Hey there I live around the Hickory area in NC and I have always liked tanking.. I did battle in Danville a few times, but money and time kind of put this on hold. I had a Tamiya Sherman and Pershing, and quite a few Henglong and some Mato, but I lost everything when my building was broken into. I went out in search of a replacement Tamiya Sherman Kit only to find they have been discontinued Wow I was not expecting that.. does anyone know if they will start production sometime down the road? I have a felling my insurance company is going "You spent what on a 'Toy' Tank", but lets hope they come though LOL.
Anyway great to be here with everyone.. I hope maybe to start messing with them again.
Sorry to hear what happened. As to the insurance, if you've got that much invested in a collection, you might want to ask your insurance company about a special rider. They often offer them on specific items/groups of items that have an unusually high value of their own, such as jewelry, electronics, and collectibles. I have one on my computer and 3D printing equipment. It's not all that expensive, and it avoids any discussions about value. The main caveat is that they'll likely want you to provide an itemized inventory with photos, and update it as needed.
I've had some Tamiya RC tanks in the past, but I keep mainly to Heng Long now. The Tamiya items have incredible quality and detail, but they're getting a lot harder to find and the price has really jumped. If you don't mind separating the build experience from the running experience, you might want to consider getting a Heng Long Sherman to run and one of the upcoming 1/16 scale Sherman models from Andy's Hobby Headquarters to build.
The theft of your tanks is unusual and sad. It’s rather surprising that anyone would think to steal RC tanks, but people do all sorts of surprisingly sad things. I know some people insure model train and farm model collections.
I have often wished I could get to Danville both to see the museum, meet some other RCtankers, and support the gift shop in person. Perhaps someday. I lived in Greensboro from ‘77 to ‘80 teaching at NC A&T, Guilford College, and Forsythe Tech. I have fond memories of Greensboro and the surroundings.
Keep us informed as you decide how to dive back into RC AFVs. We can all “help” with enough opinions to drive you nuts.
Yeah I hope insurance don't become too big of a problem.. wish I would have taken more pics.. but never thought about it.. it's been a quiet place.. they found the people that did it they were kids... so nothing is really going to be done. They took them played with them and destroyed them when they were tired of them.. I got 1 21st Century Sherman back with a couple of broken pieces but it still looks pretty good.
What IR systems will work with each other? That was always the thing with the Tamiya.. at least at Danville they all used the same IR the Tamiya version.
I love putting together the Tamiya stuff but they are over priced.. and a huge hunk of that is that Motor system DT-06 or whatever box.. I don't get why that is still so much... when others can do something close for less. Also really liked having the HVSS from Tamiya, and the VVSS from Henglong.. it gives it a good mix with the tanks together.
If the insurance comes through I will probably get a few if nothing else for myself.. like tinkering with them.
The parents of those kids need to be beaten for not teaching them right from wrong... Or better yet if they have the means to pay you could go to small claims court and sue the parents. I say small claims because getting a lawyer for it would be too expensive and not worth the return.
Wow I was not expecting that.. does anyone know if they will start production sometime down the road? I have a felling my insurance company is going "You spent what on a 'Toy' Tank", but lets hope they come though LOL. 
