How durable is the Tamiya M1A2 gear box?

[oldwolf]

I have been considering purchasing a Tamiya M1A2. However, I see that their gearbox is a mix of metal (steel ?) and plastic (nylon ?) gears. While that probably makes them fairly quiet, how durable are they compared to the steel gears other companies sell?

[RichJohnson]

I don’t have one but I have friends that do. It is a very good transmission but has two weak gears that blow out, DKLMRC makes metal replacement gears for those two, buy them when you buy the tank and substitute them and toss the Tamiya weak ones.

The Tamiya Abrams is a very nice tank, it looks a little better than a Henglong right up close but it is a very rugged and excellent running model tank. The one draw back to the Tamiya Abrams is the suspension is a bit stiffer than it needs to be. Friends have kicked the ideas around of replacing the giant speaker box in the hull with a smaller one and more weight.

[oldwolf]

I don’t have one but I have friends that do. It is a very good transmission but has two weak gears that blow out, DKLMRC makes metal replacement gears for those two, buy them when you buy the tank and substitute them and toss the Tamiya weak ones.

The Tamiya Abrams is a very nice tank, it looks a little better than a Henglong right up close but it is a very rugged and excellent running model tank. The one draw back to the Tamiya Abrams is the suspension is a bit stiffer than it needs to be. Friends have kicked the ideas around of replacing the giant speaker box in the hull with a smaller one and more weight.

Good to know about those DKLMRC gears, thanks.