Hey guys, I'm Raminator

[Raminator]

Got too excited the other day and started a build thread without introducing myself first. How rude!

My name's Dan, and I'm just getting started on my first big tank; my wife suggested I get into a hobby to help deal with some recent illness and work-related stress. I used to build 1/72 scale armour and aeroplanes when I was a kid, so this seemed like the logical progression.

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It's been a long time since I've done anything like this, so I'm sure I'm biting off more than I can chew with such an ambitious project. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that, though!

I feel like I've already learned a lot from browsing the boards here and seeing the skills on display, now I just need to put it all into practice. Wish me luck!

[jarndice]

Hi DAN, Welcome to the Forum,
The secret to a build is learning to pace yourself,
If you are to do a good job then it will take weeks and they turn into months and in common with a lot of other members I have a Tank that just keeps getting updated,
So offer up a big thank you to an understanding Partner and try to discover how friendly your bank manager is, You will need him/her.
I find that researching, in your case the T34 adds a great deal to the build, but be careful you don't get in to deep,
I now have the biography of the crews of some of my builds, Still at least I havn't started sending birthday cards to their grand children,
Shaun.

[HERMAN BIX]

G'day mate, welcome in from the G.C.
I guess you are a Knights fan

I will be watching in on your build, the '76/34 is my favorite Soviet tank, but having an '85 on the go now, all I can do is watch.
Same as you I did the 1/72 and 1/76 scale wargame scales way back when, I have surmised that as we get older(eyesight reduces) scale gets bigger !

[Max-U52]

Hi Dan, and welcome aboard from Detroit!

Being where you are, I think the best advice I can give you is to acquaint yourself with a very, very cool guy named Kevin Grannum, who is RC Tanks Australia. He makes a lot of electronics stuff for us, but he's also quite an RC Tanker and he knows more about IR tech than anyone else I've ever met. The RCTA forum is a very good site as well, with a lot of cool guys that will be very glad to welcome a new Aussie to the hobby. This is the link to RCTA

http://rctanksaustralia.com/shop/

and you also have couple very cool vendors there for parts, like Oz Armor, and there's at least one more I can't think of at the moment, but I'll bet Herman is familiar with all the best places that are also close to hand.

So welcome to the Darkside, my new friend. I can't wait to see what you do with that T-34. Did you know there's a very cool bedspring armor kit in our scale for that tank? I'd have to dig a bit to come up with a link, but it sure does look cool.

[43rdRecceReg]

Spectacular intro, Dan Love the box, mate! I'll look forward to some of that dry, insouciant humour Aussies are noted for, and hope this place is a stress-reliever for you. By the way, has anyone ever mounted tank, or armoured car on top of a raminator setup? It would look nicely bizarre...

[Raminator]

Cheers for the warm welcome guys. I did have a look around at a few different forums during my research period, and the community and atmosphere is definitely the best I've seen. Glad to be a part of it now!

I find that researching, in your case the T34 adds a great deal to the build, but be careful you don't get in to deep,
I now have the biography of the crews of some of my builds, Still at least I havn't started sending birthday cards to their grand children,
Shaun.

I cut myself off when I was literally counting bolts; I knew I had to take a step back and decide to go for authenticity over accuracy.

I guess you are a Knights fan

I'm originally from Sydney, so...

Besides, old mate Tinky just filed for bankruptcy; I don't know what the Knights and Jets are going to be doing these days.

Same as you I did the 1/72 and 1/76 scale wargame scales way back when, I have surmised that as we get older(eyesight reduces) scale gets bigger !

That's what I thought at first too, but seeing some of the precision engineering by the likes of hotte and Frank seems to indicate the opposite!

[greengiant]

Welcome Raminator. You may find that this hobby can draw you in so much that going to work is boring as hell when you have a project at home waiting to be worked on.

[Raminator]

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone here for being so welcoming and helpful. I don't know what I'd have done without the help and advice I've received over the last few weeks, and I really appreciate it!

[clfr98ad]

Hi Raminator,
Welcome to the forums from another newbie (me):)

Just couldnt help seeing u have the same taigen lower hull as me. How did you find its quality? I was quite sadly surprised myself. Gears had a sprocket so out of shape it almost cant run and one of the arms misshaped so the roadwheel cant carry track properly.. Maybe i was just unlucky.

Anyway, welcome and look forward to see ur build.

Best
Claus

[Raminator]

Sorry to hear that, Claus. Sounds like you've been super unlucky; mine seems pretty good, the whole assembly is very solid and the gears all mesh nicely. The only thing I've noticed is that the suspension swing arms pivot at a slight camber from the hull, almost like they're twisting. I think it's more to do with the fact that the axles (the screws into the body) are quite short than any quality issue.

Did you get yours from rctank.de?