Discussion of Heng Longs 1/16th RTR Abrams Pro Edition

[RCjetdude]

Any Abrams Pro drivers out there feel free to post up your impressions and pictures. Mine arrived today and it is definitely a heavy rig. The packaging took a serious hit on the rear of the tank which broke the styrofoam. While there was no damage to the back of the tank the hatch was broken. It will be a challenge to fix. Not sure if it can be replaced.





I will certainly enter a CS ticket to report the incident. Anyway, I plan to post up pics of mine along the way and hope other Pro owners will do the same. Early impressions are that I like the weight of it and aside from the damaged hatch it looks great. There are a lot of extra pieces to add with some pre-painted which is a nice touch. I am looking forward to getting this together and trying it out.

[RCjetdude]

Well, that took a lot less time to fix than I thought it would. First thing I did was take a razor saw and separate the upper plate from the lower hatch. This freed up the hinge pin and broken arm.



Then I used a pin drill and very small drill bit to drill holes to reinforce the broken arm and broken hinge pin such that I could reinforce them with small pieces of piano wire. After pinning them together I used some acetone on a brush to weld the broken pieces back together again. The joints are now steel reinforced and very strong. Then I used model cement to glue the upper and lower hatch parts back together. Viola! All better.

[RCjetdude]

One thing I have never really liked about these tanks and that is not just isolated to one in particular is the fact that you have to turn them over or lay them on their side to install the battery. At some point I will make the top removable and the switch accessable from above. First I want to make sure the battery works and get used to driving it.

[Rubicon99]

One thing I have never really liked about these tanks and that is not just isolated to one in particular is the fact that you have to turn them over or lay them on their side to install the battery. At some point I will make the top removable and the switch accessable from above. First I want to make sure the battery works and get used to driving it.

Be careful you don’t get bit by the modifications bug....but then it might be to late. LoL

[RCjetdude]

Be careful you don’t get bit by the modifications bug....but then it might be to late. LoL

Who? Me?

[barron06]

Can someone tell me if my track tension is correct from this pic. I also have the Abrams, both are the professional versions but those tracks don't sag as much. At 1st I thought it was because the Leopard track is longer. With 1 hr of running indoors, on tight Bernier carpert, I can do spins without track jam or coming off but I am concerned about the track slack around the drive sprocket when do in this. There is about 13mm of slack.
I normally would not do spins on carpet but I am testing. I'm a tank noob.

[Rubicon99]

Can someone tell me if my track tension is correct from this pic. I also have the Abrams, both are the professional versions but those tracks don't sag as much. At 1st I thought it was because the Leopard track is longer. With 1 hr of running indoors, on tight Bernier carpert, I can do spins without track jam or coming off but I am concerned about the track slack around the drive sprocket when do in this. There is about 13mm of slack.
I normally would not do spins on carpet but I am testing. I'm a tank noob.

No it is not. What you are experiencing is called “track stretch”. It is basically the track wearing in. It will happen fast at first then slow over time.

I would say based on the photo adjust your idler wheel one notch forward and you should be back to not loosing tracks.

[barron06]

No it is not. What you are experiencing is called “track stretch”. It is basically the track wearing in. It will happen fast at first then slow over time.

I would say based on the photo adjust your idler wheel one notch forward and you should be back to not loosing tracks.

Ok I changed tightened the Idler 1 notch and found that the ground wheels at the ends started to compress... too tight I think. So, I backed set it back. Maybe I'll let run until I actually have track problems then give it another go... or maybe remove a track link. Thanks anyway Man!

[Rubicon99]

Ok I changed tightened the Idler 1 notch and found that the ground wheels at the ends started to compress... too tight I think. So, I backed set it back. Maybe I'll let run until I actually have track problems then give it another go... or maybe remove a track link. Thanks anyway Man!

Was the track on the ground under load when the 1st and 7th road wheel was being compressed? Or was it suspended off the ground like in you photo prior?

[RCjetdude]

Speaking of the tracks, do you have to push a pin through a track to separate a link in order to remove the tracks? Also, the pro comes with metal center hubs for all the wheels as well as plastic ones. Does it matter which get used?

[Rubicon99]

Speaking of the tracks, do you have to push a pin through a track to separate a link in order to remove the tracks? Also, the pro comes with metal center hubs for all the wheels as well as plastic ones. Does it matter which get used?

Yes you have to push the pin all the way out to separate track links.

