inches...it is also a very sturdy tank and doesn't throw tracks at all...The arisoft gun shoots pretty hard..Hope this helps</p>

I depends on which 3:1's you go with. I believe the Mato ones are a drop in. The Asiatam ones do need some mods to go in. You can use the mounting plate for them but I didn't like mine. It was pretty flimsy and adds n real support for the high flex areas. I just make a styrene spacer and bolt through the hull for a really solid bottom end.

Perry

Thanks Perry and Tankmaster. This is what I needed to know. I had heard it is durable and large. The gear set was the thing I was not sure of. Perry I had the MAttos in another tank and they stripped out because of the flexing. I will look into your idea of mounting them.

Thanks lots on this. I think the gear set is a must in all of my tanks.

Be well,

David

I know the mounting plates Phil sells work well to install the asiatam boxes. As for more support, look into the support bearings for the KV-1. I have a set in my PzIII and one for my Tiger. They work great!

From personal experience Mato 3:1's are not a drop in for the KV-1. For each gearbox there are three bosses in the HL hull for mounting. Only one of the existing bosses is useable for the KV-1 (same for the PZ III which I also installed Mato gearboxes in). I had to install my own bosses using epoxy and computer standoff nuts. Asiatams gearboxes only require the install of one standoff on each side. Also the alignment of the Mato gearboxes are poor. I had to open the mounting holes up to get the output shafts to be perpendicular to the hull. The last thing is the assembly is shoddy. A number of the brass stops that are held on the gearbox shafts with a set screw were loose. One of mine came loose, jammed the gearbox, bending the gear/shaft and burning out the motor. I had to tighten all setscrews and install a new motor.
This is all relative to the Asiatam gearboxes I have installed in my Stug III which have been flawless. Needless to stay I will be spending the extra $10 for Asiatam gearboxes in the future. The only added item to deal with on Asiatam GB's is the out put shafts are larger than stock or the ToMatos, which requires you to ream out the drive sprockets to the larger diameter.

I agree. I tried Mto boxes and they literally tore themselves apart in minutes after installed them. Asiatams are well worth the few extra dollars.

dash69,
I can't comment on the KV-1 ( don't have one yet) but wanted to say that when it first came out, I thought it was the ugliest tank there was. Since then it has grown on me quite a bit. In fact I'm torn over what tank to get next, a PZ III to go with my PZ IV ( depicted in 1943 battle of kursk with side skirts ( I think the skirts make the PZ 's look so cool ), or the KV-1 to go against my battle of Kursk PZ IV. Oh my decisions decisions.

Jim

Thanks for the input on the Asiatam boxes. They do seem to be better. I will look for the support bearings. May need to talk to Phil. On the reaming of the shafts I have never done anything like that. Are we talking drilling them out with a bit or something? I have a dremel but if someone can share more on this I would be thankful.

Again thanks for the advice here.

Be well,

David

To answer the size query, the KVs hullis about two inches longer than the Tiger 1, and about a half inch narrower. I can't comment on the KT as manufacturers usually give lengths to include the barrel and I don't have a KT to measure.

Dash,

On the one Asiatam gearbox I installed the output shaft was larger than the stock unit, so I first tried using a drill bit and a bit holder to manually enlarge the hole in the Stug III plastic sprockets. The problem I had was was the hole in the sprocket is flat bottom and the bevelled point on the drill bit started removing material and poked thru the sprocket. The other problem was the drill started to "auger" its way in and I couldn't open up the hole without drilling thru. I ended up ordering a reamer from McMaster Carr of the correct diameter for the Asiatam ouput shaft. The reamer has a flat bottom so it won't poke thru the sprocket, and the cutting surface is designed to specifically enlarge a hole rather than drill thru a hole. When I get home from work today I can post a link of the reamer I bought. The only thing you should do is verify the diameter of your output shaft before ordering the reamer. A micrometer with a diall indicator on it that you can buy for $20-30 from an auto supply store comes in extremely handy to measure part /shaft dimensions with a few thousands of an inch accuracy.

BTW, don't use power tools for this or you'll punch right thru the part. You need to by a bit holder that has a collet on it like drill that you turn by hand for the reaming process. I have used this approach on plastic and metal sprockets.

Frank

hmmmm, I am confused. My sprockets fit my Asiatam drive shafts. It was a tight fit but with a little work they pressed right on. The retaining bolts are larger though. I don't understand the drilling and reaming comments. If you do either of these you will destroy the flat and the sprockets will be useless. The shafts will spin inside the sprocket instead of turning it.
Am I missing something?

Perry

Hello all,

I was thinking of getting a KV1 with the meatal tracks. would they not come with metal sprockets? I have no experience with this tank so pardon the questions. I have owned a Pz3 and a Pershing all with the 3 to 1's and metal tracks. So far all the sprockets fit the shafts.. One reason I was going for this tank was tis ruggedness and simple drive line as the Pz3 and Pershing. They were kind of simple to intall all of this.

I will continue ot look into this tank and what is involved. Thanks so much for the help in this. All here are helpful to me.

Be well,

David

Yep David, if you get the metal version, it will come....or should come with metal sprockets and idlers. I think you'll enjoy the tank....it is quite the beast. May not be up everyones ally since some say it's ugly......I guess I have poor taste cause the thing looks like a work of art! Pure brutish at it's best. Well, the big bolted on armor looks brutish, not the welded turret.

Anyway, that's just my opinion! lol Sorry can't help any further.......starting to get burnt out on tanks. Guess I finally broke past my peak<br type="_moz" />

Perry S,

You're absolutely right. My brain's fried and I got my story wrong. What I should have said is the internal threads in the Asiatam output shafts were a large diameter, and require a larger internal socket head screw. THe head of larger Asiatam internal sockethead screw was larger than the counterbored hole in the sprocket. To give clearance for the larger screw head I used a 7.2 mm reamer to open it up.

Frank

Yeah. That seems more like it. Fried brain syndrome is contagious.

Perry

THanks all for the advice and help. Economics amd health issues are forcing me to shut down awhile. More and more I think this tank is beautiful. I do like the bolts and "move aside attitude" My purpose was to get an HL that again was simpler than the Tigers and Germman armor that has so many wheels!!! lol I have a loaded Pz3 coming from Phil and a broken down Bulldog that I will do as much as I can with.

I wish to thank everyone that has helped me and inspired me to learn as much as I have.

I personaly have found no a - holes here...only colorful characters. no one here has really offended me. Instead all have even in the heat of dissagreements on the forums always have still offered help.

I thank you all.

I have really enjoyed filming the tanks and wish I could film other tanks that are far better looking than mine. I would have really enjoyed filming some of the tank meets in other states. Every tank has a story to tell.

Again to all be well,

David

Don't be gone long.