Landships II

To control the speed to the correct slowness as the Tamiya gear box is slightly fast, I used adjustable resistors fitted on each motor which could be adjusted down to suite.  

 

Now for the track bit, for the tracks to move around the tank hull you need to make running bogie wheels as the Emhar models dont have these, just empty voids. All four idler wheels need replacing in metal to the track design. I made the bottom bogie wheels similar to the original tank and fitted them in a cradle to hold them all in place, the carriage holding the bogie wheels were made to fit in the empty voids and screwed in place.  I also made two top bogie wheels so the track as on the original tracks could run up over the roof of the hull. All bogie and idler wheels had shafts made in brass wire at 2mm diameter.

The track itself (see my other topic) were first designed and made in silicone rubber as a continuous band but was eventually made in polyester rubber with a shore hardness of 60 than of 24 in silicone rubber. The silicone rubber stretched too much and was not stiff enough, polyester being the perfect material, I also coloured them in black or any colour to match rusty and mud covered tracks. These bands can be cut to size and re-joined using the same material as the bonding agent, with the join being just as strong as any other part of the track. I used the track mould to align the two joins together. If there were metal tracks available like the Friulmodels tracks for the FT tank then the idler and bogie wheels would be made to suit the track used, you also have to bear in mind the traction of the track and back idler wheels, trouble which I encountered with my design.

The two sponsons are not glued in place but are fixed with 3mm x 2mm magnets bought on eBay, the reason for this is for maintenance and to be able to recharge and switch on the model for use etc.

-- Edited by BC312 on Sunday 19th of February 2012 11:17:19 AM

Personaly there should be an RC model section to the forum as other valuable information and ideas are scattered around the site, so a lot of people are repeating topics, unless you can wade through the past pages of info. My original post is miles back, i don't think its seen much.

Tracks are a problem especially in 35th scale but the FT tank tracks in this scale are already sorted by Friulmodels its just the RC bit to deal with. As with the Mk1 to MkV range of models in 35 th scale Friul could make them if they were pestered enough they have the data. That why i made mine as i was at a dead end. In this scale the Mk1 to MkV tracks are fiddly to make. I am surprised that the big modeling companies are not turning out anything.

As with bigger scale, then track making is a bit easier. A master copy can be made and either cast in urithane resin Not the other type (too brittle) or metal cast. you only need a couple of master moulds to be a bit productive in time, making the tracks. The same could apply to the bogie wheels as there are a lot needed to make and are very important to the running of the model. Only one master is needed to be made and in a large scale the track can be made up of parts ie the two track runners (copied from one runner so they are identical) and the track plate and rivets which could be glued on, or if the scale size is big enough the three main parts could be made from masters and assembled like the real thing with rivets.

It would be good to determine what would be the next  scale to work with in RC from 1/35 ie 1/25 or better 1/15 as there seems to be too many sizes to play around with 1/20 or 1/18 etc. If there was a stardard size that everyone was happy with then donor bits and other available parts could help make the model easier to build. If i was starting out i would be trying to decided what scale to make it in and if there were motors gearing etc that could suite or even scaled figuers to add to the end result. what would be a popular size? It would be 1/15 for me. 

 

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-- Edited by BC312 on Sunday 19th of February 2012 01:05:03 PM

-- Edited by BC312 on Sunday 19th of February 2012 01:16:29 PM

Many thanks Chris for starting this topic and for the info you've given; also to Lincoln T for the FT tracks news (I'll look forward to that).

My view on scale is that 1/15 is a bit out of the blue, and maybe a teensie bit large for the longer tanks. 1/16 is not much smaller to work at, but is the accepted industry scale by Tamiya and Heng Long in their R/C tanks - to me it seems more 'right'.

I accept that most people will want a large r/c tank to be 'large', ie 1/16 or 1/15, rather than a medium-large size like 1/20 or 1/18; these scales I mentioned as a compromise, as when I am in a position time-wise and financially to build, rather than plan out, I might want to attempt anything from a Ford 3 ton up to the proposed MkVIII*. At one end of the spectrum you need a large enough scale to squeeze the electrics in, and at the other you have a long and potentially heavy model that would require a lot of space to store and be surprisingly costly in materials - though of course there is better potential for fitting engine sound modules and exhaust smoke generators (judging by historic footage, the latter would be a must for any large-scale British tank earlier than MkV. "Cough", "splutter").
1/20 and 1/18 were therefore compromises based on the hope of being able to build not one decent-size r/c model, but a number, of varying size and design. It's purely theoretical at present, because I've got studies to finish and employment to find before I could try building anything.

