Leo frustration
 

This is the second time I've lost a cable hook mounted on the lower rear hull while running the tank. At first I thought it was because of the cable attached to the hook and causing some pullling when it hits some grassy areas. The second time was without the cable.

Don't get me wrong, it was really fun playing with this tank but I've weathered and detailed this tank well and I expect it to look as realistic as possible so I'm kind of unhappy when there is a missing part. I just wish they should have just molded this parts. I spent like $1000 on this tank and I can't fully enjoy it without worrying about parts falling or going missing. Makes me doubt this purchase. Argggg!

Thanks for listening guys.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Field loss. [:o]

I feared that too. Two of the tow hooks and pins were real tight so, I put them on the rear. It would be nice if they had some kind of lock pin on the end.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Same here I just lost a tow hook yesterday, the weekend before lost the front machine gun and broke one smoke dispenser in a bush area...can anyone tell where can I get these spare parts in Europe?

RE: Leo frustration
 

What adhesives did you use to mount the part. The plastics on the Leopard are not all same. Some hightech stuff and some conventional stuff. The hull is special kind of ABS. Regular model glue or CA won't get the job done.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Never thought about the glue, Sownare.

*Is it a problem of the mount to the hull breaking off, or is it the pin for the hook itself falling out, Silentdeath?

RE: Leo frustration
 

I took my Leo out for the first time this weekend, and the hooks and "rubber" mudguards got the heck knocked out of them, but nothing came off. I drove the thing over lots of medium sized driveway rocks and some bigger stuff, and also through tall grass and some pretty rough dirt areas.

One of the mudguards was bent completly in half towards the tracks and I bent it back, but it wasnt in anyway loose after that. The hooks were scratched down to the primer coat, and I watched them swing back and fourth several times when they hit rocks and some bushes, but were also still attached very securly after that.

For the hooks, I glued the hook pieces themselves together with poly styrene glue...the glue that melts and "welds" regular model plastics together (the hinge mechanism on them still works). Then, to attach the whole hook assembly to the hull, I used ZAP super glue (the hook assemblies are made from poly styrene and the lower hull is ABS, and regular model glue wont react with ABS). I used the same glue to attach the "rubber" mudguards to the lower hull.

The only thing that came off so far was one of the shock assemblies. I dont think I scraped off the paint well enough in that area before I attached the shock.

Just out of curiosity pimpinela, how did you lose the front machine gun?

RE: Leo frustration
 

The mudflaps do get in the way. I ended up cutting off the mounting tab for the mudflaps, and put the mud flaps under the tow cables when "in the field". To mount them in the normal place, I use tape on the backside to let them dangle from the light bracket.

I also cut the very last skirt from the whole rear skirt piece and can switch sides to make them look "flipped up" and expose the sprocket(this opens up the sprocket area and lets grass/debris fall way easier).

As for the hook mounts, the ABS pipe glue is very strong. I haven't tried it yet, but I believe I could hang the whole tank from these pieces! The glue is that strong!

RE: Leo frustration
 

I was very impressed with the tank on the first run (maybe its still too new :D ). It ran very well and I didnt see many problems at all. It was especially cool with the gun stabilizer...thats a really neat option.

The only things I am having problems with now are mounting the tail lights (frustrating fiber optics...see my other thread), and also the amount of wires in the turret. The turret top wouldnt sit flush on the turret bottom. I eneded up cutting about 2/3 off of each of the motor wires that attach to the DMD unit and am putting them back together with solder and heatshrink tubing. Lets see how that works.

RE: Leo frustration
 

I need to get the stabilizer soon. Does it keep the turret in one place while the hull turns?

Stupid camera. Sorry for blurry. I had to look for a half an hour for that blue 'A1' sign Saturday. I can imagine looking for something green.

RE: Leo frustration
 

No, unfortunately, the stabilizer only provides the up and down movement of the barrel. It would be nice if it did the turret rotation too.

Its pretty sensitive though...it even adjusts the gun when you apply the throttle to the tank.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Bummer. I was hoping it did.

I wonder if there is a way to link the turret movement to the hull movement.

Another downside(small) is that if you are moving the turret and fire, it not only stops you from firing again, but stops the turret until the reload cycle is done. No tracking moving targets for 3-9 seconds after firing. :D

RE: Leo frustration
 

If you're planning to build the Tamiya Leopard, try these adhesives:

For parts onto the Hull

1. Stabilit Express
2. UHU Allplast

Both available from Hobby-Lobby

For detail parts

3. Model Maker Plastic CA from Tower

;)

RE: Leo frustration
 

It is the whole mount breaking off, not just the hooks. I used Tamiya thin cement as per Tamiya's recommendation. I am not sure of it's composition. I dont know wether it matters to fix the hook or make it loose in the bracket.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Don't think it would matter, really. The mounts sit really low on the back of the hull. After actually watching the tank come off of a drop off at slow speed tonight, it was clear that they stick out enough to catch on the ledge as the tank came off of it. It made a pretty loud bang when it struck them, too.

But...it might matter how the hooks are attached to the mount with the cables attached. I noticed in your gallery that you mounted them 'hook up', which lets them hang down. By mounting them 'hook down', mine stick straight out and let the hooks rotate up as opposed to catching the drop off straight on. Might be worth a try.

RE: Leo frustration
 

Im pretty sure Tamiya Thin cement is just poly styrene cement. Im not sure why they called for it in some of the places that they did as it wouldnt seem to make any sense in those places because it wouldnt react with the type of plastics in those assemblies.

By the way, both of your tanks (Capn and silence) are great motivation for me. They look amazing.

RE: Leo frustration
 

This tank seems to frustrate everybody, but that's how I got mine so cheap:D I got tired of the stupid mudflaps getting caught on everything and trying o rip the rear of the tank off, so I just removed them. I broke off the left hook also while running.