ARII Supur Patton Tank by Popeye the Sailor - 1:50 scale

[popeye the sailor]

hello all.......a very happy New Years to you!  we had a quiet one here.......had the young one and his girlfriend over,  but shuffled them out early and finished the evening with just the three of us.   I watched the first two ' Die Hards' with Gibbs,  and the admiral read her books.  the after Christmas fun began with this model kit,  which is the smallest tank I've ever built.

this is the model that I asked for after submitting my wish list.........the admiral told me sure.........but I'll need to put it under the tree.  I can't have it until Christmas.

    so I did.......   the big draw to this model was the fact that it is motorized,  which I thought would be something different here on the site    I did do a contents overview........but not much.   the remote control need to be assembled........

it had all the hardware.......even the motor.  I have a couple of other models that don't supply the motor.......just the hardware.  I have these motors in my inventory.......taken from one of those animated Christmas stuffed figures.

of course,  it has pre-connected rubber track,  and all that........and of course,  the tank needs to be assembled as well.

it made from a really strange plastic.......something I've not felt before.  should be a relatively quick model to build  

[Egilman]

Originally an Otaki designed kit dating from '71, this is a reissue/reboxing from the '90's.... it's a very hard brittle styrene... feels very slick and stiff doesn't it?

 

Neat kit, you gonna make her mobile Dennis?

Edited January 1, 2021 by Egilman

[popeye the sailor]

it starts with the tank and assembling the leading wheel assembly.  they press on the axle with a little effort......certain that they will not to come off any time soon

 

for the boggie rollers,  there are these rubberized caps that hold them in place.  they go through the holes of the rollers and fit onto the pins along the bottom of the tank chassis.

 

the top surface of the tank body has some really good detail.

 

for the kit being molded so well,  there is quite a bit of flash.   I'm doing quite a bit of trimming.  the plastic cuts like barbed wire and sanding produces some really grainy dust.  the perfect plastic to make putty from......but I'm not going there     all of the boggies need to be sanded around the circumferences to lose the molded tool lines.   I didn't do that to the leading and drive boggies though.......as you can see from the picture above,  they possess some sort of tread design.  one wonders if this will deter track wandering........I guess it would depend on how exact the model really is.

[Canute]

Denis, sorta rubbery? I'd expect that, since it is meant to be run around your rug/backyard/wherever. Should be another interesting Popeye build.

[Egilman]

2 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

they possess some sort of tread design.

That's the gear teeth to prevent track slippage, the taper is as you guessed to prevent track wander....

[Egilman]

4 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

for the boggie rollers,  there are these rubberized caps that hold them in place

Take a piece of the rubbery sprue and test it with some cooking oil see if it breaks down, if it doesn't use a few small drops to lubricate the bogies so the turn real easy....

[Old Collingwood]

Interesting build Denis   I'm in mate,     I used to play with remote control tanks as a kid  climbing them over all sorts of things, including my  mums feet.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

hello Egilman.........why of course I plan to mobilize it!  I wouldn't dream of denying everyone the opportunity of watching me fall on my own sword!   it's like telling a Samurai to 'spill his guts'    on the old model kits site,  there is a surge of these kits showing up by different manufacturers.

 

the big push was today..........the wires was connected to the motor

to fasten the drive carriage to the chassis is with a screw..........a nut was pushed into the hole provided for it.  it was later capped by a round cover and glued into place.

the drive boggies were pushed onto the drive axle,  which has a gear on it already.   it is preset into place.   the rest of the gears were set in place,  in connection to one another.  to keep one of the gear axles from shifting,  a small piece of rubber was pushed on the other end.......later though,  I saw that it had split,  telling me that the life expectancy of the material was probably past its end.  I'll have to leave it in the lap of the gods,  that the shifting doesn't impede the action of the gears.  assembled,  the drive assembly looks like this..

 

the axle arrangement was arrested in place by the black part you see in the upper left hand of the picture.........the round tube you see in the picture is what I cut the gear axle stop from.   I won't be using it since seeing that the stuff is useless.

[Egilman]

I loved these kits when I was a kid, so much fun.... the only real problem was finding them....

[Edwardkenway]

I'm watching with childish  glee for this one Denis, a working tank!!🤩😁

[Old Collingwood]

PLease let it fire all sorts of naughty things   -     "Walks away giggling"

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

I've seen some kits with pliable plastic tracks Ken.......these are real McCoy rubber.......kinda stiff though.  welcome!   

