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

[Rubicon99]

was looking at painting just the road wheels to match the tank

Is your tank desert tan or NATO camo?

[pappy3122]

tan

[Rubicon99]

I would use ModelMaster “dark tan” it will be close but not a perfect match, but then road wheels tend to get really dirty and grimy with use and will have a slightly different color then the upper hull and turret anyways.

[SoCalBobS]

Any hobby paint that matches the tank will do. I do prime mine with Tamiya’s light gray primer first. Remove them if you can.

[Hellcat 7]

Getting some mods done. The bearings worked out perfectly thanks guys. I also added magnets for quick access.

Woohoo\o/, Looking to buy my 1st Tank as soon as it comes in. How's the magnets working for you? Does the top pops off on rough terrain? "Hellcat 7 out!"

[Rubicon99]

Woohoo\o/, Looking to buy my 1st Tank as soon as it comes in. How's the magnets working for you? Does the top pops off on rough terrain? "Hellcat 7 out!"

Rough terrain and magnets aren’t usually good bed fellows especially on the longer modern tanks hulls that will flex quite a bit if their unibody designs are not properly tightened down. Add to this some speed, heavy metal tracks and higher toque motors and the tops tend to pop off rather easily.

[Sappo]

I can agree with that statement, I can almost lift the Abrams by the top hull with the magnets holding it in place, and I put in lower hull bracing but the top still pops off in rough terrain sometimes.

[Hellcat 7]

Rough terrain and magnets aren’t usually good bed fellows especially on the longer modern tanks hulls that will flex quite a bit if their unibody designs are not properly tightened down. Add to this some speed, heavy metal tracks and higher toque motors and the tops tend to pop off rather easily.

Oh okay thanks for the advice and input Rubicon99/Sappo. I'm planning on buying the Pro-Edition M1A2, do you have a recommendation on another mod for a quick release?

[Rubicon99]

Oh okay thanks for the advice and input Rubicon99/Sappo. I'm planning on buying the Pro-Edition M1A2, do you have a recommendation on another mod for a quick release?

Are you planning on not using the factory battery box and placing the battery elsewhere in the tank?

[Hellcat 7]

Are you planning on not using the factory battery box and placing the battery elsewhere in the tank?

Yes, I want to move the battery in the hull and seal of the factory bat box. Also relocate the on and off switch if its still located on the bottom. Has anyone cut the Battery housing out and made it level with the hull? Thanks!

[Rubicon99]

Yes, I want to move the battery in the hull and seal of the factory bat box. Also relocate the on and off switch if its still located on the bottom. Has anyone cut the Battery housing out and made it level with the hull? Thanks!

All my HL Abrams and other HL tanks have the battery boxes removed so I understand the process very well. But I do not seal the battery access hatch on the bottom. This is left in place to proved a way to charge the batteries while they are still in the tank without having to remove/open the upper hull. This can be done because I use larger heavy sub “C” 5000mAh+ NiMH batteries(placed forward in the hulls for improved weight balance vs stock) which are much safer then others and don’t require the close monitoring during charging, storage or running.

The work involved to make the upper hull easily “removable” is rather involved and time consuming, but there are systems out there that can be retro fitted into the hull. They will most likely end up costing almost half the price the tank. IMEX/Taigen use the system on their metal Leopard 2 and JS2 tanks. Stop by Taigen’s web site and check it out.

Lastly the on/off switch is no longer on the bottom of the 6.0 and up Abrams so you don’t have to worry about moving it.

[Hellcat 7]

All my HL Abrams and other HL tanks have the battery boxes removed so I understand the process very well. But I do not seal the battery access hatch on the bottom. This is left in place to proved a way to charge the batteries while they are still in the tank without having to remove/open the upper hull. This can be done because I use larger heavy sub “C” 5000mAh+ NiMH batteries(placed forward in the hulls for improved weight balance vs stock) which are much safer then others and don’t require the close monitoring during charging, storage or running.

The work involved to make the upper hull easily “removable” is rather involved and time consuming, but there are systems out there that can be retro fitted into the hull. They will most likely end up costing almost half the price the tank. IMEX/Taigen use the system on their metal Leopard 2 and JS2 tanks. Stop by Taigen’s web site and check it out.

