Tongde 1/16 Abrams M1A2 SEP V2 Tank

[keilau]

Did anyone publish a full review of this Tongde USA M1A2 SEP V2 RC tank?

Bump up for an old question.

[keilau]

It should easily fit 390 motors.

The M60 can as well BUT it is a VERY tight fit and some additional shielding is needed on the gearbox covers to prevent the motor terminals from making contact with the metal covers and causing a "short". This can be minimized if one also grinds down the covers to make a little more clearance.

You are right. On the TD M60, the distance between the gearbox side wall is 52.7mm. It should accommodate the 47 mm 390 motor depth. I do need to bend out the 390 motor terminals and put heat shrink tube over them for proper electrical insulation. If it works, I will probably shelf the PDSGB gearbox for M60 idea.

I ordered the HL 390 red motor from toucanhobby.com. They have it in US stock.

[Rubicon99]

Currently, I have only one 1:16 scale Tongde RC tank, the Tongde M60A1. The Tongde M60A1 has some inherent disadvantage. The narrow hall prevent upgrade to 390 or more powerful motor with the TD metal gearbox. The DKLMRC style PDSGB gearbox (HL calls it dual current) seems to be the only path to better drive motors. I have an early edition M60. The lower chassis used thin walled plastic which makes it too light in weight.

I am very interested in exploring a second Tongde tank. I am interested in finding out whether the TD Abrams with the basic metal gearbox can be fitted with a 390 motor? How wide is the space between the 2 metal gearboxes?

It should easily fit 390 motors.

The M60 can as well BUT it is a VERY tight fit and some additional shielding is needed on the gearbox covers to prevent the motor terminals from making contact with the metal covers and causing a "short". This can be minimized if one also grinds down the covers to make a little more clearance.

[keilau]

Currently, I have only one 1:16 scale Tongde RC tank, the Tongde M60A1. The Tongde M60A1 has some inherent disadvantage. The narrow hall prevent upgrade to 390 or more powerful motor with the TD metal gearbox. The DKLMRC style PDSGB gearbox (HL calls it dual current) seems to be the only path to better drive motors. The PDSGB gearbox is quite expensive. I have an early edition M60. The lower chassis used thin walled plastic which makes it too light in weight.

I am very interested in exploring a second Tongde tank. I am interested in finding out whether the TD Abrams with the basic metal gearbox can be fitted with a 390 motor? How wide is the space between the 2 metal gearboxes?

[keilau]

tank_me and Rubicon99 , thank you for taking the time. they are very much appreciated and helpful to my decision. I am still working on the Merkava, M60 and Leo2A6 which all had their setback on the upgrades. It may be a while before I post on the TD Abrams upgrade journal.

[Rubicon99]

It is beyond my comprehension to compare a stock Tamiya Abrams to a fully built-up Heng Long TK-7.1. Rubicon99 comment never disappoints me. But my question is about the Tongde Abrams. It already has the TDX MFU board which is equivalent to the Heng Long TK-7.1.

I draw the most fun from taking a cheapest plastic version RC tank and do the metal upgrade using selected parts. The six Heng Long are all enjoyable success. The only Tongde M60A1 is a very pleasant surprise. It drives better than the HL IDF Merkava that I acquired at the same time despite the Tongde's ugly looking off scale tracks. I want a second Tongde to complement my collection. Of all the problem tank_me pointed out on the Tongde Abrams, the on-off switch is the biggest eye sore but is easy to relocate and patch up. A water proof push-on-push-off switch on the tank bottom plate is my favorite solution. I won't buy until I see some response to the questions that I posted on gearbox in post #2.

For now, all my Abrams are 1:24 scale that include several Mauri and Toy East RC and one Corgi die cast.

I have kept from talking about the TongDe Abrams because I don't own one, but I do have some hands on time inspecting and driving one. Unfortunately the owner would not let me take the tank apart or adjust the TD control settings (which I felt it needed but to each his own).
He did let me see inside and it did have the standard TD metal gearboxes and the torsion bar are similar to the ones used in the TD M60.

