Armortek

Now your back on track Stephen much better ...The drop arms realy look more scale Like . Maybe Mark when he does the next run of PZIII's can make rounded ones and sell then as spare parts , or is this to hard for the machines , I don't know ??? .. Dale

Thanks Roland, I see if I can make anything suitable from a Nyloc nut.

Stephen, what size nuts would need to be castellated

Adrian.

Adrian

Photo of the return roller mounting and castellated nuts on the original shown on my previous post. If you look at the transmission hatches photo below that, you'll also see castellated nuts holding the front hull applique armour plate. Regards. Stephen

Sorry, I wondered whether they are M3 or M4

Adrian.

It's me that should be apologising.... I didn't think that one through! From memory, they are M3 but I'm away from home at the moment. Regards. Stephen

With all the great work on the other tanks and the excitement of the Koenigstiger arriving, I hardly like to report some modest progress on the Pz III. I'm still working through the suspension modifications but to relieve the repetitive stuff, I decided to do a trial installation of the electrics to establish the positioning of components. I've also done a trial installation of a smoke system and done a lot of tidying of the cables, installing new connectors for most leads.

The batteries could really only go in one way:



Then the motors were installed:



The layout for the remaining units looks like this:





I've still got some work to do, particularly to shorten the power leads but I'll wait until much later in the build.

The new smoke system is working well:







All in all, I've really enjoyed this bit of the build, whilst the suspensions come on gradually. I've also been diverted by researching lathes and milling machines. I'd like to be able to modify the profile of the roadwheels and introduce compound taper on the gun barrel.

All the best

Stephen

Hello Stephen

Those water vapour smoke systems are good as they dont take any power to run. The only down side is they dont work in cold weather.Also the chap who did them doesnt do them anymore unless you know different.

lee

Hello Lee

Yes, I've also got the Armortek oil based smoke system to install in winter. The power drain is significant on the oil based systems which is why I went for vapour. The supplier of the vapour system is very much in business - I can supply details by pm.

I didn't want to attract attention to a system not supplied by Armortek but as ever, when I checked with Gill and Mark they were superb.

All the best.

Stephen

HI Stephen,

Your PIII is coming along very nicely. WOW that looks like a tight fit for all the electronics. Exhaust looks great!

Excellent work as usual.

Kind regards
Tim

Tim - you're right about a tight fit but today I've found some more room by standing up the sound unit and replacing some of the rather stiff power cables with more flexible cable of the same capacity. I'v also fitted two five inch speakers and am just wondering if the amp has the power to run the original supplied speaker as well - I could just squeeze it in over the smoke unit at the back. I am wary though. Although I think I've measured the engine deck height, I am waiting for the moment when I discover a big foul, either with the rest of the superstructure or with the turret elevation gear. Then it might be "back to the drawing board". But so far, so good. Photos to follow.

Regards

Stephen

Stephen,

Your doing a great build and I think its good that you are fitting the electronics as you go. I would adivse getting the tank running and all sorted before going for the deep detail bits, except where you need to in the build, like the suspension arms you have done. Thats the first vapour exhaust system I have seen in action in a tank and it looks good. The oil systems are ok and I've built a couple for my two tanks using 12v Antex soldering iron elements. The are robust but do need regular maintenance and are a little dirty compared to the clean water system.

Stephen,

Great build! I really admire your work; and, I like the fact that you are way ahead of me - good to have a point-man!

And, with that, I have some questions:

What batteries are you using - Amp-Hour rating and there general dimensions? It seems there is an array of batteries available, and I am just not sure what I should get here in the US.

While I just ordered the oil-based smoker from Armortek - I think I would like to investigate the water-vapor system too. Would you be willing to PM me with the contact info?

Again, thank you for sharing your experiences and insight.

Jim - my batteries are 21Ah 12 volt AGP golf trolley batteries. I'm away from home until the weekend when I'll post the exact make and dimensions. Pm sent re smoker. Regards. Stephen

Thanks Stephen!

Jim

The batteries are Yuasa TEV 12210 21Ah 12 volts two off.

Dimensions: length 181mm, width 76mm, height 167mm. I've mounted them on their sides so the overall effective height is 152mm.

Weight is 7.2 kg each, not unusual for this type of battery.

I'd be interested to know what chargers people are using. I recall seeing some problems with Accumate?

Hope this helps.

Stephen