bullyhys

Is anyone working on a German Halftrack?

I found some old posts, but nothing current.

I have a 251 that is aprox 95% completed if any are interested.

Regards,

bullyhys

konigstiger44

That's pretty cool, I have always wanted a rc half track. I know there are some tank makers in england who make 1/6 scale rc 251's but they are a few thousand dollars. Good job at any rate, keep us updated!


regards!

Stang951

What scale is that? I would love to do a halftrack for axis and allied forces. Haven't really had the time to look for them yet, but I want to get one in 1/16 definitely.

bullyhys

Stang951

The 251 shown is a 1:18 scale toy by Ultimate solder, unit is modified to run RC. Which means it's about a 1/2 inch smaller than 1/16 scale counter-part.

Now for the boring details, the project took about 2weeks to complete(actually was done over about a month) It involved alot of head scratching.

1st problem was getting the halftrack apart without breaking anything. During this process alot on on-line research and communicating with folks who had already attempted this idea.

Ok so much for background. I can cover the meat & pattoes if anyone wants, let me know.

Track drives provided by a Ultimate solder RC Panzer IV. (just the drive unit)

ESC is a dual ESC called ANT150

Power is a 7.5 Nicad flat pack battery from a broken 1:16 M1 tank toy

I modified the frontend to be stearable; now for the neat part which if it works will set this halftrack apart from the rest. The ESC has on-board mixing function that along with a Y harness should allow the halftrack to be steared with the front wheels and the tracks much in the same manner as the full size vehicle.

At least that's the plan.

1st test runs have been successiful- next step is to install the Y harness and go round 2.

bullyhys

sollie

Found this on a dutch board, maybe some of them can help you out...

http://www.battletanksnederland.com/Default-uk.htm

Klick the:
Elfde bijeenkomst Battle Tanks Nederland, 12 maart, 2006

At the bottom of the page above link


Stian

sollie

Sorry, forgot to say it's under the events link at the top of the main page..

S

bullyhys

Thanks Sollie,

I took a look and it's very well done indeed

My 251 is just slightly smaller than a 1:16 scale unit, but was a lot easier to convert to RC. It does run and very well.

I should have the steering worked out by next week.

Then it will be time to decide to make it a Pakwagon or a pioneer unit. The plan was to be a scout in RC tank combat game with the local club.

bullyhys

Der-Held

Nice,Hanomags are my favorite,How much did you pay for that hanomag (with Remote and other parts.....),and whats your next project? a 1:16 Motorcycle with side car?

bullyhys

Der-Held

1:16 scale motorcycle w/ sidecar? That would be cool. Where would ya find a 16th scale BMW? Or at least the drawings for one?

With micro radios,servos and ESCs it's very possible. Hiding the wiring would be the hard part. Then there's the battery issue.

The cost for the 251 halftrack was $40 US
ESC= $65
Radio=$120
Track= $50(only because I removed it from the tank it was in)

Battery=N/a I had it on hand

Total is about $275 give or take a few bucks. The track drive cost shouldn't count as I had the tank before I started the project.

bullyhys

Update: all testing on the Hanomog is done.

Ready to run as is. Front wheel steering is operational, though not quite the manner I really wanted but, works just fine.

I added some ballast to the engine compartment in order to give the front tires more bite. The results is that the Hanomog will make very good shallow turns with just the front wheels. Tighter turns are accomplished by adding track steering as necessary, with a little pratice one can make very scale turns.

Halftrack uses 3 channels and still have chan avail for weapon should I decide to convert it to a Pakwagon.

The battery time is super as I ran the track for the better part of an hour and did not run down the battery, most of the testing was done at high throttle to see how well the tracks would stay on. So far onlt lost tracks during real thght turns in high grass.

Regards

bullyhys

Stang951

Bully, You said that you changed the tracks. Were the ones that came with it a problem? Were they solid plastic or something?


Sollie, I just saw the halfie in the link you posted....the cargo/troop one (dont know the name) is awesome. I have to finish a few of the other projects I have so I can get a couple of halfies!

bullyhys

Stang,

No I did not change the tracks, just the way the track drives function. The ANT150 ESC provides all the necessary mixing needed to make the Hanomog run just fine.

Regards

bullyhys

Stang951

It was originally a static model correct?
And then you took the driveline out of the Panzer and wired the Ant to it?

bullyhys

Yes That is correct, I also had to cut the front wheel spindles free of the front axel to make the front end steerible with a servo.

Stang951

I wonder if there is some other driveline you could use instead of butchering an Ultimate Soldier tank???? HHHMMMMMM!! Might have to do a little research on that. I think that they sell the entire 1/24 VS transmissions. I wonder if they would be up to the task??

bullyhys

I agree, the only reason I used the gear drive from the Panzer IV was due to the fact that I couldn't keep the tracks on it during turns, they stretch too much.

Also that track drive unit lays very close to the floor of the halftrack and leaves more room in the body for other things.

If you do find a gear box that does please let me know, I plan to do another 251.

bullyhys

Stang951

OK found the VS tank transmission for under 20.00 from Toyeast and thier VS store on Ebay. If I had the halftrack I would try them right away, but I am working on two other tank purchases right now. After I get them settled away I may try it. Seems like these transmissions should work, might take a little bit of fabricating but I'm not sure yet. Here's alink to one of the auctions:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

bullyhys

Stang

One thing to watch for when you select the gear drive for your 251 halftrack is the height of the axel shaft of the gear drive vs the hight of the drive sprockets on the halftrack, if the shaft on the gear drive is too high the drive sprocket will not clear the halftrack body without modifying the halftrack body or floor to gain clearance for the tracks.

I did not have to make any such adjustments to the my 251 though it came out pretty close, the track just barely clears the finders, my track sprockets are aprox 1/8in higher than they should be, but you don't really see the change.

bullyhys

Hitmandg

Hi quick question what is the length / width and height oh the Halftrack?

schutzstaffel

great job ! .
only 40$ for sdkf ,i want one too [>:] !
keep us informed on your work.
pak version : great idea too !

bullyhys

The German Halftrack is aprox 20in long

The width is just under 6in

the height is just under 4in at the tallest point on the body.

bullyhys

I'm going to try and attach a pic of the halftrack with its new camo and markings.

Harquebus

I ran across this conversion of the M3 Halftrack, also by 21st Century:

http://www.maadhq.com/html/HTRC.html

Now the donor internals here were done by scrapping a Radio Shack Xmod which sounds to be a bit more costly than butchering another 21st Century tank but somehow more feasible. Xmods were built for speed and their parts durability should be better and of higher quality too. A friend of mine has one and they are easily converted to all-wheel drive just by buying the Xmods kit.

-Harq

Hitmandg

Very nice work guys, I have ordered 2 Sdkfz 251 off ebay so once i get them the fun will being for me.

Dave[sm=thumbup.gif]

Hitmandg

bullyhys could you post a close-ups of how the servo connects to the steering arms..

Thanks [sm=thumbup.gif]