Heng Long Challenger II, 2023 style

[SoCalBobS]

There are photo problems on an old Challenger II thread from 2019, so I'm starting a separate thread just in case that thread is corrupted..

[MrChef]

Excellent Bob. I'm in for the ride.

[SoCalBobS]

Seems that other thread is indeed corrupted. Even some member images are absent. So, here are my latest; painted and decaled, not weathered.

[SoCalBobS]

I added a yellow flashing light on top. Not sure why they're there, but if they do, I do!



I'd like to share my experiences with my Heng Long Challenger and Leopard tanks. Both have metal treads, road wheels sprockets and idlers. It appears they use the same tracks. There is a problem, as discussed in the past, with the width of the sprocket wheels. They are slightly too narrow for the tracks, and the teeth sometimes don't mesh with their spaces on the track links, causing the tracks to ride up and jam. Ok, this much has been observed by others. The solution has been to place washers where the two halves of the sprockets meet. However, this can cause another problem. The outside half, not fully seated into the inner half, can wobble to the point that the tracks jam.

My solution was to add some rubber grommets where the halves meet, to stabilize the halves. If anybody is having this same problem and want some detail photos, let me know.

[DavidN]

For those who don't have the time to convert their tanks from the yellow color, Toucan Hobby has 2 green versions of the Challengers for you to purchase. But please remember that they are not as nice as Bob's Challenger :-)

[DavidN]

Blackish green....

[DavidN]

Green...

[RichJohnson]

Are those the stock HL decals for the green Challenger 2?

If so I need a set of the KFOR decals for my Canadian Leopard C1 MEXAS build.

[SoCalBobS]

HL also offers the T-90 in "blackish green", a pretty cool color. Funny how it looks lighter in natural light.

[SoCalBobS]

Still tinkering with the metal tracks with rubber pads that came with the Challenger and an earlier Leopard. What I'm seeing is the metal sprocket teeth grabbing the metal track links instead of rolling off easily. Prompted by R99's experience with the TD M60, where he's putting plastic tracks in place of the metal, I'm going to try the same with my tanks. My hope is that the metal teeth will wear down the plastic links until they seat and unseat easier. They cost about $10, so it's a safe gamble either way!

[SoCalBobS]

Ok, my plastic Challenger tracks just arrived. My suspicions have been confirmed! The plastic tracks are a clear 2mm narrower than their metal ones. What does this mean? There is substantially less binding of the tracks on the sprockets. Driving on my test track and on pavement, they are quieter, smoother and more reliable. Also a bit faster because of the lessened friction. The new tracks quickly stretched out, so I adjusted the idler tension. That's another helpful hint from R99; slight slack on smaller WW2 type tanks, tighter on bigger modern tanks. All is happy in tanktown.

Now, my focus on my tanks is on reliability in the field. Much of the small detail gets knocked off in use, and that's all ok with me. I don't think I have a tank with intact tow hooks and things on the underside. "Scaleness" suffers, of course. I still have metal tracks on most of my tanks, but for performance, plastic does better. Not sure about longevity, guess I'll just have to experiment.

My recommendation is identical to R99's (thanks!). Get a metal gear train version, for both Heng Long and TongDe, but add some plastic tracks.

Edit: This is also true for the Leopard, although the metal/plastic discrepancy is less, about 1mm in width.

[Grandpa53]

I have noticed once in a while I "jam" the metal tracks on my Leopard, but I have never had any problems (except knocking off the rear gas barrels) with tracks on my Challeger. I've been buying the metal versions lately of the tanks as I have replacing some my older tanks. I had a 5.3 terrible M26 and a Stug 5.3 that I both recenty bought metal versions. I'll keep watching all my metal versions. I do need to start running them more. The ones I have had the most trouble however is my metal versions of the KV-1 and Jagdpanther. They both have had metal track problems.

[Evan D]

The only one of the seven (small number for some) tanks I have that had tread problems is the Challenger II. After considering some of the advice here I ended up getting a set of two pin metal treads and doing a lot of trial and error with the drive sprockets. I ended up spacing the two halves apart with some washers and JB Welding it all together and haven't had an issue since.

[oldwolf]

Following SCBob’s discovery of the better fit for the plastic track on the challenger, I ordered a set. I am pleased with them so far. My challenger has always been a bit of a workbench queen but the plastic track has been a significant improvement. I did find them to be a bit too long and had to remove one link from each side. The track material is very tough, good from a wear perspective but it means they are taking a while to wear off their new track slipperyness. I removed both the spacing washers and the large metal alignment disks from the sprockets. The disks seemed to do nothing to reduce detracking but did make it harder to get tracks reseated when they partially came off. Actually, The new tracks do at times partially come off the sprocket but that doesnt bring the tank to a halt. The side skirts and hull serve to keep the tracks from fully coming off and the track has lots of slots and spaces that align with and accept the sprocket teeth. What you get is the track running on just one side of the sprocket and friction against hull or skirt causes it to pull a bit to that side but the tank keeps going. I have made several runs, some over 1000 feet on mostly woodland paths. My challenger has completed every run with the new plastic track, something that would have only happened half the time with the old track.
So, thanks for posting your discovery, SCBob!

[Rubicon99]

The best option for the Challenger that is even better then the stock plastic Challenger tracks is to replace the sprockets with HL Abrams sprockets. Then run either Tamiya Abrams or Tamiya Leopard 2 track. This is an expensive option (at least $150), but does produce overall the very best running results.

And YES at $150+ that buys a lot of spare HL Challenger 2 plastic replacement tracks so swapping to the Abrams sprockets and Tamiya tracks is only for the "diehard must have the best most durable Challenger" folks.