New tank day.

[Meter Rat]

Always wanted a Tamiya Gepard, but could never find one, or afford one. I took advantage, when Andrew at Haya announced that he would produce one, it had been rumours on the grape vine for a while. I placed an order for one. Today it turned up, a week earlier than expected. I have only had time for a brief test, just to make sure it all worked. There are a few issues that will be addressed.

Nice box.



A bit of information about the full size tank, and a nice print to accompany the model.



There is a little about the full size tank, and a print comes with the first 24.



Markings will need verification.



All worked out of the box, apart from one headlight.

Looks good with the Leopard.

[RichJohnson]

Awesome. I would really like to get one, when I finish selling off the shipment of M113s I ordered from Tongde. Lots of money tied up in that project.
then that Tamiya gepard I have still in the box won’t be worth a 10th of what I paid for it.

[DavidN]

Awesome. I would really like to get one, when I finish selling off the shipment of M113s I ordered from Tongde. Lots of money tied up in that project.
then that Tamiya gepard I have still in the box won’t be worth a 10th of what I paid for it.

If you need help in clearing out your M113 stock, maybe let me purchase one from you. I then can show it to my members at our next event. Some of them might get one for themselves too.

[RichJohnson]

Yeah David, the shipment arrived today and I have some stock I ordered beyond preorders to have for people that didn't want to preorder.

[DavidN]

Yeah David, the shipment arrived today and I have some stock I ordered beyond preorders to have for people that didn't want to preorder.

Got it! Let's work on this transaction thru other mean and leave this thread for the "New Tank" :-)

[Meter Rat]

I’ve had a bit of time to run and investigate this new model. Got all the parts attached, of which there are not many. Opened up the model, and found a rigid bar across the front, to support the idlers, and track adjusters.


All the torsion bars look to have ball bearings, as do the wheels. Clark board giving the correct engine sound for the Leopard 1.



The sound is very quiet, in comparison to the same board in my Leopard 1A5. Details are not as crisp as others. At this level, and cost, I do not expect to find molded handles, when even Heng Long can provide more realistic handles. There are a few other little niggles. The aluminium tube for the barrels needed shortening, as it pushed the barrel flash LED out of it's mount, and the tubes for the barrels needed shortening smoke had some kinks in it, which impeded the smoke. The tracks are metal, with plastic track pads. It has been able to navigate my tank test route, performing well. A couple of things need addressing, the lack of volume, and the speed of the turret rotation which is terribly slow. As for batter compatibility, I know not, as I have no one to battle on the island so I am more interested in the correct engine sound, and scale fidelity. I am sure it will be a very competitive tank on battlefield.

[Meter Rat]

Bit of an update. Started detailing the Haya Gepard.

This is going to be fun to represent. Details from the 1:1 tank.



Cut the side skirts off. Undecided whether to remove the front mudguards and replace them with rubber and etch metal.

[Too Many Hobbies]

Cool! Going to source photo etch metal for the covers?

[Meter Rat]

Cool! Going to source photo etch metal for the covers?

Not a clue. These are too new, and too niche, for anyone to make photo etch yet. The covers where the donkey engine exhausts runs down from the front to the rear, are a solid moulding and would be difficult to remove. The easy bit is making new ones. As for the rest they will involve a lot of marking out and drilling.

[Too Many Hobbies]

I built the USS Arizona and bought a PE kit for it. It required removing all the plastic molded railings...what a pain. It was worth it in the end.

But your project....really hard if you have to scratch build and do some serious hacking apart.

Good luck!

[MrChef]

I
But your project....really hard if you have to scratch build and do some serious hacking apart.

Ohhhh I've got confidence in him.