Lastly the on/off switch is no longer on the bottom of the 6.0 and up Abrams so you don’t have to worry about moving it.

Thank you for your time and great advice. By the way does the HL Pro-Edition M1A2 come with steel gears? The Motion RC customer service does not seem to know the answer. All they know is that it is metal. Thanks again and apricate your time.

[Rubicon99]

Thank you for your time and great advice. By the way does the HL Pro-Edition M1A2 come with steel gears? The Motion RC customer service does not seem to know the answer. All they know is that it is metal. Thanks again and apricate your time.

Yes all the tanks Motion sell come with the new style steel gears.

[Hellcat 7]

Yes all the tanks Motion sell come with the new style steel gears.

Okay Thanks "Hellcat 7 out!"

[karltrek]

Yes all the tanks Motion sell come with the new style steel gears.

Unfortunately that is not the case for all the tanks. My KV-1 upgrade edition came with Zinc gears. Not steel. Even though the box said it was steel. Just assume that the gears are “metal“ according to Motion RC.

[Rubicon99]

Unfortunately that is not the case for all the tanks. My KV-1 upgrade edition came with Zinc gears. Not steel. Even though the box said it was steel. Just assume that the gears are “metal“ according to Motion RC.

That was not Motions fault and I am sure it was NOT intentional on their part. HL sent out a bunch of KV-1s to a number of retailers that stated “steel gears“ but were actually zinc. I got one from Toucan that was marked “steel gears” but was actually zinc. I even warned about it here on HS and RCU forums before it was discovered that Motion had also been sent these miss labeled tanks. MotionRC as I understand it only orders steel gears in the tanks they sell. So Motion is as much a victim of HL miss labeling as we were, maybe even more so because now they have to deal with what could be expensive fallout.

I have not heard of any other 6.0 tank sold by Motion to have had the issue of miss labeling and having zinc vs steel gears except this one case of the KV-1s.

I spoke at length with Toucan about it and they were at a loss for world because they also ordered steel gears for their tanks and were surprised when I complained to them. They checked their stock and discovered I was right. Needless to say they made everything right. Has Motion worked with you to resolve the issues?

NOTE: I use the wording “miss labeled / miss labeling” lightly as I think it was HL trying to slip in old outdated leftover stock and hoping retailers would not find out for a long time. Seen it before with other Chinese made “toys”.

[karltrek]

That was not Motions fault and I am sure it was NOT intentional on their part. HL sent out a bunch of KV-1s to a number of retailers that stated “steel gears“ but were actually zinc. I got one from Toucan that was marked “steel gears” but was actually zinc. I even warned about it here on HS and RCU forums before it was discovered that Motion had also been sent these miss labeled tanks. MotionRC as I understand it only orders steel gears in the tanks they sell. So Motion is as much a victim of HL miss labeling as we were, maybe even more so because now they have to deal with what could be expensive fallout.

I have not heard of any other 6.0 tank sold by Motion to have had the issue of miss labeling and having zinc vs steel gears except this one case of the KV-1s.

I spoke at length with Toucan about it and they were at a loss for world because they also ordered steel gears for their tanks and were surprised when I complained to them. They checked their stock and discovered I was right. Needless to say they made everything right. Has Motion worked with you to resolve the issues?

NOTE: I use the wording “miss labeled / miss labeling” lightly as I think it was HL trying to slip in old outdated leftover stock and hoping retailers would not find out for a long time. Seen it before with other Chinese made “toys”.

Motion RC was not willing to help me out with it. I made them aware that the tanks are mislabeled. And I not blaming them. It’s a Heng Long issue. The Zinc gears do not bother me.

[Rubicon99]

Motion RC was not willing to help me out with it. I made them aware that the tanks are mislabeled. And I not blaming them. It’s a Heng Long issue. The Zinc gears do not bother me.

Now that is sad to hear Motion not being helpful. They better get on their game because Toucan is very helpful once one gets past the english as a second language barrier.

[Sureshot]

I agree.
Motion should have sent you a new steel gearbox at the very least.
Motion uses the steel gearbox as a main selling point for their Heng Long tanks vs the competition.
I would try working with them again.
Sometimes which Customer Service person you talk to makes a big difference.
Steve

[Rdex2]

My M1A2 nearly finished,smoke barrel recoil gun work satisfied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlTThDnINFs