Mark IV No. 35

[Steve Stuart]

This wear looks about the same as mine. My hope is once the edges are taken f there will be no more appreciable wear on the side plates. However there is noticeable wear on the rollers and on the rubbing strips, both areas that will need a definite eye being kept on.
Steve

[Daniel Scholefield]

After a successful Tankfest where all the maintenance paid off with an issue free weekend. Turns out the Mark IV is a good climber

Just to chronicle what I added as opposed to just fixed: The upper rear armour plate went on, as did the guard around the rear vent

At the front I added the extra front horn armour, just got to add the headlight brackets at some point.

I also started weathering to break up the flat brown finish - still bit of a work in progress...

The Elephant looks cool but one big boxy tank is enough for now. I thought my wallet was safe then Mark rolled out the Quad aaaaaand I now I own one

[Daniel Scholefield]

After a winter hibernation 'Lightning III' had a good run at the SW Model Show. Whilst the bulk of my time is going to go towards the Quad once things warm up I have one more addition for my Mark IV. My choice of tank rules out a fascine but I have had an idea to do it's replacement, the Crib. For starters I got a 1/35 version so get an idea of the dimensions then upscaled it to 1/6. With the dimensions sorted out I decided to do a prototype in foam core to get an idea of how it would look on the Mark IV. There are some changes to be made and I still need to figure out how to get the design made up in wood (and what wood to use!) but it's a good first step.

Now if only I had some woodworking skills....

[Adrian Harris]

> Now if only I had some woodworking skills....

If it's mainly made from flat sheets, I would imagine there are places online who would CNC mill or laser cut the parts for you.

Adrian.

PS: Now I understand Chris's Facebook comment about your 'pothole'.

[Daniel Scholefield]

So the 'Beast from the East' gave me an opportunity to test the Mark IV versus snow. Going along was no issue at first but deep snow did finally cause an issue where the lower plate started acting like an inefficient snow plow so I backed off after a photo op.

Also, clean-up takes a lot longer when your tracks go all around the hull!

[Steve Stuart]

It makes you realise how easy it would be for the real Tanks to end up with themselves perched on top of a mound/ridge of mud with the tracks just keeping turning with no grip. So be thankful it is snow, not mud you are removing!
All the best Steve

[Daniel Scholefield]

Well No.35 is very much out of action. In an escalation of the long standing issues I have had with my Mark IV being a battery eater at the last show I took it to (and admittedly ran it for longer and far further than normal) the wires from the batteries to the control module melted together and shorted the whole tank out. A field repair allowed me to recover the tank home but subsequent testing revealed high heat build up on the connectors so I retired it to the lift table.

What I know is the heat is being generated be because the motors are drawing more power to get the tank moving.
What I don't is what the leading up to the need to draw more power. I have checked the tracks more than once and not had any binding issues and all the rollers appears to be free running. Initially I had the tracks tensioned too tightly and loosening them off I thought was the solution but as it turns out this was only part of the problem.

I was going to take the tank apart to add the gun pack but really have lost the motivation to carry out the job. Then to add injury to insult Storm Eric took part of the roof off my workshop and dumped a fair amount of water into the Mark IV and over my half-built Quad. Luckily nothing was hooked up but all the electronics got a good soak so I drained what I could and have left everything to dry. Hopefully it still works.

At this point I am considering taking the whole thing apart or just calling it a day, my lack of knowledge is really catching up with me...

[Adrian Harris]

I'm sorry to hear about the issues you've been having, especially with Eric.

Make sure you warm the electronics through thoroughly, as water can sit under surface mounted chips for a remarkable length of time.
With the Toasty Tiger modules, I left them on a 25 degree radiator for a day, then in the airing cupboard for a week, before risking powering them on.

If you would like me to, I'd be happy to take a look at Lightning III to see if I can track down the power issues.

Adrian.

[Pete Nash]

Hi Daniel

Don't give up on Lightning III, the Mk.IV is unique among the Armortek World, not many appear at shows amongst all the German stuff.
I can understand your frustration at the power problem. I had 2 5 amp Sealed Lead Acid batteries in mine and also found that they drained quickly. I now have two medium sized Mobility Scooter/small Golf Cart Batteries in mine.
They are big compared with the standard sized SLA ones but I get a much longer running time out of them, over an hour.

My electrics also got wet, I put mine in an airing cupboard for a few days and they suffered no ill effects.

If you are interested. There is a World War I airfield called Stow Maries About 40 minutes from the Dartford Crossing, on September 14th and 15th they are holding a Large Model Show. I'll be there with my Mk.IV and Panzer III. PM me if you'd be interested in coming as well.

Regards

Pete

[Chris Hall]

Daniel -

A sorry tail of issues . I hope they can be resolved, as the Band of Brigands need you, and Lightning III.

With regard to Erik, any chance of putting in an insurance claim on the damage to your models ? I assume you're claiming for the roof damage already.

I know you wanted to repair the rivets on your Mark IV - is that the only hardware issue ?

