Roy's StuG III (no. 2020/10)

[John Clarke]

Smooth ride, effortless maneuverability, great job

[Roy Beukeveld]

Thanks a lot for the kind replies guys!

Good morning Roy, that is a most excellent build.....however your work is far from over do I now treat my StuG to a coat of weathering, or do I leave it, as is.
To weather or not to weather, that is the question Weathering is a whole new experience, and a most enjoyable one. Until recently hardly any of my models were weathered. The 'builds' and builders on this Forum persuaded me to give it a go. Lots of helpful advice will come your way. It will be your choice Roy....either way a very impressive model, well done my friend...Mick

Hi Mick, thank you very much! And yes I understand what you're saying. From all the masterpieces I have seen here on the forum weathering makes a huge difference when it comes to realism. But for now, it will keep it's clean look but who knows, the next step might be exploring how to achieve a certain look.

So much to explore, so much to learn!

[Roy Beukeveld]

Hi guys,

Past few days I have been working on fabricating some ramps for the car so I can drive the StuG into it.
So I got to the point of my first attempt to do so, but the way it went was a bit different than expected.

What I noticed was when driving the StuG up the ramps it went perfectly as long as i actually drove.
When I stopped on the ramp, the StuG started rolling backwards, gravity versus drivetrain friction.
So no skidding of the tracks, it rolled slowly backwards. What then happens is that it starts steering a bit, probably as a result of difference in resistance between left and right on that moment.

I applied power slowly and corrected the steering and drove it back down again.
So no harm done here, but I didn't expect it to behave this way either.

So I'm curious if you guys encounter the same behaviour, or did I make the ramp too steep? (25 degrees).
Should this be prevented or do I have to drive it up in one time? What would you recommend?

Thanks!

[yves mouton]

Hello Roy,

Alu ramps are slippery, what i did is, i put some rubber mat on the ramps
the lenght of my ramps are 150 cm. The tanks can climb easy 45°

Best regards Yves

[Christoffer Ahlfors]

This is normal and nothing to worry about. In fact, it is a blessing. It lets you roll downhill very gently with the engine idling. It also provides suitable rolling resistance for steering.
Models with no rolling resistance can be hard to steer. The inner track needs braking.

[Roy Beukeveld]

Hello Roy,

Alu ramps are slippery, what i did is, i put some rubber mat on the ramps
the lenght of my ramps are 150 cm. The tanks can climb easy 45°

Best regards Yves

Hi Yves, I constructed two ramps myself, and made a rubber lining on the surface, plenty of traction there.
It's just my surprise that it rolled back and started steering, not slided, but rolled slowly down.
Your angle is way steeper then mine, do you experience the same? or do you drive it up in one go?

This is normal and nothing to worry about. In fact, it is a blessing. It lets you roll downhill very gently with the engine idling. It also provides suitable rolling resistance for steering.
Models with no rolling resistance can be hard to steer. The inner track needs braking.

Hi Christoffer, I can relate to the way you describe it, for the inner track to brake you need friction indeed.
So control wise all is good, but just my expectation for the tank was to just hold position when I stopped the control input.

So thank you guys for replying, now I know the phenomenon is normal. Is it correct for me to conclude that driving up and down the ramp in one go would be the best approach?

[yves mouton]

Hello Roy,

Yes my stug is also rolling down,
i am working on the suspension now, the suspension is comming loose.
So i am gonna drill a hole the the CLO 222 parts to fix the grub screws.

Best regards Yves

[Roy Beukeveld]

Hi Yves,

Unfortunate to hear the suspension is getting loose, but luckily it's an easy fix.

I know you are more than capable of fixing this but maybe my suggestion can be of any help.
I drilled the CL0222 parts in place through this drilled out bolt.

This to prevent that the hole is slightly off center, if it is the grub can rotate the CL0222 part a bit when you tighten it, which of course isn't good.

[yves mouton]

Hello Roy,

Yes that's a good idea drill a bolt out to center the drill, i also gonna use that.
Unfortunly i have to take out the motors and all the electronics and batteries,
beacause the other ends of my torsion bars also came loose, so i have to remove the battery tray.
Lucky i fix all my modules with velcro tape to the hull
I reapair all ready the torsion bars and fix the grub screws with green loctite 2701 strong instead of the blue Loctite.

Best regards Yves

[Roy Beukeveld]

Hi everyone,

In a new hobby there is a first time for everything and today I learned how to drive the StuG in and out the car.
I noticed that when driving out/down it works best with just a bit of power applied, it gives the best control. I was wondering if it would be better to just let it roll and only steer when needed, but that wasn't the case. I drove it in and out a couple of times, and am starting the get the hang of it

The telemetry showed it pull's around 7 to 8 amps going up in a slow pace, and when the speed is a bit increased it can even climb up to 12 amps.
Which got me thinking, the power module from Armortek is fused at 15 amps.
Would it be wise to put in a higher amperage fuse when I go into terrain driving, or are the electronics not designed for higher currents?

[John Clarke]

Roy. I believe the 15 amp fuse is only there to protect the smoker circuit. Hope this helps.

[Roy Beukeveld]

Hi John,

Roy. I believe the 15 amp fuse is only there to protect the smoker circuit. Hope this helps.

I have looked into this but I cannot find if this is the case, I would expect it to be a overal safety fuse... do you use the red box too?

[John Clarke]

Almost certain the fuse is for the smoker circuit, it I believe it says so on section 4A power module in the instruction manual.

Yes, I do have the red boxes.

The main drive duel speed controller Motion Control A red box I believe has this ability.

"Out of the box, can supply two DC brushed motors with up to 25A each. Peak currents of 50A per channel are achievable for a few seconds.
Over current and thermal protection means you'll never have to worry about killing the driver with accidental stalls or by hooking up too big a motor."

Hope it helps

[Roy Beukeveld]

... "Out of the box, can supply two DC brushed motors with up to 25A each. Peak currents of 50A per channel are achievable for a few seconds.
Over current and thermal protection means you'll never have to worry about killing the driver with accidental stalls or by hooking up too big a motor." ...

Hi John,
Yes indeed, page 4a, there it is. Fused for smoke heating element. Unbelievable I missed it. My fault, sorry...
But what I can't find back is the second part of your reply, where did you find that...?

[John Clarke]

Hi Roy

The Red boxes look great, I think they add to the model. Easy to mount generally do the job. Nice to have if you sell the model on.

Few problems early on.

Details on the Speed controllers are easy to find on the web. Especially if you have to open it up to tighten stuff up and have a look at the board.

Other boxes are bespoke with commercial parts.

Have fun.