Hells teeth, Phil, I can't think of a more difficult item to scratch build than the turret of a Chieftain! Talk about a multitude of compound curves . . . and the glacis is equally complex. I wish you luck and, if you can get track links and sprockets to match for a reasonable price then I would certainly consider sharing the cost of two sets.
Pete. On May 11, 10:11 pm, "Phil." <philjdo...@sky.com> wrote: > Hi all, I've been lurking here for a while, and now I've decided what > to do (or try to do!) > I have been thinking of making a RC tank for ages, but I could never > justify the cost in time and materials, when made, what do I do with > it? > Having found this group, it all falls into place, build it, fight it, > fix it, and fight again! > I've been looking about for the tank that I want to build, and after > some deliberations I've decided to have a go at a British Chieftain > (loosely based on a MK.5 - MK.11 Hybrid) > Having found a real one (1:1,60.6 Tons!) and spending a few hours > crawling over, under, in, and around taking heaps of pictures, and > measuring everything I could reach, I've started to design my build. > > As I'll need as much space as possible, and it needs to be fighting > tough, the basic hull will be 3mm steel. The upper hull will probably > be 1.5mm steel though I may increase this if it needs to be stiffer. > The turret will probably be 1.5mm steel also, when I've got that far > I'll see what thickness I can form in my fly-press, a bit complicated > with the compound curves but I can get up to 3 tons per Sq-inch so > fingers crossed. > The sheet steel is on order, 2m x 1m x 3mm, which should do for the > hull assuming I don't cut it wrong! I was hoping to get away with 1m x > 1m but the sides need to be 1155mm long (damn!). > The overall size (excluding barrel) will be 1.25 m long, 0.58 m wide > and 0.48 m high (49 1/4"L, 22 4/5"W, 18 9/10"H) , so quite a low > profile – should prove hard to hit (yeah, fat chance, you lot will be > all over me like a rash... wonder if that smooth sloping turret will > bounce paintballs off without breaking them? Nice thought but somehow > I doubt it) > I'm probably going to end up trying to produce a detailed scale model, > that also fights, having spent years scratch-building model steam > engines I do like my detail, now if that's not a rod for my own back I > don't know what is! > My first jobs will be to build the tracks and make the 6 bogies (3 > each side). having looked at the various ways of building tracks, and > not being overly taken with the look of any of them, I've decided to > explore making 'real' tracks. To that end I've drawn up a semi-scale > track segment (couldn't find how to put it in this post so I've put it > in Files) and I'm waiting to get a price on steel investment casting > for 220 links (99 each track plus some spares) though it might pay to > get 650 and offer two sets for sale – any takers? > As this is heading for a very heavy build, I've sourced two motors (4 > HP at 24v, and 2HP at 12v) both designed for electric vehicles, and > worked out that I can (just) fit two 12v 100Ah GEL batteries in the > rear hull, so if connected to provide 24v I'll get about 90 minutes at > full power, with luck I can squeeze 3 battles out of a charge, if > careful. If I don't need full power then running at 12v it'll run for > 4-6 battles. > I'm sure I'll have loads of questions once I start assembling things, > and I'll post progress as and when I get some free time in the > workshop. If anyone's interested I'll be happy to post component > drawings as I complete them (working on the suspension arms as soon as > I post this). > Hope to be battling next year! > Regards > > Phil. > > -- > You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. > To post a message, send email to rctankcombat@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe, send email to rctankcombat-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > Visit the group athttp://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to rctankcombat@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe, send email to rctankcombat-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
