Upgrading a static model?

[DavidN]

I am glad that I am now a member of the "club"

[thebates]

Can you run thru the binding process? I have a Panther G basic model arriving tomorrow and will be ordering 6.0-6.1 receiver for it. I have enough radios. Idea is the Tiger and Panther will share a radio.

[DavidN]

This is what Bob taught me: Instead of turning the transmission on, then turn the tank on, then press the lock button, don't do that. You should turn transmission on, while pressing the lock button on the transmission, turn the tank on. It works much better than the way they printed in the manual. One thing about the static panther from Toucan, some inside parts might be bad. If you are lucky, all parts work. I was upgrading my panther and found out that the gun elevator did not work. I had to replace it.

[DavidN]

My family of panthers

[DavidN]

For my Panther II, I was trying to save $. I bought the Torro upper hull, a HL plastic panther to use its lower hull, and HL metal running gears. Now I found that Motion RC has the RTR Torro in stock. I realized that I only save a slightly small amount of $ and I spent quite a bit of time working on it. Well, it's was a project to be learned. I still have the metal idlers that I want to install. I don't know how to take the plastic idler off the panther. If you know how, please let me know.

[thebates]

This is what Bob taught me: Instead of turning the transmission on, then turn the tank on, then press the lock button, don't do that. You should turn transmission on, while pressing the lock button on the transmission, turn the tank on. It works much better than the way they printed in the manual. One thing about the static panther from Toucan, some inside parts might be bad. If you are lucky, all parts work. I was upgrading my panther and found out that the gun elevator did not work. I had to replace it.

Which button do we consider the "lock" button?
I didn't get it from Toucan.

[DavidN]

[SoCalBobS]

DavidN, regarding the idler, I had an older Panther. I'm not positive on yours, but for most HL tanks, a long thin phillips screwdriver that fits into the hole works. Also, sometimes there is a hubcap on an idler. If so for yours, they are just pressfit. You should see a small notch on the wheel at the hub. Just insert a tool and pop it off.

[DavidN]

Wow! I did it Bob! I didn’t know there is a screw in that little hole. My panther II is set. Thank you!

[Rob1970]

I'm eying this tank on a local sales site. Looks like a Panzer IV with an old crystal radio setup. Is it worth it to get dead-cheap and upgrade it to V6.0 or similar? Can it even be done with just a new control board, or does it mean also replacing motors and whatnot?

[thebates]

My static display model Panther G arrived yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hull packed with equipment when i opened it up. It was only supposed to have the plastic gearbox installed. Of course it's an old FM version but at least i have some hardware to work with. It has the zink gearbox so i don't need the replacement i ordered. I need to order an operating system for it. Sorry for fuzzy photo.

[DavidN]

Rob1970, my opinion is to ask the owner to give you a picture of the inside so you can have a better idea. With the tracks worn out like that, you will probably need to replace the tracks, the gearboxes (if the ones inside are plastic), get a 6.0 main board and a cable set. Then you can bind it to your 6.0 transmitter to have it running.

[DavidN]

I would like to upgrade some of my HL tanks with metal tracks. I have a few questions. Do running gears as tracks, wheels, idler and sprocket from Mato and HL compatible to each other? Which one has better metal quality? (or are they both bad, lol?) I read from another post that the tracks from Mato were not recommended. The HLmetal tracks on the the HL tanks I have now don't look good either. Some of the teeth broke off. What is the next affordable metal tracks I can buy? I can't afford those high end metal tracks though :-(

[Rob1970]

Rob1970, my opinion is to ask the owner to give you a picture of the inside so you can have a better idea. With the tracks worn out like that, you will probably need to replace the tracks, the gearboxes (if the ones inside are plastic), get a 6.0 main board and a cable set. Then you can bind it to your 6.0 transmitter to have it running.

Well, I might indeed go for it then, if I can have a peek at the innards. Even if stuff is too worn out it'll be good for parts or to make a non-fighting variant of some sorts for occasional fun.

[SoCalBobS]

I'm eying this tank on a local sales site. Looks like a Panzer IV with an old crystal radio setup. Is it worth it to get dead-cheap and upgrade it to V6.0 or similar? Can it even be done with just a new control board, or does it mean also replacing motors and whatnot?

As DavidN said, it'll need a control board and transmitter and a wire harness unless you do your own wire work. As far as gears and tracks, as long as the gear teeth aren't broken, you can replace those at your own convenience. The motors will be the same, only change if they don't work. Does he want $86? (It's the title of the photo.) That seems high. Add-ons could raise the total cost to around $150. If it was an unavailable model you could go for it, but compare that to Pz IV's on eBay.

[Rob1970]

Does he want $86? (It's the title of the photo.)

Nah, the site names all picture you download with a dollar sign and a number. He's actually asking around 55 dollars when I convert it from the Euros, and I can probably beat him down a notch or two to 45 dollar. As I said; with the price of just a receiver (I can do my own wiring... at least I should hope so...) it would be totally worth it, as a side project.
On that note; my Sherman is a TK6.0S. Do I need to get a TK6.0S receiver to bind this project (if I go for it) to the Sherman's transmitter? Or will a TK6.0 do? How much cross-over is there between the sets?

[Rubicon99]

My static display model Panther G arrived yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see the hull packed with equipment when i opened it up. It was only supposed to have the plastic gearbox installed. Of course it's an old FM version but at least i have some hardware to work with. It has the zink gearbox so i don't need the replacement i ordered. I need to order an operating system for it. Sorry for fuzzy photo.

Old stock being sold as static minus the TX. They are getting more lazy then ever. They used to rip all the electrical guts out. Lost of the wires can be reused in you upgrading, so that’s a plus👍

You will still want to replace the gearboxes as the Zinc are only slight stronger then the plastic gearboxes.

[Barmonkey]

If re-using the stock gearboxes, both tanks will need the motor connectors changed to work with the newer Heng Long boards. They switched from those that plug directly into the board (Taigen is still the same) to leads with bullet connectors. I don't know the name of said connectors, but I think they are the same as those used for cars and motorcycles. But like Ribicon said, steel gears are better than the plastic or Zinc. I in the effort to get things up and running the stock motors will be fine in the short run.

[DavidN]

I need help on metal tracks. About upgrading the HL tanks with metal tracks, are Mato and HL tracks compatible to each other? Which one has better metal quality? It seems that Mato is a little cheaper. If they both are not as good, what is the next affordable metal tracks on the market? Taigen/Torro? Thank you!

[Alpha]

I need help on metal tracks. About upgrading the HL tanks with metal tracks, are Mato and HL tracks compatible to each other? Which one has better metal quality? It seems that Mato is a little cheaper. If they both are not as good, what is the next affordable metal tracks on the market? Taigen/Torro? Thank you!

Some are and some aren't. Which tank specifically are you trying to pair with which set of metal tracks?

For example, my HL Pro Abrams fit the Mato set of tracks, as long as I used the Mato sprocket set as well. Little or no further modification to the actual tracks/hull was needed.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc...grade-worth-60