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This photo provides an overall view after all mechanical
components were installed but before any armor was attached.
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The front glacis (1/4 inch thick acrylic) and two
side armor plates (1/8 inch thick balsa wood)
are attached in this photo. Two 12 VDC, 17 Ah
batteries and a temporary umbilical for remote
operation by switch box have also been attached.
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This top view shows temporary battery placement
directly over the two middle road wheels as well
as temporary power connections for the umbilical.
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Click Photo For Enlargement (384 Kb) |
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The Hetzer is prepared for its initial field trial at the Tri-Pact Proving
Grounds. With snow on the ground, and an incomplete hull section, the
Hetzer looks more like a snow-cat than a tank, but that should change
as development continues.
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The paint ball marker and CO2 bottle
have been bolted into place. Two 12 VDC, 17 Ah
batteries lay flat in the bottom of hull. The old
road wheels looked great but weighed over 1 pound
each. These new polypropylene road wheels from
McMaster-Carr have the same OD and ID as the old road
wheels but weigh about 0.4 pounds each. |
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A GT-2000 marker was mounted laying on its left side
using eye bolts to create a front pivot. A removable
3/8 DIA bolt is used for the pivot axle to allow easy
gun removal for cleaning. The paint ball breech
faces up just below the temporary copper feed tube.
A standard servo pushes the trigger with a servo horn cam.
A second standard servo is mounted directly below the
GT-2000 and uses an extended servo horn to elevate/depress
the gun. |
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The gun housing mantlet was constructed using
clear acrylic tube and a PVC pipe end cap. The
mantlet was glued into the front glacis.
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All surfaces have been armored with 1/4 inch
acrylic sheet. Note that acrylic armor is
almost perfectly transparent. This photo was taken
just before the Battle for Middle Maryland.
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All eight plastic axle mounts (1 inch by 1 inch acrylic
vertical bars) got broken by the ROUGH terrain at the
Battle for Middle Maryland.
They were replaced by eight vertical
1/8 inch by 1 inch aluminum bars and two 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch
square aluminum tubes along each side of the hull.
Two more vertical bars, a 1/2 inch DIA tube across the bottom
of the hull and 1/8 inch aluminum plate were added to
strengthen the motor mounts and the bottom of the hull.
The Hetzer also got a camo paint job as described below.
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