Either caps can be used. Whichever fit on the easiest are the ones I use. You will lose caps so keep any extras.

[barron06]

Was the track on the ground under load when the 1st and 7th road wheel was being compressed? Or was it suspended off the ground like in you photo prior?

It was resting on its side actually so I would say it's like it would be suspended. As soon as slipped the idler on, I could see the end wheels spring up. I never rested it horizontal, loaded or suspended

[Rubicon99]

It was resting on its side actually so I would say it's like it would be suspended. As soon as slipped the idler on, I could see the end wheels spring up. I never rested it horizontal, loaded or suspended

It is best to check the tension when under load. A little pulling up on the 1st and last road wheels is ok under load as the track will still continue to stretch and in short order the road wheels will relax back to their normal running height.

It should take a 3-4 solid hours of running time for the track stretching to slow and “stabilize”. After which you will not have to adjust the tracks often.

[RCjetdude]

My Pro Abrams pre-weathering. This is a nice tank!

[fastphil]

Hey RC jetdude, your Abrams looks great already, and the IR cover is trick...I had a chance to start on my M1 A2, and am also looking forward to some combat weathering...

[Rubicon99]

My Pro Abrams pre-weathering. This is a nice tank!

Just something we are seeing in our battles and testing with the location of the Abrams IR receiver. It sits to far back on the turret and this causes issues with the IR receiver “taking” hits from the turrets frontal arc by as much as 180 deg.

Might want to consider moving the IR receiver more to the front of the tank to make IR battling a bit more fair. We are asking folks that play at the two local clubs to move the Abrams IR receiver forward to the area just in front of the turret hatches between the gunners and commanders sights as indicated below. This seems to work out well for improving the IR receivers responsiveness.

[RCjetdude]

Copy that. Thank you. Are they installing a new magnet or moving the existing one?

[Rubicon99]

Copy that. Thank you. Are they installing a new magnet or moving the existing one?

Just installing a new magnet which is relatively easy.

[barron06]

I copied this as a " user reply" on rcgroups but figured it would be benifical for noobs, like myself, here.
have the Leopard with metal tracks too. I only run indoors, on my berbier carpet, which has a tight weave. So far I'm not throwing tracks, even while doing spins. When doing these, I do notice that the reverse track has slack between it and the next wheel. Also, I measure 13mm space between the middle road wheel and the track when the track is suspended.

I was told that I needed to move the tensioner one notch (The Leopard from MRC do have track tensioner). I did this but found that the suspension compressed some.. so it was too much. So, I'm going to run mine until I get more I get more slack (break-in), then tension it. Head over to hobbysquawk.com, the tank section. Rubbycon99 is knowledgeable and gave me this info.

Note, to adjust the tensioner, the hubcap was too small for me to get a proper sized philips in so I removed the 4 screws that bolt the idler together, removed the outboard side of the wheel, then you can get to the screw. While there, drill the access hole out for so you don't have seperate them again. You will, also have to remove the upper deck, held by 6 screws, to get the skirt out of the way. For some reason, the bearings were on tight. I fashioned a "wheel puller", so as not to put too much stress on the plastic hull.

[barron06]

Today #7

Barron06

Additionally, for those who care, if running your metal tracks indoors, make sure you clean them. There is mfg dirt/oil on them. I have off white carpet so this was a thing for me. I used alcohol and a rag... wiping the carpet contact surfaces until the rag was clean... about 10 min per track. No need to remove them. Also, the Leopard and the Abrams have a less aggressive track pattern. They have not scratched my mfg floors and do not tangle in my carpet. I have a shag runner that I run across and do wide turns. It has no problem with that but I have not done a spin test on. I believe more aggressive tracks, like on the Tiger, may have more potential problems. Alpha, over on Hobbysquak mentioned this. I do believe that if I were to run mine outdoors on anything but thick grass, I think that it marr the track finish and could then scratch the mfg floor. TIP ! - When reinstalling any screws, especially the wheel mount/assembly screws, make sure you catch the same threads that were cut on original assembly so as not to weaken the thread area. To do this, during screw installation, screw backwards until you feel the screw drop, then screw clockwise. You should not feel much resistance. If you do, backup and redo, checking/adjusting screw alignment. This is basic screw/bolt knowledge 101 but it is especially important when screwing to plastics or, in the case of the tank wheels/idler, coarse/already loose threads. Do not over tighten these.