Discussion: Heng Long's 1/16 scale M1A2 Abrams RTR, Upgrade Edition!

[BluesDragon]

Well look what showed up at my door! Got this for my son (bottom right of scale photo) in trade for his Commander plane. We're gonna do our best to set it up like the his was with the 2/37AR.. thus no decals as of yet. I know the pics with the P-51 are not to scale, but they damn sure look fine sitting there! I pity the fool that comes up the driveway! lol

[Woohoo\o/]

Wow must be cool to see the scorpions under uv. I used a pair of children's sunglasses, cut to approx. Shape and hot glued them on. Doing the commanders capola will be a real challenge.

[Hoomi]

I have some UV reactive resin that I might try using for the driver glass. Comes out of the bottle at the consistency of corn syrup, and cures solid when exposed to UV light.

I learned the first time I tried to use it, to not do so outside during the daytime. The resin hardens almost immediately under our intense sunshine here in Baja Arizona. It hardens plenty fast when hit with a typical UV flashlight inside, though. (We use UV flashlights around here to check for scorpions, all of which fluoresce under UV light)

[Woohoo\o/]

Congratulations you will not regret the Abrams. I was torn between the bulldog and Abrams too. Just something soo cool about the Abrams especially when jumping over small hills and the bounce it does.

photo below I added the driver glass and the other part on the top (don't know the name or what that is really) I'll need to do the commanders capola soon.

[Hoomi]

I just ordered the Abrams. I was originally leaning towards the Bulldog, but as popular as the HL tanks have been on MRC, it was sold out before I was ready to order. However, after watching the Abrams video, I'm liking to the looks of it as well.

Something to play with when the conditions aren't great for flying, or I don't really have the time for the 60 mile round-trip to the flying field. I might have to see about getting my son a tank also, so we can have battles.

[Woohoo\o/]

That is great news. I'm so used to watching weight on my jets it's finally nice to not care about weight lol

[Rubicon99]

Is weight for a model rc tank good? I would imagine to a certain degree to simulate movement?

YES it is very good. More weight = better track grip = greater mobility over rough terrain and smoother overall look while driving. Balancing the weight though is critical. 50/50 front to back is generally the best.

All my HL Abrams tanks weight between 12-15 Lbs. This is a combination of metal suspension, road wheels, metal/rubber padded tracks, large batteries and balancing weight.

Note: Weight does not necessarily slow a tanks top end speed down. It more often then not improves the usable top end speed by being able to drive more smoothly across a wider variety of terrain types. How? It doesn’t waist momentum bouncing around and having to consistently correct its directions of travel. With tanks...smooth is fast.

[Woohoo\o/]

Is weight for a model rc tank good? I would imagine to a certain degree to simulate movement?

[Elbee]

Sappo, Welcome to "The Squawk". Glad you're on board, Sir. Best, LB

[Woohoo\o/]

The problem of 8x12x2.5 mm or 8x12x3.5 mm is real inner hole 7.9 mm and a little bit sanding shaft is necessary.

I can sand shaft no problem. Yes I read somewhere that sanding shaft may be necessary for some bearings.

[Sappo]

Thanks Alpha, yeah a m1 or any tank shouldn't bounce over obstacles. I need to get the red motors to go with the steel gear boxes as well as steel suspension arms.

[Alpha]

Sappo Kia Ora! Welcome, and thanks for the tips. I did a similar thing with my Leopard 2A6, adding adhesive lead weight to the forward hull.

[Sappo]

Gday from New Zealand, glad to have found this site. I have a m1a2, it's only a 5.3 version but I'm slowly getting it upgraded. Was given a 6.0 mfu and am just waiting on the new transmitter and wiring harness as well as the slip ring. Already have the 360 degree turret drive. The tank has had a paint job and I have made a few accessories like the drawbar on the bow and a few bed rolls, tarp and extra storage boxes for the back of the bustle rack. One thing I noticed was the way the tank bounced around going off road, my fix for that was to add lead to the front and rear of the vehicle until the suspension started to deflect, then I removed a few bits till the suspension levelled out. The lead was then melted into blocks and put back in. Oh yeah the smoke unit was pulled out, when was the last time you saw a m1 smoke. The tank now flows over obstacles like they weren't there.

[Rdex2]

Can I use 8x12x3.5 flange? The 2.5 cost $20 each 😣

The problem of 8x12x2.5 mm or 8x12x3.5 mm is real inner hole 7.9 mm and a little bit sanding shaft is necessary.

[Woohoo\o/]

I use 5 mm acrylic sheet to made a holder and fix with hot glue. And flange bearing size is 8X12X2.5 mm. may be use without any holder. In this clip 2.35 min show how he easy put it into a hole(see comment below).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qdKRZmD62Q

Can I use 8x12x3.5 flange? The 2.5 cost $20 each 😣

[Woohoo\o/]

Here is my Abrams without decals and weathering. Just bare paint. Not exactly accurate paint as the real life Abrams but $4 camo paint sand color and 30 minutes of work and it's better than the coffee brown color.

[Woohoo\o/]

Ok thats great. Yes I saw that video. So all I really need is a flange bearing? Will the bearing fall off easily? Or should I hot glue the bearing for extra security? Thank you.

[Rdex2]

Thanks a ton rubicon.

rdex2, what glue did you use? Looks fairly simple.


Update: yeah I've been over thinking this. I received my Abrams, did the 2 minute test all was great (great sound btw) and began taking her apart. The paint is waay too dark. Gonna paint her up.

Rubicon I see where the bearing goes now. Sorry for run around. I just don't understand why wouldn't they add some bearings? I would gladly pay an extra $15-20 for the added feature.

I use 5 mm acrylic sheet to made a holder and fix with hot glue. And flange bearing size is 8X12X2.5 mm. may be use without any holder. In this clip 2.35 min show how he easy put it into a hole(see comment below).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qdKRZmD62Q

[Woohoo\o/]

Thanks a ton rubicon.

rdex2, what glue did you use? Looks fairly simple.


Update: yeah I've been over thinking this. I received my Abrams, did the 2 minute test all was great (great sound btw) and began taking her apart. The paint is waay too dark. Gonna paint her up.

Rubicon I see where the bearing goes now. Sorry for run around. I just don't understand why wouldn't they add some bearings? I would gladly pay an extra $15-20 for the added feature.

[Rdex2]

Some of mine.Bearing size recommend 8x14x4 mm. and 8x16x5 mm.