For anyone interested in 1/16 or 1/15, I've remembered seeing Heng Long replacement motor/gearbox sets available somewhere for £20. Might be an inexpensive and convenient way to power a tank this size, as long as their gearbox could stand being further geared down by chain drive to the rear sprockets.
If anyone is interested, I'll post a link.

Chris - look forward to seeing your project when it's done, do I understand rightly that it's a 1/35 FT?

LincolnTanker wrote:

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the Tiger will be gutted for a 1/15th MarkIV Male.

The 1/16th Russian WW2 tank crew can be modded for British WW1 tank crew though.

---

 Naturally we'll want to see pics when you're finished, or better still, a video on YouTube 

Do you mean the spare part/accessory range for Heng Long for the figures, or is there something else available?

Its funny that there 1/35 and 1/32 compared with 1/15 and 1/16 scale.

It will be a 1/35 scale FT tank as the next challange.

I have seen this FT tank, the guy makes them for sale, but at 800 euro's

Pictures of my finished MKIV as promised.

First picture showing donor Tiger and details of track now with rivets.

-- Edited by BC312 on Thursday 23rd of February 2012 07:57:55 PM

Pictures of the insides of the tank showing the chain link to rear drive, note the gear box and charging block and on/off swicth.

Any questions feel free to ask. I should have a video clip uploaded in the next few days, fingers crossed.

Hi TinCanTadpole ! I think that is a case of flash photography- - - the colours being distorted by the density of the flash in relation to the distance from the object.
Chris - what did you use to make the body etc of your Mk IV, is it plastic card or some other material ?
Paul

Its an Emhar MkIV kit. I wanted to see if its feasible to make a RC model in this size as there are no RC WW1 tanks on the market. I sure a scratch built version could be made but this is my first effort just to see what can be done in RC. I am sure if Friulmodels knocked out metal tracks. the model would be more real to life.

I emailed Fruilmodels and they replied saying that tracks for the Emhar tanks are planned but cannot say when they will release them.
Paul

For all you Whippet fans i also got the Friulmodel guy to measure these up as well, as well as  Little Willi, when we were at Bovington.

-- Edited by BC312 on Saturday 25th of February 2012 12:04:54 PM

The idea had crossed my mind to try emailing Tamiya - I made a few of their WW2 kits in the '90s and with the box art and everything I always liked their models. Could always try a 'WW1 tanks of WW2' angle if they're not enthusiasic.

That's very nice Chris, and much quieter in the gearbox than I expected.

I timed your tank; it takes about 9-10 seconds to move it's own length, which looks good for first gear on the real thing, but I think you could actually turn up the juice with the potentiometer, as full speed should mean about 5 secs to cover it's own length (3.7mph = 5' 5" per sec).

Do I hear an engine simulation carried over from the donor Tiger?

Does it not have speed control built into the circuit board? It looked in the video like it responded proportionally.

As I understand it, there were only two speeds in the main gearbox. Most of the footage around probably shows tanks being driven in first gear, because the are moving very slowly; second gear seems to have been more respectable, a decent walking pace rather than a casual stroll.

According to the Landships 2 page on the MkV, average speeds were noticeably higher for the MkV than the MkIV, not just because the V had a higher top speed, but because crews apparently tended to drive earlier models in first gear, as they were a pain to handle.
I also read in a generic tanks book that the shaft for second gear struggled to cope with the torque applied and tended to twist, so it had to be beefed up for the MkIV.

It's good to see an RC rhomboid in action; have you any thoughts of going for a larger scale at some time?

I LOVE it! I've always wanted a RC rhomboid, you've shown how it can be done. And I love your youtube test video - you've got to build a diorama with trenches and shell craters and video it going over it! Why not tackle an A7V as your next model? I think the old Tauro 1/35 scale kit's available, you could have tank battles!

BC312, did you make the bogie wheels yourself? They look turned, very nice.

Nice bogies!

With that boxy hull you're right, you'd have tons of room. Attached are a couple of photos to give an idea of the tracks and running gear (the models are not by me, just stuff I've found on the web).