Advice to buy a new tank - good options, reliable and that dont break the bank

[cravo]

Start a different thread and that way more people can find and read the difference ways to go about reducing pin walking issues.

Hi, Keillau already created a new thread but for now other than me nobody replyed it :(.

https://www.hobbysquawk.com/forum/rc-cars-tanks-trucks-and-more/rc-tanks/392204-how-to-make-more-reliable-track-by-eliminating-pin-walking

[cravo]

One question, does anyone know if its possible to put bearings on the road wheels and idler wheels?
My question basically is if i need to drill holes on the road wheels or idler wheels to install bearings or if there are bearings on the right size to install there.
I know maybe i will loose the place to put the caps where the bolts will go and also maybe will have to buy longer bolts but i think it will make the tank much smoother and reliable.
On the other i would like to avoid drilling the wholes since its a new tank, if not possible without drilling maybe i will drive it like this and later down the road when the play increases i will do the change and then make the drilling to install the bearings, or (i am in the process of buying a 3d printer) print the parts with the correct size.
Another question do you know if the Knurel side of the track should be on the outside part or the inside part (towards the tank)?
I changed the tracks a couple of times and now i do not know how it was before.
Any thoughts or ideas?
I also glued the pins on Knurreled side (all of them) to prevent them to go out, i used CA GLUE and if need to remove one pin i will just heat up with sodder iron on the tip of the pin and will let it loose by the heat to remove it later.
What i dont want is to be playing and then the pins go out.
Merry Christmas to all and wish you a happy sunday
TANK you all, lol.

[Rubicon99]

So what's the idea to solve it?
Now I am curious.

Start a different thread and that way more people can find and read the difference ways to go about reducing pin walking issues.

[cravo]

Pins and or end connectors will walk out overtime no matter what you do. Even the very best dual pin tracks made by Tamiya like those used on the Abrams, Leopard 2 and EZ8 Sherman can have issues. The harder you drive the tanks the more common it is to see. Even real tanks have the issues of "pin walking" and loosing "end connectors".

It is always recommended to give the tracks a quick visual once over before driving and then afterwards. This is the simplest way to reduce the problem before it happen.

Is there a way to reduce the issue further with and without glues? YES absolutely there is, but that is a topic for a completely different thread.

So what's the idea to solve it?
Now I am curious.

[Rubicon99]

In my point of view I think the puns should not go out.
if they do it's a design problem that should not exist.
Do all the pins on these tracks tend to go out?
Another idea it might work is put a dab of dodder in the top of the pins. We will not see it (same color of the tracks and pins and if removal need just apply the sodder iron on it and it will liquid melt the sodder.
What you say?

Pins and or end connectors will walk out overtime no matter what you do. Even the very best dual pin tracks made by Tamiya like those used on the Abrams, Leopard 2 and EZ8 Sherman can have issues. The harder you drive the tanks the more common it is to see. Even real tanks have the issues of "pin walking" and loosing "end connectors".

It is always recommended to give the tracks a quick visual once over before driving and then afterwards. This is the simplest way to reduce the problem before it happen.

Is there a way to reduce the issue further with and without glues? YES absolutely there is, but that is a topic for a completely different thread.

[cravo]

Just takes a few minutes to put a drop of glue on each pin for an entire track. The pins will work themselves out eventually.

In my point of view I think the puns should not go out.
if they do it's a design problem that should not exist.
Do all the pins on these tracks tend to go out?
Another idea it might work is put a dab of dodder in the top of the pins. We will not see it (same color of the tracks and pins and if removal need just apply the sodder iron on it and it will liquid melt the sodder.
What you say?

[tank_me]

Just takes a few minutes to put a drop of glue on each pin for an entire track. The pins will work themselves out eventually.

[cravo]

Don't worry...all the pins will get loose the more you run it. I end up putting a little drop of superglue on my pins on the knurled end. When it's cold, metal contracts so the pins get looser. If it's not coming out, I really wouldn't worry about it. If it does bother you that much, you just look the side of the track where the pins are flush. If there is an indented one on the flush side, that's probably the culprit. If there are none indented, then maybe you put it back in the right way.

i was worried to loose the pins because i was running in snow and with low light only street light lamp, and for sure if i loose it i will not find it in the middle of the snow.
But i will check it now and be more carefull it was just one on each track, but it could be because of the low temperatures or beacause the pin it was on wrong side, i will check it when i run it hard again and see if all is fine after i put it. if not CA glue is already here to solve the issue.
But oh boy i had fun.

[cravo]

In the good old days, the track pins are smooth. The smooth pin works well with plastic tracks, but it falls out easily from metal tracks. Recently, most major tank maker had changed to pins with a knurled end to make it more secure. A drop of CA glue is the best insurance policy. Leave at least one pin not CA glued in case you have to remove the track.

thank you for the advice, it just happened in one pin on each track and the track was almost getting loose that why i get worried.
but it was -4 degrees and i was running the tank non stop to try to finish the battery and make the first outdoor test at nigh i only spot the pin loose when i saw the track with a jerky movement because at first i thought it was ice that stayed harder in the idler and sprocket because it have stopped a litle bit.
i will check it when i run it and if needed i will put a dab of CA glue on each pin but its lots of pins on each track.

[keilau]

Don't worry...all the pins will get loose the more you run it. I end up putting a little drop of superglue on my pins on the knurled end. When it's cold, metal contracts so the pins get looser. If it's not coming out, I really wouldn't worry about it. If it does bother you that much, you just look the side of the track where the pins are flush. If there is an indented one on the flush side, that's probably the culprit. If there are none indented, then maybe you put it back in the right way.

