Tamiya Early Tiger 1 Static to RC Build

[HERMAN BIX]

Are these offerings from "The Big-T" designed for full RC conversion at the get-go, or is that just clever coincidence ?
Sure is nice work Mr Painless, methodical and accurate................(cheating a bit looking at the instructions BEFORE you make the mistake though )

[PainlessWolf]

Good to be back from vacation. A quick trip from one tourist destination to another one. Have to say that the southern NM desert is a lot hotter than the 'high alpine' variety around here. Herman, not so much. Mike has already done a lot of the legwork and purchasing to turn this static Tiger into an RC one. The kit as it comes is very nice and complete but missing some sprue pieces and mechanicals, bearings, etc, to make it a running version. Tonight, I am just prepping to primer the lower hull. I'm considering adding some of the back plate detail before I do so. I'm out of fresh putty to finish sealing up the lower at any rate. Off to Pueblo town to the Hobby Shop tomorrow night for putty and metal primer. Pics:

[sassgrunt]

Painless, I see that I forgot to send you the metal shackles for the front. They look a lot better than the plastic ones, and I will get them in the mail to you directly.

[PainlessWolf]

Good morning, Mike,
Good to hear! I was going to throw on a set I have on my KT ( since that tank is up for a rebuild as well ) If you have anything detail - wise that you would like to see functional, fenders, etc. that I am leaving stock since this will be a running tank, let me know. I am balancing out the detail vs. durability as I do with my builds. There will still be plenty to catch the eye. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[PainlessWolf]

Tonight, I drilled and tapped the four holes under the new motors and gearbox and used the very short screws I had found to seal up that area, ( touch of Loc-Tite as well ) I got out the new putty from Vallejo and boy, it was the smoothest, putty I have ever used. Far superior to the Testors I normally employ. It works amazingly well! I have all the primer and paint required for the base color now so that will be tomorrow night's task.
Pics:

[Ecam]

Painless, fantastic work and also great to see one of Mike's projects here on the forum.

[PainlessWolf]

Good evening,
Thank you, that means something to me as I was not sure earlier if you were displeased that I was working this build. When I am done, Mike can drop in his MFU of choice, (hopefully an IBU type as I want to get a Tarr smoker and install it ), plug everything in and motor off into the sunset. How are your builds coming along?
regards,
Painless

[PainlessWolf]

Two coats of Tamiya primer tonight along with a little bit of plastic working. Getting closer to the first coat of dunkelgelb. Pics:

[Rebel 1]

Great looking build Painless, your friend Mike is going to have a very unique tank when you're done with it. I love the tough heavy duty ETO gearbox set up as apposed to what Tamiya has to offer. Would either you or Mike know if ETO has gearboxes for other 1/16th scale tanks? This is the first time I've seen something like it.

[PainlessWolf]

Rebel, I believe that ETO has gearboxes available for other types of tanks as well as the Tiger. Prices run around 265.00 US per set ( from what I have seen ) and are definitely worth it. This afternoon, the Tiger's lower hull got the last coat of primer. Also, Mike's metal shackles came in along with some cool 5mm and 8mm hex head bolts. Pic: