Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Well my 3 month old panther needs a new gear box, one of the shaft holes in the aluminium housing wallowed, it is now oval not round. This leads to the gear moving enough not to contact the other gear. So the list of issues on my panther continues. Here they are so far:

The aluminium chassis flexes too much, so the slot where the glacis fits in widened leading to the galcis not being held. The Glacis is 1 of 2 places the upper hull attaches, so it is very important. Of the 3 panthers at Danville yesterday all had this issue.

The ruined gearbox.

Spacers needed between the drive sprocket parts to allow the tread to run properly. I am not the only one with this issue.

Turret rotation not working, the clutch disengages too easily. It has never worked properly from day 1.

Dead spots in the elevation mechanism that prevents firing at 1 spot, Of the 3 panthers at Danville yesterday all had this issue.

I think I will repair this tank and sell it as it has been nothing but a hassle, it is broken more than it works.

When I called Tamiya about the other problems, the answer I got was "there is no issues with the panther, you are the only one with a problem." Well I know I am not.

Tamiya if you read this, you have a very dissatisfied customer who will never buy one of your kits again.

Be wary buying a Panther.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

The kit was way over priced for what you and I got. I've not had the rotation unit problems. I put a plate in the gear boxes so no problem there yet. But I have had the dead spot issue, only a few times, But now I know my radio is ok. I really like the wobbly tracks due to the sprockets, they give it that drunk driver look . I'm ordering Impact tracks and sprockets to take care of this. Just a thought did Tamiya hire some HengLong enginers? I've not really put that much time on mine due to the tracks, and like my Tiger 1 and KT better. I thought being a new release it would be as good as my M-26. Tamiya are you there? Next time a little more testing please before the next new kit!!!!!

Greg

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Thanks guys. I was looking at a first time Tamiya purchase and was looking at the Panther or the Sherman. I think you helped me make up my mind. I don't want to spend that kind of money unless I am getting something better then what Heng Long is putting out. I forgive Heng Long because they are so cheap, but when you start paying $700 you expect some quality.

So I guess I'll get the Sherman

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

YHR,
You cannot go wrong with the SHERMAN, PERSHING , KT or Tiger 1.. all are very robust!!

Sad to hear all the issues with the PANTHER...
I was about to order 3 Panthers...

Dang... So sad... any video of the drunken wobbly tracks??????????

-TOMAS

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Panther Fixes:

http://web.mac.com/ksoc/S.C.A.T._Pho..._Projects.html

My 2 cents on how to make the Tamiya Panther a good runner for the backyard battlefield.

The 1/16 Panther is an easy build, but it is not Tamiya's best engineered kit.

The poor performance can be fixed for the about the cost of 3 HL smoke & sound tanks. What a deal to gain some durabilty and reliable performance!

And that is what I did and what a cool running model it has become.

The Tamiya Panther running issues:
1. Tamiya OEM tracks and drive sprockets do not run
2. Main Gun Barrel wobbles in the mantlet
3. Clutch turret gear is weak and slips
4. Hull flex under torque/driving conditions
5. Turret elevation arm is plastic and breaks
6. Glacis fit

The Panther Fixes:

I received the kit in mid May, but it took most of the summer to identify, order and or have made and receive the parts I needed to get this tank to become a good runner.

The Tamiya OEM drive sprockets and tracks out of the box will not run without jumping the OEM drive sprockets.

You can rework the sprocket teeth and width to gain some improvement, but the tracks seem rubbery and remain stiff.

The Panther tracks running performance and "drape looks" remain inferior to Tamiya's other OEM tank tracks.

I gave up after a month of trying to tweak them and get them to work well.

By well, I mean with no compromises.

Tamiya Track Problems:

A. Every 3/4+ rotation the kit drive sprocket's teeth would jump from the track sprocket holes.

B. Then find or not find seating in the kit track sprocket holes.

Solution:

A. Installed Impact USA Drive sprockets and metal tracks.

Why:
I did not want any track performance or running compromises and Impact USA came through with good parts that fixed all the Tamiya track problems.

