Leo Problem
 

I cannot figure out what is going on with my Leopard turret (previously owned). The rear scrapes across the grills when I rotate the turret and it ripped up my photo etched grill covers. :( I ordered replacement parts and they arrived today, but I don't want to install them until I am sure that I can correct the problem that ruined the first set.

I took the turret off and then pulled the upper and lower sections of the hull away from each other (scary-first time ;)). Then I looked at the instructions to make sure that nothing was installed incorrectly by the builder, but everything seems to be correct. [sm=50_50.gif] I don't think that the turret itself is warped down in the back or even the deck of the upper hull, but who knows?!!

Any ideas of what might be wrong would really help, as I am going to take it apart again, today. [:@]

Thanks!
Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

Well, I did find something that is warped, but it looks like it is due to the the screws that hold it onto the opening in the lower hull. This ring is the base for the turret to rotate on and it is clearly warped, but I am not convinced that it is the real problem. I am going to place a small section of styrene under this ring, at the back, to make the rear of the turret raise up 'slightly'. I hope it works! [:o]

Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

I think it worked....it certainly raised up the rear of the turret. I guess I will know when I test it, electronically. [&:]

RE: Leo Problem
 

Works Great! [sm=thumbup.gif] If you look at it closely, from the side you can see the black base under the turret, but if anybody gets that close to my tank they had better just back off! :D

Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

I think I might know what the problem is. However, without knowing if the person that originally put it together used all the right screws and parts in the right places, it may not matter.

When I first put mine together, I had a similar problem.

1. The first is the bottom plate (your pictures show this part?). There is a notch (possibly two) in it that matches a tab (again possibly two) on the upper hull.

2. The second, is on the gear ring. There is a tab with a nib on it, in the center of the ring. The nib should line up with with a notch in the base plate that it attaches to. Both the notch in step 1 and the tab described in this step will be on the same side.

The tabbed part of the assembly (from #2) will be on the forward side of the turret. There is also a molded rail on gear ring, on the same side as the tab, that trips the switch for the elevation limiter when it passes that area.

If those two parts aren't lined up, over time it's possible that the pressure from the screws, coupled with the mis aligned tabs and such, would warp the base plate. Once everything is lined up, the warping shouldn't matter, and might even straighten out some.

RE: Leo Problem
 

Thanks CC43 (wait, you're probably CC45 by now, aren't you? :D). I saw the parts that you are describing and they were all installed correctly believe it or not. [sm=confused.gif] Whatever the reason for the problem, I think that I have worked it out with some street ingenuity, but I guess I'll have to wait and see if it creates some other problems. [:o]

Thanks for the reply!
Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

Well, something else it might be is the lower turret piece. When you sit the base on something flat, does the rear turret section angle down?

RE: Leo Problem
 

I will certainly check that out the next time I disassemble the tank. At the moment I'm tired of fooling with it, but I have a TBU and a gun stabilizer on the way and I will need to open it up again, soon enough.

Thanks!
Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

I've done so much to the turret to try to get it look like the real one, as far as the spacing between the rear of the hull, and the two fan housings on the rear hull. After making sure everything was assembled right, bundling wires, taking a hair dryer to the lower hull piece to straighten it out, as well as cutting off the lip that goes around the outside of the mantle block up front, I'm still convinced it's just a matter of the fan housings being too tall. :D

RE: Leo Problem
 

Hey, don't hold out on me I want to see the pictures of what you did!!! :D My Leo was pre-built and I want to dress it up with some modifications of my own (or your own). Did you make a thread that I could read through?

Chad

RE: Leo Problem
 

There are pictures of the wire routing/bundling, as well as some other modifications I and several people have done to theirs in the "Another Tamiya Leopard" thread. Don't have any pictures of the hairdryer incident, though.

RE: Leo Problem
 

There is also disscussion on this subject in the 'sagging' thread.

I had a problem with this too, just not as serious.