[Joecollection18]

For those interested, I have uploaded on thingiverse and grabcad the stl and step files of the current, longer throw and adjustable suspension station.
see links on my signature. so far all these parts are interchangeable. Mauler/ Warthog and soon Mobat, Wolverine...
This new station is pretty universal. By tweaking the roadwheels you could install it in a wide array of tracked vehicles.

Some updates, got lazy and hand cut the windows on leftover cut pieces. Not as straight as done by printer..ughhhh

One pic showing what the warthog look like with the deck and the side walls removed. gives you an ide of how much valuable space is in this vehicle.

And... A test with a cut mauler rubber track... glued using this awesome glue called "last glue". I was at a fair in Canada a decade ago, and this guy was cutting alternator belts then gluing them back and handing them to us. We couldn't split them! permanently glued back! An awesome glue that I have used for years when doing custom modern era figs customization. it makes a seamless, permanent bond. works better on soft, rubber to PVC like parts. not for the hard brittle stuff.
check my pics and try to find the seam !!!
removed 10 links, hand tugged the track with both hands... looks like this WILL WORK.
the advantages of the mauler tracks are:
-easier to source !!
-slips under load, saves the gearboxes gears/ no tooth salad when tracks jam
-grip on hard and slick surfaces
-quieter
-standardization with Joe inventory
-unlikely issues of track breaking in the field, when rock gets lodged there...
-no pinched/poked fingers, especially the little ones.
-can use sprockets without teeth
-simple to install and remove.
-might not have seizing issues that the individual links have when running in silt/mud/dirt/sand

now the downsides:
-slips under load, hard pivot turn on carpet and deep dirt will not work well
-Will require cutting and gluing. Won't retrofit Mauler
-require tension and therefore first and last suspensions will need to be stiffer. suspension "constrained" and not as free
-can throw a track once in a while
-rubber wears off if running hard in dirt. becomes chaffed with nasty marks and can get cut by sharp pebbles, especially if using high power
-depending where you source them, they can stink as the rubber holds smell.
-will require a dedicated drive sprocket that ideally slips as little as possible, preferably when needed.

Some interested folks just want a motorized Warthog for table/house play.
What do you think of a simpler variant, non RC, but with the missile mast acting as a Mobat switch Forward/left/right/stop? keeps the Joe toy feel

[Joecollection18]

mauler rubber tracks details ( continued )

bottom picks are comparison of the 1/25 tamiya centurion ( 1971 kit ) next to mauler and warthog running gear.

Testing will reveal if I end up using the tamiya centurion tracks or the mauler shortened ones.
At this stage it is not an issues. Roadwheels and tracks can be swapped down the road. Just preparing my options.

I have received interest in RC maulers and warthog, so rather than just building a one off, unique thing, I am trying to plan how to duplicate the build without using unicorn parts.
The cross-compatibility is also cool as each one can choose their preferences. Rubber or plastic?

The Tamiya kits will very soon be out of production and will fetch ridiculous prices.
I personally still prefer individual tracks, but it seem that they are too finnicky to assemble for average folks.

I am awaiting an old tamiya kit, the chieftain in 1/25 , which is what Greg Berdntson and colleagues used to prototype the MAuler ( see 1985 toy fair catalogue ) and the mock up models of the IMP shown at Hascon 2017
The chieftain tracks are more modern than the WWII centurion, less pokey on the sides and feature inserted rubber pads like the real Amtracs.
that chieftain kit over if from 1975. its reissue was cancelled, very short run. The centurion is more available right now since they made a few RC versions.

[Zap Rowsdower]

Have you looked at the tracks for Bruder toys? They make a 1:16 tractor with plastic linked tracks:

https://brudertoyshop.com/products/c...-tractor-02444

They work a lot like Lego tank treads, only larger and more durable. The appearance is probably not what you're looking for exactly, but it might be an option to play with if you don't mind the construction aesthetic. You can also see what they did with their rubber grippers and possibly take some inspiration from that. They use little rubber inserts that get installed between the links every so often. I found a spare one of these that was missing parts at a thrift shop a while back for a few bucks but it has both tracks (which was why I bought it). You would probably need more than one tractor's worth of tracks for this but if you want to build and test one side's worth of Warthog tracks out of these I can supply you with the links for one side.

You can buy as much of the track as you want direct from Bruder here if it works out:

https://store.bruderservice.com/42467.html

And you can get the little rubber things there as well:

https://store.bruderservice.com/42461.html

Bruder uses the same type of treads on a few other construction vehicles but I don't know if they are the same exact size or not.

Here are a few of the other tracked Bruder options you can buy just the tracks for:

https://store.bruderservice.com/02448.html

https://store.bruderservice.com/02453.html (in yellow... Tiger Force?)

https://store.bruderservice.com/02457.html

https://store.bruderservice.com/02439.html

There may be others, but I'm not sure. I know there are also some rubber-tracked options there if you want to cut and glue them as you have described.

[Joecollection18]

Thanks for the detailed info. I actually had one medium sized bruder excavator in hand. It is very sturdy, I just DID NOT know they made rubber inserts like the legos and VEX robotics.
This will come in handy for the RC D.E.M.O.N !

And they sell the tracks separately too? and cheap?
Great find Mr Zap!

