I already did all possible metal upgrades, imex new 3:1 gearboxes, 480 red motors from tankarmy, and few other mods that I've finished, then taken apart again to improve even more, but for now I'll only explain what you see on the pics below.
The main thing that was bothering me was the closing system. There's no quick closing mechanism on the market for Bulldog yet, no metal hull, the quick closing bracket from other tanks can't be used on Bulldog because the lower hull sides are different, and removing the screws every time was pi***ng me off. So I started what I thought was gonna be a quicker project, but ended up rather time consuming.
First I built the aluminum frame. The front and rear pieces are glued in, but sides are not, so I can easily unscrew the frame from front and rear pieces and lift it up if needed. None of the screws penetrate any hull parts, they were all filed down so they only hold the aluminum pieces together.
Then I intended to use a combination of bike wheel spokes and springs to create latching on sides and rear. So these below are the first attempt:
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On the above pictures you can also see few other things:
- Track tensioning system I got from rctank.de. This was by no means PnP. The HL metal drive wheels do not jive with the rod and bearing system here, so I had to get the Tamiya type metal drive wheels from rctank.de. The way they're attached is still not perfect because the bearings are a tiny bit smaller than the openings in the wheels, and with strong force you can easily pull them off, but while driving they seem to hold. Then it turned out the tiny Allen screws responsible for holding the tension were not strong enough to do that on a heavy tank with so many metal upgrades, so my tracks kept getting loose. I guess they tested them on lighter tanks. So Dominique send me bigger Allen screws and I had to tap the holes to set the bigger screws in place, and now it's holding well (I think... I haven't had much time to drive the tank after fixing this). Dealing with Dominique was a little time consuming, but he always followed through and reasonably helped me with the parts needed.
- Brass rear hooks and movable tow shackles. There are also brass front hooks you don't see on the pictures. While driving the tank I found these pieces to be most susceptible to damage, and I actually even lost one of the plastic shackles. So after a long search I found a local place that seemed to have better prices than all others I found. Even then, I didn't calculate it all together, with the amount of pieces I needed, and at the I ended up paying for all those pieces almost as much as for the asp. But now I have the templates/molds and making the pieces from those templates would be less expensive. The hooks were easy, I just gave them the plastic pieces and they copied them into the molds. For the shackles, I had to use 2 plastic pieces and file them down so each would be the complementing half to the other, then find and fit in a tiny threaded rod into the base for a later attachment into the hull. Of course it took them several attempts to do the perfect pieces, and I had to later dremel off and finish places where excess sprue was left. Then I had to research and order brass micro bolts, washers and nuts that hold the 2 pieces together and allow them to move realistically. Finally, when the shackle combo is inserted into the hull, I can secure it with the washer and nut so it's really safe from loss and I bet I can tow other rc vehicles when attaching cables to those shackles.
- Removed battery compartment, and the lower door will eventually be sealed with silicone (not permanent, but waterproof).
- The on/off switch was repositioned to the rear, and all holes on the bottom of the hull (except batt comp. screw) were permanently sealed.Statistics: Posted by Peregrine — Wed Aug 31, 2016 1:53 pm
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