 

the boggies turn good.........there's more to the story   any oil applied to rubber will also make the rubber expand....might also impede them from moving.   it will also cause the rubber to break down...in my dealing with automotive,  this is one thing that one shouldn't do.

 

OC.........well aren't you the little devil 😈

 

the boggies are in place..........the remote is assembled as well.  sad that I didn't get too many pictures of it,  but you'll see more as I go along....grrrrrrr!

I was assembling the remote at the time here........they were not too clear as to where the wire was to come out of the tank body,  so I ran in from under it.  there are a couple parts that I did not add.......it seems that the interior of the chassis will also hold a battery pack.....makes me thing that another variant of this model was more of an R/C type {with an antenna}.   this likely made the model heavy and hard to run on just a pair of AA batteries...four would have probably made a difference.  I did run the motor to insure that it worked OK..........thing were looking up!

hard to see in this picture......but this is the knob that runs the remote.   the wires fit through hole in the pegs to the left in the picture and are capped off with metal eyelets.  in the body of the remote,  you see that the battery compartment is almost complete......one of the contacts is in position where the knob will be located.   this would have been flawless.....but I broke off one of the pins on the knob     I cemented it back together and plated the breat with a thin piece of plastic.  I waited for this to dry........with this plastic,  it took much longer for it to set.

 

 

there is a pin that enters from the underside of the chassis,  and exits in the well in back of the turret pylon.  a little twist will lock the body to the chassis,  enabling it to be disassembled in the event that a problem arises.  when I figured that the repair was dry enough,  the remote was assembled.

 

the turret was assembled at this time..........

cute.........upside down........it's so shy in front of strangers    ....just some odds and ends left to add.   driving the tank though was a big let down......it would only roll 1/4 inch forward and backwards.  removing the tracks,  I ran the motor for a few moments in an effort to break it in.......so to speak.  the tracks were put back on,  but I got the same results......saddening to say the least.   removing the top of the body and watching the gears reveled plenty.......to much tolerance for the gear axle holes causing the axles and gears to shift.....causing binding of said gears.   this wasn't the main culprit though........it's the tracks.  it takes a bit to stretch them in place on the boggies.  there is too much stress and torque here,  which causes the gear assembly to move out of alignment,  binding the assembly.  to test the theory,  I got a pair of rubber bands......I wish I had wider ones,  but these will do for now.

by this time,  my repair of the knob assembly had failed.........I will have to think of a suitable replacement of the assembly or configure the remote differently.  the remote works on a power reversal design.......forward is + and - ,  and for reverse is - and +.  with the rubber bands,  the tank runs fine,  driving over everything that was in it's way.  the tracks can't be adjusted,  being a one piece deal.........however,  there is a solution.   I can make new holes for the leading boggie axle and reposition them,  decreasing the amount of stress applied by the tracks.  it is kinda cool though........with no lubricant on the boggies,  it does give it the sound of a tank rolling along.  so.........in conclusion to this little project,  they are fun to play with......but not something  I would get into on a collective basis.  I didn't paint the model......something I might do once I get the track issue solved.  I wasted the decals, since they wouldn't stick to the bare plastic.  I will change where the wire comes out......I should have known that under wasn't a good place........I'll drill a hole somewhere in the back.  when I get the model truly finished......hopefully with a short video.....I'll post the final pictures  

 

Happy New Years to all......2020 was a trying year and I'm glad it's over!  happy modeling in the year to come !   

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

back when I was a kid,  I had a tank.......comparable to 1/8 scale,  that moved and shot plastic shells out of the cannon.   as for this small model,  all it can do is move around....can't turn or anything,  but a savvy person could alter the remote in some way.  to create a dead track might be the biggest hurdle.

 

I just got a call from the Walmart DC that someone I work with in the truck shop tested positive and that I may have been exposed to the person.  she didn't tell me that I had to stay home......I can go to work,  since I am tested for temperature at the gate.  I don't have any symptoms...I feel fine.  I'll find out more when I go in tomorrow.  I think I'll take Tuesday off 

[lmagna]

WOW that build went so fast that I couldn't even make it to the rafters!

 

I think that if you take the tracks and stretch them over a form and then hit them as evenly as possible with a hair dryer you may be able to stretch them enough to allow the motor to operate them.

 

Another alternative is to get a little higher voltage motor, (That size is ultra common) or risk running the motor you have at a slightly higher voltage. It is possibly able to handle as much as 5-6 V. You can add the additional batteries in the on board battery compartment you mentioned and run them in series with the batteries in the hand controller. That will also add some weight to the tank and make it operate more realistically when running over objects instead of just having the treads spinning when trying to climb objects. 

