RC Tanks Australia Forum

Hi Spudkopf
What brand of shocks did you order
I had the Mato ones and the springs are way too strong, so went to bunnings and got some softer springs
Other wise the pIII just bounces over everything.

Cheers
Gra

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Gra's Heavy Tank Regiment
HL Tiger 1 - El Mod, Tiger 1, K T Porsche turret, Panzer III & IV, Stug G & E, Panther D,
Matorro KT, Jagdtiger and Sturmtiger, HL Sherman and T - 34, A7V (WIP)
Panzergruppe South Member

G'day Gra

I picked them up from OzArmour so suspect they are of the Mato variety.

I have trial fitted just one of the shocks and as you say they are quite stiff, however the stock HL shocks as originally fitted are very much a mixed bag, with one of these being extremely stiff having next to no compression or travel.

So as you suggest I'll head off to Bunning’s to get some replacement springs, as such which isle do you find RC tank parts , but in all seriousness where should I go to look for springs at Bunning’s?

SpuD

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SpuD

Kev

I'm thinking of trying to install a 3mm IR transmitter into the gunners periscope.

If i stuff it up is the following item interchangeable with the stock HL StuG item?





SpuD

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SpuD

MY tip - don't do it

Get a hammerhead instead

hammerstug1.jpg

Much simpler.

The when you close the hatch you have a realistic scale model. Not a model with an oversized periscope

Cheers
KG

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rctanksaustralia.com

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Gra's Heavy Tank Regiment
HL Tiger 1 - El Mod, Tiger 1, K T Porsche turret, Panzer III & IV, Stug G & E, Panther D,
Matorro KT, Jagdtiger and Sturmtiger, HL Sherman and T - 34, A7V (WIP)
Panzergruppe South Member

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SpuD

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SpuD

Ignorance is bliss…..

When I first got hold of the StuG, my knowledge of this AFV was very general, however since starting the actual project I’ve become aware of many of the subtle details that make up this subject and thus also with the flaws inherent in the HL product.

Some flaws I can gloss over and ignore or just learn to live with, even putting it down to mixed and disrupted production, crew individuality or the of rework of older damaged vehicles that have be returned to the front with newer or upgraded replacement components.

However there are certain things due my nature that I am unable to ignore no matter how hard I try, the first of these was the simple fact that the Ausf G did not have a headlight, yet before I knew this fact I had already replaced the existing headlight with an aftermarket one that I had on hand, which with some effort (and with results that I’m not entirely happy with yet) have since removed.

After spending more time in books and scouring the web I have come to the very disturbing realisation that it none of the StuG variants ever had the hull escape hatch in common with the Pz III hulls that they are based on. I have a Pz III Ausf L and even though the new production variants of this vehicle mark did not have the hull hatches, many Ls and even later marks reused hulls from earlier marks that did have the hatches and so finding the retention of this feature on L and later marks is still quite normal even though the hatches themselves have technically been deleted from such marks.

Ah, but not so with the StuG, so I’ve now spent the last hour or so grinding away both of the hatches and filling the mess left behind. I can also foresee many frustrating hours ahead sanding, refilling, sanding, refilling, anon until all remnants of the a for mentioned hatches has been erased from both the tank and my memory

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SpuD

hi Spud
thats why i luv HL tanks always something to mod on them and yes you do have to do a lot of research before you start. (thats why i never paint a tank/hulls until the very last job as i found out the hard way also LOL)

Trying to remember the spring/shock mod i did on my PIII, the axel arm springs you will have to order from TankArmy or Ozarmour email both to see who has them in stock if you want them quick.

When you go to Bunnings take both the metal shock parts and the spring that came with the upgrade, as you wont find an exact match, as long as it fits over the bottom shock part and fits in the upper part all is good, the new spring will be longer than needed but you will be cutting the length down for adjusting the tension that you will need in the shock absorber.

The front axelarm/shock need to take the weight of the motors, when i did mine i used the spring for the axel arm then adjusted the chock buy cutting the spring down till i had (what I thought ) to be enough tension. the back shocks where a bit softer again as a bit less weight to carry, but that will be up to you as i like soft tension springs all round i n my tanks.

Hope this makes the info a bit clearer

cheers
gra

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Gra's Heavy Tank Regiment
HL Tiger 1 - El Mod, Tiger 1, K T Porsche turret, Panzer III & IV, Stug G & E, Panther D,
Matorro KT, Jagdtiger and Sturmtiger, HL Sherman and T - 34, A7V (WIP)
Panzergruppe South Member

G’day Gra

I have a spring supplier that I pass daily during my lunch time walk and I was able to pick up some springs from there that where half the tension but the same length, although slightly smaller diameter at approximately 6.4mm, while the originals are approximately 6.7mm.

My main concerns with the suspension are not related to tension however, but instead with the loose fitting between the plunger and the swing arm, as when assembled there is at least 1 mm or more excess axel exposed past the plunger, it looks to me that the design is a copy of the external sprung HL originals and hence the large fit tolerance. I have however found a small split washer that once trimmed is able to pack these components out (will take and post pictures when I get home).

Further the plunger has a very loose fit inside the upper half of the shock tending to let the assembled components buckle instead of riding straight up and down (and the 0.3mm diameter difference in my new springs is only making things worse) at the moment the only way I can see to fix this issue is with a sleeve to pack out either of the components, but we are talking a mighty thin one at that.

Finally during my numerous test fitting and spring tensioning tests I have already managed to strip out the pivot arm / plunger axel so the original HL screw will no longer secure the items together. I plan to replace all the said screws with some small nuts washers and bolts (when I sort this out I’ll also take some pictures).

I’m even now considering getting a set of the Asiatam suspension upgrades as from the pictures I’ve seen these do not appear to suffer the same tolerance issues of the Mato product, if I could just get hold of the shocks on their own with out having to invest in a complete set of suspension that would even be better.

SpuD

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SpuD