Driving the tank on my course was like driving a stock metal geared HL Abrams with plastic tracks. The torsion bars made no difference in wheel articulation nor did it handle obstacles any better. I think it was a little "over sprung" which could easily (for guys like you and me) be tweak to be a little softer.

There appears to be enough room between the gearboxes to fit upgraded 390 type motors into the gearboxes. This would help if you were able to use aftermarket tracks. Again I was not allowed to take the tank apart to see what would or would not fit aka other brands of tracks and sprockets.

If the TD Abrams was equipped with a "dual current" drive (I did not see built in mounts for it but they could have been under the stock gearboxes) you could expect much smoother handling just as would be expected in any other application. Plus nearly dead silent gearbox operation. If the mounts are not built into the hull I will bet it would still be a fairly easy installation should you want.

The overall "in person" look of the tank was better than expected and definitely better then the overall stock look of the TD M60. Like all the other Abrams on the market it needs some aftermarket accessories and a good paint job,

I did not take photos. Why not? Simply I was to focus on talking and playing around with the tank. Also had no intention of writing a review on the TD Abrams so why take photos.

Not the definitive answers you were looking for but hopefully a little helpful still.

[keilau]

It is beyond my comprehension to compare a stock Tamiya Abrams to a fully built-up Heng Long TK-7.1. Rubicon99 comment never disappoints me. But my question is about the Tongde Abrams. It already has the TDX MFU board which is equivalent to the Heng Long TK-7.1.

I draw the most fun from taking a cheapest plastic version RC tank and do the metal upgrade using selected parts. The six Heng Long are all enjoyable success. The only Tongde M60A1 is a very pleasant surprise. It drives better than the HL IDF Merkava that I acquired at the same time despite the Tongde's ugly looking off scale tracks. I want a second Tongde to complement my collection. Of all the problem tank_me pointed out on the Tongde Abrams, the on-off switch is the biggest eye sore but is easy to relocate and patch up. A water proof push-on-push-off switch on the tank bottom plate is my favorite solution. I won't buy until I see some response to the questions that I posted on gearbox in post #2.

For now, all my Abrams are 1:24 scale that include several Mauri and Toy East RC and one Corgi die cast.

[Rubicon99]

You don't need metal upgrades,as the Tamiya has the where it counts. The only thing I recommend is the dklmrc idler upgrade to make it prototypical.

My honest opinion is the cost of that kit is worth every penny. But if you're budget doesn't allow, then you go a different route

I completely disagree with the post above this one. The Tamiya us superior in every way to the HL. There's nothing difficult about controlling it, the electronics compared to HL are apples and oranges. HL is toy stuff.

Clearly a Tamiya fanboy that is stuck in the past and does not know the huge improvement HL has made in the last five years. And before it is asked I was once a Tamiya fanboy too so I recognize one when I read what they write. Currently I own two Tamiya Abrams, Loepard 2, Sheridan, Centurion, Type10, 2 Pershing, M51, M4, Leopard 1, King Tiger, Tiger and a few others not to mention the dozen or so other Tamiya tanks I have owned over the last almost 40 years.

I mean were to start with everything he say to be absolutely incorrect about the Tamiya Abrams. Sure it's a good tank when compared to a stock basic HL Abrams but we are talking about building up the HL Abrams which when done correctly easily is superior in drivability and fighting ability then a stock Tamiya Abrams.

Tamiya Abrams will blow the nylon transmission gears I have seen it many times. So adding the $125 metal DKLM gears is an absolute must if you don't want to be rebuilding the transmission sooner rather then later. The DKLM active idler modification is a waist of money and absolute not needed. The suspension on the Tamiya is god awful bouncy and look completely toyish when driving on any rough surface. HL suspension on the other hand can be made to be butter smooth when driving on rough surfaces.

I know what I am talking about when it come to Abrams since I own a few Tamiya Abrams and a good number of built up HL Abrams all of which I beat to death with very hard driving and fighting, I don't baby either brand of my Abrams. I don't think yellowshaker has the experience of driving a stock Tamiya next to a built up HL Abrams with a 7.1 system let alone fighting the two in multiple club battles.