Observations:
With the Tamiya kit parts in hand, adjusting the teeth shape and shimming the drive sprockets may solve part of the problem and help a little, for some, but in this kit: Sprocket width was not the problem. The width component seemed to work OK.

Problem description for this kit's track parts:

1. The spacing and pitch of the teeth around the OEM metal sprockets are off.

2. The OEM tracks are stiff (not reflexable) and felt rubbery. That shape holding causes a running track "bounce".

3. Thus, the stiff tracks have a shape memory component to them that hurts running.

4. I had to adjust the idlers, so the OEM tracks were extremely tight, or the Tamiya tracks would not run. Appearing toy like at that amount of track tension. Not a solution.

5. The sprocket holes on this kit's tracks looked to small for the drive sprockets teeth. It looked like if you removed track material, the track's structural integrity would be gone. Not a solution.

6. Adjusting the sprocket tooth shape to fit the tracks would have turned the teeth into, perhaps, fangs. Funny thought! Not a solution.

7. Finally, I purchased the high quality Impact USA metal replacements. The new drive sprockets and tracks arrived August 29th.

To deal with extra load placed on the transmissions due to the metal track weight, Daryl Turner made my build a custom gearbox mount brace to hold the gear boxes firmly in place and reduce hull flex; transmission mount hole and hull pan distortion.

The Tamiya mantlet to barrel fit is a miss and allows the barrel to really wobble, thus ruining the recoil and elevation function.

The options: make your own barrel sleeve; buy Daryl Turners barrel sleeve or get the very nice Impact detailed, metal, mantlet (a perfect fit).

I went with DT's perfect fitting sleeve, I did not want to add any more weight to this model.

I also installed a DT metal elevation arm.

I replaced the turret clutch gear with a solid yellow Tamiya gear. Reference Robatic Transmission, Tamiya kit part #72005, order direct from Tamiya and you will have 4 turret gears and some other fun parts.

Do not paint the bottom of the turret, as fit tolerances are tight and you do not want to add drag/friction to that operation.

Replaced the kit's plastic sprocket guide units with metal Impact USA, Made in China, parts (improved Glacis fit, durability and hull stiffness) and added a Impact metal muzzle brake (looks).

I used the Tamiya photo-etch grill screen kit. Inexpensive out of Hong Kong.

The figure is from the King Tiger Porsche turret static kit and the metal AA MG is from an eBay win a couple of years ago, manufacturer unknown.

No TBU for now. I will use the fall and winter for weathering and then decide if I want to actually fight this expensive monster.

Not all my tanks are built for the battlefield, but they all must perform.

If I install a TBU, the emitter will ride in the main gun barrel and I will delete the flash unit.

The Panther model now runs as well as my 3 year old, good running Tiger I and my rebuilt Easy 8 Sherman.

The parts I purchased and had made fixed the Tamiya design defects, but I also first carefully considered my part purchases to achieve the desired results and not let the build costs sky rocket past what was necessary.

Hope this helps. ;)

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ2lRgdXHdo

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Thanks Pcomm1, but that seems like a lot of trouble and expense for a $700.00 tank. I love the way the Panther looks, but with those kind of problems, I think I'll stay clear of this being my first Tamiya purchase. I think it will be the Sherman for me. I need more allied tanks anyway. The track problem doesn't seem that bad because the fix looks to be just a purchase of some metal tracks. Something a guy would probably want to do anyway.

I have heard so many great things about Tamiya tanks, I would hate to be disappointed with my first purchase.

Maybe they will do an update in a release and fix the things they didn't get right the first time around.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

I have a Sherman, Great tank! converted mine to a firefly just to be different. You can't go wrong for a first Tamiya tank. 700.00 + 300.00 makes for bad math, For 700.00 it should run good stock. The Sherman then the Tiger 1 you can't go wrong!!! And there less money.Then follow through with a KT. Wait for the second go round on the Panzer and see if the bugs are worked out. All bad comments aside, I'ts still agood looking tank, just not a good 1st Tamiya.



Greg

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Hi,

Yes, the Tamiya Sherman is a great running; looking build out of the box and my favorite model.

