MENG MAGACH 6B 3rd Part

MAGACH 6B BUILD

PART 3

The next few step involved attaching the torsion bars to the swing arms. After getting the first swing arm/torsion bar assembly completed, I decided to test fit them in the lower hull and I am glad I did. The glue was not fully cured so the swing arm nearly came lose. It was at this point that I decided to complete all of the swing arm/torsion bar assemblies and let them cure overnight. Seeing as the assemblies are composed of different parts as they have to mount to different sides of the hull, they each have a letter designator. In order to prevent myself from getting them confused, I arranged the assemblies as they were completed, by placing them next to the appropriately labeled tape.

The next day, I slid each assembly into its correct position into the lower hull.

Once the torsion bar assemblies were installed I tested their ability to move, and they worked as advertised.

The next step was to install the forward and rear linkages. These linkages are also workable. They were a little fiddly but not too difficult. Note that the linkage assembly includes a shock absorber that snaps onto the swing arm. It is import to NOT use glue on the movable parts of this linkage, otherwise it will not move.

Moving on, the next step was to install the shocks on the remaining swing arms that require shocks. The rods on the swing arms needed to be inserted into the shocks BEFORE gluing the shocks to the hull. This process was a little fiddly, but nothing that a pair of tweezers and a little patience couldn't handle.

Once the assemblies were done, I checked them all to see if they would move, and they all functioned as designed. Now all I had to do was to add the pintle mount and hooks on the rear of the lower hull. Then just attach the previously completed road wheels and sprockets.

One thing I found interesting was that the instructions said not to apply glue to the return rollers, but I found out that I did in fact need to use glue to attach them.

All in all, I didn't run into any real issues here and the lower hull is mostly complete. She is starting to look like a tank. The next steps will be on assembling the upper hull.

Cheers,

WL