As for the electrics ...... Adrian's offer of help is very valuable, as he knows his way around such things. I know from experience that Liesel runs pretty hot, but she's never been a battery-muncher. I'm having an issue with poor connections on the 'wiggly gun pack' that I need to resolve when I can figure it out. And I know that Steve fitted some fans into Bloodstone, which might help.

The electrics for the Mark IV's are now 'old school', ie. the separate Power and Auxiliary packs, which have now been replaced by the single Motion Control Module. I've got that for Flaming Fire II, but I'm nowhere near fitting it. It's simpler, though, so will save a lot of wiring. Again Adrian could advise, or a message to Kian could help. But I'm a numpty in such matters, so I can only sympathise and verbally support.

Hope you can work it out for Tankfest !

Best wishes,

Chris

[Daniel Scholefield]

Update - I have finshed the repair work on my shed/workshop and everything appears to have dried out now. I have taken everyone's advise regarding the electronics boxes and they have been enjoying the delights of central heating to make sure they are moisture free.
Thanks to Adrian Harris I have replacement manuals for the Quad after the originals for well and truely soaked so at least the Quad build can recommence once I have completed the remedial work inside the shed and I have the motivation to get bolting stuff together again.
Next steps are to put everything back into the Mark IV and make sure everything still works. If it does then I can assess what I should do to get it up and running again...hopefully,

[Pete Nash]

Hi Daniel

I hope everything is going well with your Mk.IV.

I've had a few problems with mine. I took it out of the shed it had over wintered in. It took 45 minutes for it to go 20 yards. Initially I thought it was because the batteries were down so I charged them, it wasn't them.
eventually I got it into my workshop ans started to strip it down.

I founs one of the front sprockets was stiff so stripped them down and greased them so it now runs OK. A couple of the rollers had also siezed so they were removed, cleaned, he bores reamed out greased and refitted.

There was plenty of wear around the pripher and I found out what had caused the knocking on the right track. The rubbing strip along the top had come loose and wrapped itself around the front sprockets.

From e-bay I ordered a sheet of 3mm thick PTFE. Im going to bolt some strips of it in place of the rubbing strip. As its a bit thicker than the existing rubbing strip it should lift the track just clear of the top run and clear of the screws and rivets on the top panels that cause jamming.

The image is ot the two 'Monster' 12v 33 amp batteries I use. They are for small golf carts or invalid chairs. They give me good service and as they are large have plenty of capacity.

Pete

[Daniel Scholefield]

Tank update: After making sure everything had fully dried out I reconnected all the electronics and the batteries and then the moment of truth...
Everything works! (Phew).
Both tracks move and the sound system was in full voice. My controller also got a soaking but after a thorough dry out it appears to have suffered no ill effects. So that's good, I was seriously worried that it would not turn on but my fears were unfounded.

The next step will be what I was going to do originally, a full strip down to assess wear and see if I can find any physical issues that could be causing the exsessive power drain and subsequent overheating. I don't have anything obviously wrong like your one Pete but there is something going on and I need to address it. If it is physical then hopefully I can rectify it, hopefully. I also have the option pack to install if I feel confident

I currently have two 32Ah batteries as a result of my power consumptiion issues and aslo in frame is the cable to the power module and the patch job where the wires melted together. It's good for now but I can't leave that in as a permanent thing, can anyone make up new wiring?

[Pete Nash]

Hi Daniel

Making up wiring is not a hard job, all you need is the gear. Component Shop.Com is a good source for wires, connectors etc. A proper Crimping Tool would be advisable, Toolstation do a good one.

As for your 'patch', there is nothing wrong with it, it just looks untidy. An advantage is that it is an easy disconnect for maintenance. Once the top is on no-one will see it anyway.

As I mentione before. The PTFE sheet I bought on E-bay seems to be working .
I cut it into 20mm wide strips and bolted it to the track runs using M3 Countersunk screws. As I hoped it did raise the tracks clear of the hull. So far I have only tried it with the tracks clear of the ground and it seems to work quite well, no rubbing or catching along the top of the hull. It sounds a bit 'clanky' but I think that may be due to no weight on the tracks and wearing in of the front and back edges of the PTFE.

One thing that might cause the power drain is misalignment of the front sprockets. If the adjusters aren't parallel, or too tight, it might be causing the track to bind.

The best person I have found to ask about Mk.IV problems is Chris Hall.

Here is an image of the PTFE Strip in place

[Chris Hall]

The best person I have found to ask about Mk.IV problems is Chris Hall.

Completely misplaced flattery . I'm OK with the history of these things, but with the technicalities of metalworking and (especially) electricals ........ you'd have better luck asking Mr. Blobby !

Can't see anything obviously wrong with your build, Daniel. I made longer wires with wire and connectors from the local car parts shop and Halfords. Pete's right about having a proper crimper, although mine still seem to pull off just when I don't want them to .....

I appreciate your need for power, at least until you find the problem. I'd just worry that those batteries are too big and, in particular, heavy. The Mark IV doesn't have any suspension to worry about, but moving around extra weight will cause more power drain and heat. The Law of Diminishing Returns ?

All the best,

Chris