HL tanks are not perfect we all know that, but can be built into tanks every bit as good or better than a Tamiya. The cost to do so can be almost as expensive as a Tamiya kit, but you end up with something not "cookie cutter" and which meets your needs to a "T".

[Yellowshaker]

I have built many Tamiya plastic model kits and am a big fan of their molding quality and model accuracy. The USD$1200 price tab of the Abrams RC kit is a difficult hurdle to me. In fact, the Tamiya kit does not give me the flexibility of metal upgrade as the cheaper RTR tanks.

You don't need metal upgrades,as the Tamiya has the where it counts. The only thing I recommend is the dklmrc idler upgrade to make it prototypical.

My honest opinion is the cost of that kit is worth every penny. But if you're budget doesn't allow, then you go a different route

I completely disagree with the post above this one. The Tamiya us superior in every way to the HL. There's nothing difficult about controlling it, the electronics compared to HL are apples and oranges. HL is toy stuff.

[Rubicon99]

I have multiples of both the Tamiya and HL Abrams. A fully built(?) up plastic hull HL Abrams is in many ways slightly better then the stock Tamiya Abrams especially if you are running the HL 7.1 system. The 7.1 has superior driving dynamics vs the stock Tamiya Abrams control system. The Tamiya needs a TX with dual rates to tune the performance dynamics because the Tamiya is either too responsive or not responsive enough. Its a handful to master driving without dual rates.

About the only place where I have found the Tamiya Abrams superior is in the smoothness of the turret movement though it is substantially slower than the HL turret in rotational speed. That's being nice the Tamiya turret is just down right slow. So much so I rarely use the Tamiya in IR battles.

Both need aftermath accessories to make the more detailed and interesting. Fortunately there are a large number available.

[keilau]

If you are set on the Abrams, buy yourself a Tamiya and never look back. Sick tank.

I have built many Tamiya plastic model kits and am a big fan of their molding quality and model accuracy. The USD$1200 price tab of the Abrams RC kit is a difficult hurdle to me. In fact, the Tamiya kit does not give me the flexibility of metal upgrade as the cheaper RTR tanks.

[Yellowshaker]

If you are set on the Abrams, buy yourself a Tamiya nd never look back. Sick tank.

[tank_me]

To me that's a big sacrifice to just get torsion bars, but to each his own. I went the HL metal chassis route so my Abrams has torsion bars, but that is one expensive chassis and I bought it before Tamiya released their Abrams. They do sell the tank including the metal lower, but it ends up being damn close to the price of a Tamiya Abrams.

[keilau]

tank_me . thank you for the insight. In reality, I am looking for an 1/16 RC Abrams with torsion bar suspension without the expenses of an all metal chassis RC Abrams. The planned metal upgrade include dual current gearbox, Tamiya nylon track and ball bearing road wheels.

My experience with Tongde RC tank is limited to one M60A1. It runs better than my other HL, but is the worst looking tank in my collection due to its off scale tracks.

[tank_me]

Honestly, looks like a bad HL clone. Did you see the external power button coming through the rear grill? All of the red stuff is either poorly molded, completely wrong details, or missing detail. I watched the video from Toucan and it didn't have the Abrams turbine engine sound either. The CROWs is worse than the HL upgrade version, it's missing the actual towing eyes by the headlights, it's missing the footman's loop on the front of the tank sides, both the extended bustle and the regular bustle look really bad, the rear grill is less detailed than the HL, and the side bars behind the smoke dischargers are screwy. This is just what I notice from a few minutes looking at the pics. I've never seen any internal pics of it as I don't know of anyone that has bought it.

[keilau]

I am seriously considering the purchase of this Tongde tank. For 40% more, what is its advantage over the Heng Long Abrams? Tongde offers 3 gearboxes for its Abrams, is the totally enclosed metal gearbox a more cost effective solution than the dual current gearbox? Do I need to upgrade to the metal track?

If you already own this tank, can you share some internal layout pictures?

[keilau]

Did anyone publish a full review of thie Tongde?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166427602062