I waited for the Panther kit arrival with a lot of excitement, like everyone else.

While I like the Panther tank now, I would have rather built a well engineered Tamiya PZIV or modern armor like the Abrams, Merkava, modern British or Russian Armor with the excellent engineering found in the Tamiya Pershing or Leopard kits.

I try not to use metal tracks for backyard play, they are hard on the transmissions and I dislike rebuilding those. A lot.

Below is my rebuilt, tired old Sherman, now an Easy 8 runner, with worn Tamiya tracks.

John

PS

The East Coast "Heat" tankers suggest bending the 2 elevation stop tabs flush to eliminate the dead spots.

Works for my Panther build.

Also check how you run the flash unit wire. It can cause the barrel to hang for a second, going either up or down.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Hi,

You are completely correct about your Tamiya Panther issues.

Email me off line if you have questions, you can save this build.

After market parts are now available to fix all the issues.

But the other side of the coin is that almost all the Tamiya 1/16 scale rc tank kits require some after market part help if they are to become durable backyard runners and fighters.

John

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

whats the website for IMPACT so i can get some panther tracks....

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

try this: http://web.mac.com/gpsllc/iWeb/IMPAC...20Product.html

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

For info and prices:

email Logan Miller at:

[email protected]

or

Charles Miller at

[email protected]

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Oooh big bummer![&o][&o][&o] I just ordered another Tamiya T-1 a couple weeks ago, my next big buy was going to be the Panther, looks like my next choice will be a Sherman or the Tamiya KT. Didn't know that the new panther kit had so many problems. WIth the cost of that kit, it seems that Tamiya engineers should have gotten everything right, or nearly so.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

I wouldn't let a few issues keep me from buying the only true operational historically correct Panther! I mean, afteral we're all modelers first ... R/Cer's second.

Yeah, it's a black eye on the face of Tamiya, but we all throw money on these things after they're built just to have the upper hand over the next guys, so what's a few things to correct unless it's an RTR you really need and aren't good with a few tools!


Jeff

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

mmm, you brought some good issues to think about, I do love a good model builing challange, maybe I'll rethink my panther buy.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

I THINK WE NEED TO STILL BUILD THE KIT...sorry caps were on......i would let that stop people from getting one......i started out building 1/35 scale tank kits.....some of them were horrible ...remember TESTORS M47 PATTON TANK?that was a mes but i built it....of course it just fell apart but i loved building it...

ken

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

NAMDOC 69...CHECK YOUR PM

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Here is a pic of the oval hole, notice the metal pushed up. Why did they not use bushings like on the gears so you could rebuild oval holes with the bushings already in the overhaul kits. The gearshaft has almost 1/16" of play so the teeth disengage under power.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...hergearbox.jpg

Overall, I find for the price, I expected more. remember this is not a model, it moves and I paid extra for that. it would be nice if it worked as advertised.

I have done things to fix some of the problems like installing a servo to run elevation (I use a 6 channel spectrum so have 2 channels for moving, 1 channel for turret rotation, one for elevation, and use the flaps switch for firing)

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

:DHeng Long can give me that challenge for less then $100:D

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Yes, but then your wife does not have anything to talk to you about.;)

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

I don't know about that. The talk of my Hung Long problem always perks up her friends ears.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

If you're serious about your issues Elwarpo, then you should call Tamiya at 949-362-2240 and ask them to resolve the problem about the gearbox.

If you had a problem with your new car, wouldn't you contact the dealer first instead of posting them here?

If there is a manufacturing problem, they will fix it. Most of these tanks (and they are models) have little issues with each of them ... heck the Sherman is full of them.

Still, for the money, the Tamiya tanks are the best all round.


Jeff

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

I heard of a lot of people having good results getting replacements after calling Tamiya for broken tracks, failed DMD, missing parts. At least in the USA.

They finally reworked the Tiger I drive units. If people keep calling with this problem, maybe this will trigger another upgrade.

RE: Poor Tamiya Panther Quality
 

Elwarpo

At a minimum, I would try returning the gearbox to Tamiya for a free replacement!;)