[Egilman]

Prayin for ya brother.... Hope you remain well....

[lmagna]

Just saw your COVID post. Are you planning on getting tested? Or you just going to wait it out and see what happens?

 

Let us hope for the best either way.

[Canute]

Denis, be careful with the virus. The incubation is something like 1 to 2 weeks, so you may not show signs until mid week.

[Old Collingwood]

Just backing up what others have said  - take care of yourself   try to boost your immune system,  as long as your GP  backs it (givehim/her a ring)  there is quite a bit you can do  to give your immune system a boost   - recomended for us is Vit  C I take between 1000/1500mg once a day, also one Vit D3 5000IU,  Zinc 50mg,   all are advised to take on food  as Zinc can play your tummy up on an empty stomach.

All can be brought  wide spread online or in health shops/chemists  and even or friend Ebay.

I have been doing this for over a year now  certainly helps me.

 

Oh  and  -  antiseptic mouth washes and salt water washes as warm as you can stand (it kills bugs in your throat)   even a dentist told me that.

 

OC.

Edited January 1, 2021 by Old Collingwood

[Jim Lad]

Crikey, mate, that's not good.  Get yourself tested just to be sure you're clear.

 

John

[mtaylor]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you Denis.

[Old Collingwood]

2 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you Denis.

Hope your in good shape Mark, sent you a message enquiring the same mate.

 

OC.

[Ian_Grant]

I built a rather larger motorized German Panther tank when I was a kid.  In my teens I got into RC boats, then RC sail. My peak came when I scratch built an RC schooner. Needing a winch to control the braces of the square topsails, I ripped the drive assembly out of the Panther and mounted it under the main hatch, as here:

 

This photo was taken a while ago, after many years of dust-gathering by the "Charlotte Rhodes". The model would not tack properly; I decided I had placed the fin too far aft; I then left for university and the model never got wet again.

 

By the way for the fore-and-aft winch I used my monstrous sail winch from the 80's which generated about 21 lbs of pull but was about the size of three hockey pucks. How times have changed!

 

Here is the whole boat. It was clad in 1/32" plywood soaked in water, my mom made the sails. Not bad for a teenaged kid. Good times!

[Baker]

Nice tank.

Fingers crossed. I hope you dont have covid.

[Edwardkenway]

2 hours ago, Backer said:

Nice tank.

Fingers crossed. I hope you dont have covid.

Same goes for me Denis!

 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the concerns and well wishes gents.......so far I feel fine.  Saturday's morning meeting I asked questions about it.......believe me!  I have been very diligent about wearing a mask and keeping my distance.......we also get temp checked at the gate.  the fellow in question is someone who is not a usual contact of mine...concerning though that he told them that he talked to me.  I haven't heard of anyone else that got the phone call.  I'll keep you all in the loop as to how things go  

 

I have other motors,  but they may not fit........I've tried other size batteries,  but the only combination that works is the two AA batteries.  the gear set up is very much like your Ian,  but the chassis is plastic.....I suspect that the gear shaft holes {journals} may be a tiny bit oversize,  since the stress from the tracks cause they to buckle to the point of binding.  the power of the motor isn't a factor either,  since with the rubber bands, it moves along like it should.

 

 I really don't feel like altering the drivetrain on the tank..........and finding track to replace them would be hard to do.  I've been looking for wider rubber bands.....seems to be the best way to go about correcting this problem.  one thing I did do in the meantime,  was change the way the wire was routed.  the turret is glued in place.......to remove the body with the access for the pin blocked because of this,  the head of the pin,  which is on the underside of the chassis,  was slotted so a screw driver can be used.

once apart,  I cut a deviation in the body's back plate,  and ran the wires out through it when I reassembled it.

if it's possible,  I can stain the bands black....then I can get some paint on her.   I'll have to look in my decal stash for usable decals.  more on this project soon  

[popeye the sailor]

hi all........still haven't given up hope on the tank.  I've been looking around for wider rubber bands,  ones that will span the width of the bogies,  but I haven't found them so far.   I did happen on some that are used on painter's easels {or something like that},  but I think they are too wide,  and I'd have to cut and stitch them together,  for a pair of workable tracks.   in the meantime,  I've cut two lengths of stiff wood strips,  in an effort to stretch the original tracks.  I'll put them on one of the heat registers for periods at a time,  to heat them up and try to relax the rubber.  the thing with this,  is that it's no permanent.....sooner or later the rubber will shrink back and cause the same problem.  but who knows.......it may work