In the good old days, the track pins are smooth. The smooth pin works well with plastic tracks, but it falls out easily from metal tracks. Recently, most major tank maker had changed to pins with a knurled end to make it more secure. A drop of CA glue is the best insurance policy. Leave at least one pin not CA glued in case you have to remove the track.

[tank_me]

Don't worry...all the pins will get loose the more you run it. I end up putting a little drop of superglue on my pins on the knurled end. When it's cold, metal contracts so the pins get looser. If it's not coming out, I really wouldn't worry about it. If it does bother you that much, you just look the side of the track where the pins are flush. If there is an indented one on the flush side, that's probably the culprit. If there are none indented, then maybe you put it back in the right way.

[cravo]

One side of the track, the pin will be flush with the edge of the track. The flush side will be the "knurled" (rough) side of the pin. The other side will be slightly indented. The indented side is the smooth side of the pin. When pushing the pins out, push from the indented side toward the flush side.
I will try to do that but now i dont know wich pin was, because at first the tracks were too loose and i took one link out, to see if they were a litle bit snug to prevent detracking, but then i put back the track link and decided to increase the size of the idler wheel to compensate the slop.

When the tracks are assembled in the factory, there is no left or right track. The pins are all installed the same direction. When the tracks are on the vehicle, both track pins will be removed in the same direction. So if the left track pin pushes away from the center of the tank to be removed, the right track pin will be pushed toward the center of the tank to be removed.

Thank you for the explanation, now as i cant find the pin that went out i will try to run it again and see if it will go out and then i will remove another pin on the side to double check the position and install in the correct way.
But this was the first time it happened, before i was running indoors in carpet floor and it never happened.
It happened only when it was -4 degrees running in the snow,
I will keep you informed if it will go out again so i can double check if its on the correct orientation or not since i am avoiding to remove all pins to check, or you think it would be best to check pin by pin?

[tank_me]

One side of the track, the pin will be flush with the edge of the track. The flush side will be the "knurled" (rough) side of the pin. The other side will be slightly indented. The indented side is the smooth side of the pin. When pushing the pins out, push from the indented side toward the flush side.

When the tracks are assembled in the factory, there is no left or right track. The pins are all installed the same direction. When the tracks are on the vehicle, both track pins will be removed in the same direction. So if the left track pin pushes away from the center of the tank to be removed, the right track pin will be pushed toward the center of the tank to be removed.

[cravo]

Hi, today i was running it in the snow and i have the pins out of the tracks.
Only one on each side, so i put them back again to continue playing, but after that i was thinking as i at first remove one link to test the track lenght if i put the pins the other way and thats why it went out, but now i dont know exactly what part or pin should i double check.
Does someone knows how to put the pin correctly on the metal tracks of the M41 walker buldog, because there is a flat part on one end and other rugged on the other.
and i would not want to take all pins to check wich is on the wrong position, so maybe i will run it again until it goes out to see if its wrongly placed and then remove another just to double check if its on the right place.

[keilau]

The Heng Long IDF Merkava IV and all the metal upgrade parts arrived on November 26 by Fedex. It took only 3 calendar days and delivered on a Sunday. It is super 5 stars service.

On the package, it identify only as 3958-1 and (TK-)7.0. The package arrived in good shape. I will report more details after I unbox.

The IDF Merkava IV is a big MBT.

[keilau]

For Europe I found good price on Motion RC Europe (https://www.motionrc.eu/). Delivery is free in selected countries.

Did you try the Toucan EU Store? Price wise, Toucan and MotionRC are pretty competitive. In the US, Toucan US Store offers more selection. Most importantly, Toucan includes a detail metal parts in their listing, which is very handy for buyer to select which HL version they are shopping for.

[Owl64]

For Europe I found good price on Motion RC Europe (https://www.motionrc.eu/). Delivery is free in selected countries.

[keilau]

I ordered from Toucan Hobby US Store instead. The total including shipping is $194 which is exactly $10 more than DisneyFigures Store at AliExpress.
US Stock 1:16 Scale IDF Merkava MK IV RC Main Battle Tank Heng Long 39 – TOUCAN RC HOBBY (toucanhobby.com)

The Heng Long IDF Merkava IV and all the metal upgrade parts arrived on November 26 by Fedex. It took only 3 calendar days and delivered on a Sunday. It is super 5 stars service.

On the package, it identify only as 3958-1 and (TK-)7.0. The package arrived in good shape. I will report more details after I unbox.

[keilau]

The DisneyFigures Store price that I purchased the HL Merkava from is only a few dollars less than the Toucan US Store price. I was curious to find out whether AliExpress will really backup the customer. The Answer is NO.

The DisneyFigure Store will make decent profit if they arrange a HL US distributor to ship me the order. They are losing money to ship a tank package by air from China. Their software obviously does not know how to calculate shipping cost.

AliExpress already said that they want no part of this. I will wait a few days to see what the DisneyFigures Store may propose. They may decide to just drag it out since it is my money, not theirs, gets tie up.

AliExpress cancelled the order. No apology, no explanation nor interest for the time they kept my money for 10 days. Paypal got the refund notice and it will take 5 days to credit the money back to my account.

I ordered from Toucan Hobby US Store instead. The total including shipping is $194 which is exactly $10 more than DisneyFigures Store at AliExpress.
US Stock 1:16 Scale IDF Merkava MK IV RC Main Battle Tank Heng Long 39 – TOUCAN RC HOBBY (toucanhobby.com)

We have two USA warehouses located in New Jersey and California, and items in our warehouses ONLY can be shipped to the mainland of US.
Shipping handling time is about 1-3 working days, and delivery time is about 7-10 working days.

[cravo]

Another one.