For military tracks, because of the long travel suspension, the track need to have center track horns, the longer the better. Construction machinery does not deal with much suspension travel so it is not an issue. The cantilever systems they use, follows the terrain and keeps the tension of the track.
The rolling resistance is another aspect, and these hydraulically driven machines do not care much about that.
For example, running my tamiya tracks submerged in water at full power is enough to make the electronics shut off. Just from water resistance.
The bruder tracks I have ( medium excavator ) are not running very smooth and are already very loud. Squeak and squeal. I think the real thing has sealed pins with lubrication chambers. The bruder are full open pivots in their snap together design. This is where military type tracks with tight captive pins might work better in dirt. Over a decade with 1/16 Tamiya tanks and it's pretty proven.
I tinkered with some lego technic and vex robotics tracks in the past, similar in design of construction machinery, The inside of the track bothered me. I think these are not suited for this application mainly because of the lack of a thin tall horn in the center, which forces the roadwheels to become an extremely wide dumbbell. This results
in suspension arm issues ( like the outer/outest wheels on the panther/king tiger tank. At this scale I cannot afford to fabricate metal swingarms. That and the overall thickness of the track at this scale.

Still very well appreciated. Good tracks go a long way. Sadly, some great t-72 tracks (with knurled metal pins) I have in hand were not properly designed ( they fold in reverse, jamming the whole thing !)
Current trends in military is going back to single piece rubber track, as materials get better.
I have sourced some replica Tonka rubber tracks for some work projects, that could be another avenue. Some RC toys are using high performance rubber/ silicone tracks. Currently in red or purple. Just not sure I will be going all eco-force on the warthog yet.
Rubber or bruder definitely for the Maggot.
This topic and all this progress will carry onto Demon/ Hiss tanks, Raider, Wolf..... down the road...
Looking at the mobile command center... that thing could definitely use bruder xxl tracks !!!

Also I looked at Playmobil ultra wide snow plow rubber tracks for the demon.... Destro's Snow Plow Demons for his Canadian Bases...
Keeping my eyes peeled.
Thanks Zap, I will order sets of the widest bruder tracks they have to have these in my stash. I have a feeling with the largest ones I could be onto something... WOuld GOld tracks work on the demon? Or maybe these are Destro's SEAbees, construction battalions using Demons with excacator buckets and dozer blades, barbed wires rolls in back& instant metal carpeting rolls .. hmmmm.. Yellow and Black with red accents...
With just one post, half a dozen new ideas ....

Not getting side tracked here. Warthog is still going with Centurion tracks/ Mauler rubber until something better shows up. For table play and gentle yard play we should be good.

[Zap Rowsdower]

I don't know squat about the engineering of tracks, so it's interesting to read up on your explanation of the different types. Bummer these won't help with today's project but I'm glad they'll be useful for you down the line.

Here's the only rubber tread option they seem to offer as a replacement part:

https://store.bruderservice.com/02137.html

I have no idea how large those are. That's a fairly small vehicle so the treads may be too small for anything you have in mind. I know other, larger Bruder vehicles have fully rubber tracks as well but you would apparently have to buy the whole vehicle for those. Probably not an economical choice compared to Mauler tracks.

Anyway, the Bruder parts website says they ship free in the US, too, so the prices really should be as good as they look.

If you RC the MCC I think heads will explode. You must share if that one comes about. Would power-unfolding be a feature on that project, or just strictly driving?

[Novacaine31]

This is some serious engineering. Have you ever checked out https://spykerworkshop.com
He does some amazing RC tracked vehicles. He manufactures parts, designs his own stuff, and sells stl files. Maybe there’s something there you can use? I bet he’d even find this project cool. Maybe he’d start making RC conversion kits

And I agree with Zap! An RC MCC would be insane. Just the size of that rolling around would be crazy.

[Joecollection18]

AWESOME stuff!
we live in wonderful times!!
now, we need a machine that slows down time, enlarges it so we can do more

in all fairness, building from scratch is sometimes easier.
the rear corners of the warthog are a pain in the ...
I am sealing the junctions but keeping them hollow and reachable from underneath, should I want to add a small bilge pump in there, or need extra buoyancy in these corners during flood/tumble tests in water.
the hull pic shows the principle chosen , fused upper and lower hulls for a higher parting line. walled up side doors, cut out upper deck as a lid.
hope it makes sense.

I can't wait when printers get cheaper and larger, get me some 3D scanner and warehouse size printer... make me some LIFESIZE mauler and Warthog to ride up the river ...
for vehicles, I ain't getting into that larger 4" or 6" size classified scam quagmire... just go 1:1 if going bigger! ;)
I am dreaming about that Joe park since I was a kid...

I was also able to find out who the warthog designer was. Frank Coroneos.
Frank did the Razorback, the Hammer etc... and he loved reveals. It appears by looking at old pictures of the very early prototype it that the warthog side doors unfolded with hinges at bottom. possibly had rockets or big guns inside the doors, while there was a rear ramp.( see pic of bulge on back of box) just my guess.
once they widened the warthog with the tracks migrating out,( "it looks cooler!") that feature probably got axed (cost of extra parts & ramp ) probably these side doors were getting smashed riding low when opened. the rear ramp prevented making the toy float so decisions were made there. if you look at the large beige inner tray of a warthog, it is very obvious the tracks were initially designed to be inside. nothing in their way. navigator's(starboard side) legs are flat and not bent down like the 2 other crewmen, so to clear the original track wells.

side note, a few joes are hunting for repro weapons... can you imagine as kids if we could make all the weapons we wanted?

[Joecollection18]

moving forward gluing the hull bits.
this video kinda shows what to expect when the warthog goes to sea:
https://youtu.be/022KkzFB5Vk