Panther 6x6

Been a couple of weeks since I have done any work on the  new build since working up the chasis.

I decided to make the main part of the body on this build out of 6mm ply wood which will be skinned with 1.2mm aluminium. Problem is that wood is not very strong so i have needed to build a sort of frame armature out of 12mm box steel. This will create strenght and give me something to attach the wood to. The front glass section will be covered in the same smoked 3mm acrylic I used on the tank transported cab.With regards to where all the internals will go it is going to be really simple. At the rear will be the batteries which will be accessible via the rear doors. Electronics will be behind the side sliding doors and in the center of the unit will be the water container and spray system. I have still not worked out how to make this very powerful but I am working on it. To give you an idea of size the model is already 1500mm long, 570mm wide and 550mm high and that is without any body work. On a possitive note it should be lighter than the tank.
 

New 1/6 scale build. Rosenbauer Panther 6x6 fire truck

 

Adding to our 1/6th scale collection I intend to have a go at building a Rosenbauer Panther 6X6 fire truck. In terms of size it is a bit bigger than the STL-50 Tank tansporter but uses the same wheel size at 200mm. Dimensions wise: lenght=1600mm:Width= 520mm: Height=610mm. Weight at this stage unknow. 

I am going to have fun with this build as I am going to try and create an extremely powerful water canon, one that should be capable of extingushing a real fire, we will see.

I am using a transaxel and motor from a mobility scooter again, this one is a 250w motor so will have more than enough power.

Starting to cut the suspension parts

Rear solid axel will be suported on leaf springs

Main frame is 25mm box steel.

Starting to build the front seeing rack.

Complete Tank Transporter

It has taken a while to get to this stage, must admit I thought it would be easier to build than the tank but it proved me wrong. I am sure I will keep adding painted detail to it until it goes of for filming. We have already shot some prelimiary stills and it looks great on the set. 

So for the final build. As you already know I have added a second motor so power and traction are no longer a problem and it can easily haul 200kg. The ESC seem to be working fine and the extra cooling seems to work brilliantly. I will definately use the ESC again probably even on my 1/4 scale tank which I will probably start in October. 

The driver is now fully animatronic, head and arm movements.

I have tweeked the smoke system and it is now much better, stronger smoke and more consistent. 

The trailer steering was causing me a few problems but is now fixed. I simply used heavier steering linkages because the older ones where bending, strange watching 10mm threaded rod snap. 

I have added a few more lights plus trailer strobes. The tractor strobes have been upgraded and I think they look much better. Reversing beep, horn and reversing lights have all been added. 

There are a few 1/6 props added, ladders, brushes shovel etc and fitted on the tractor unit.

One major change was the hitch between the trailer and tractor. I have now built a working fifth wheel and must admit it works better. 

Overall specs: Length = 3300mm (yes over 3meters)

                        Width = 640mm

                        Height = 480mm 

                        Weight = Total 130kg:  Tractor = 80kg.  Trailer 50kg.   

                        Speed = 12mph:   Scale speed 1/6 = 72mph

 

12" figure showing the size of this thing. 

4WD

 

OK, I got a bit frustrated with the lack of traction on rougher ground so I added a 4WD system. Basically I have added a second motor to drive the other set of rear wheels so now both sets of rear wheels are driven. I wish I could find a way to lock the diff's on each axel, then it would be true 4WD. As it is, it is a thousand times better than it was and now has full traction on rough and uneven surfaces. I might play around with the suspension spring rates, this would improve the traction even more. 

Tank transporter complete

I say complete but what I really mean is nearly complete. I have decided to add more power to the tractor unit by adding a second motor and drive axel. It wont be four wheel drive as I have no way to lock the diffs but it will be as close as I can get plus loads of power.

The trailer has been a pain. The four wheels where dragging really badly on sharp turns so I decided to add steering to the trailer wheels. The mechanism was fair easy but driving it a different matter. The first attempt was a large 60kg 12v servo. It was fine until the trailer was heavilt loaded then did not have enough power. Attempt two was a 1000N linear actuator. The wheels now turn under load but can not be linked in with the tractor steering so has to be done at the same time. It works, not elegant but it works and the trailer now turns, no more dragging wheels.

I had to loose the winch from the trailer as I needed the spare channel for the steering actuator, I might add a new one in at a later date. 

I now have a driver who's head moves. I have link this with the turn control. 

The driver also has his own stereo and can play music in the cab.

Radar system was added to top of cab and spins.

Loads more detailing has been added, to much to mention but it is now starting to look the part and will be ready for filming on the set date.

 

Nearly there

 

Loads of work done on the tank transporter over the last few weeks. Glass is in, smoke generator working, sound working and the paint detailing is coming along nicely.  The trailer has also had a lot of work done on it with the actuator fitted meaning the rear ramps now move up and down. I have added a winch which can actually pull 100kg, took some doing but it can winch the tank up onto the trailer. 

Weight is a bit of a problem or lack of it. The rear wheels spin a bit to much because there is not much weight over the back axel. I have added some weight  which helps a bit. Ideally I need to work out how to lock the diff plus in an ideal world four wheel drive would be better. The transporter will pull the tank fine but over rough ground or even grass might be a problem due to lack of traction rather than lack of power. 

Tank Transporter

 So the transporter is now taking on a life of its own and has developed a custom look, partly due to the spec we have been given but also artistic licence. Today it was all about testing and seeing if the small 300w 24v motor can haul 100kg of tank and trailer. It did really well. Not sure how it would do uphill or over very rough ground but on a flat surface it was awesome. 

There is still so much work to do but the test was successfull. Ride height looks far better as well with the larger 150mm wheels on the back over the 80mm ones I was going to use and loading the tank was easy.