Have we any information on this vendor?

[Son of a gun-ner]

he even mentions that he pays the designers of the 3D prints.

Depends where he's purchasing them, most places only sell the files for personal/private use, and not for vending. Something that the purchaser is agreeing to at the time of purchase.
IF this vendor is going against those agreements, it certainly would show his true character and integrity. Something that would cause me not to trust them.

[tankme]

he even mentions that he pays the designers of the 3D prints.

Depends where he's purchasing them, most places only sell the files for personal/private use, and not for vending. Something that the purchaser is agreeing to at the time of purchase.
IF this vendor is going against those agreements, it certainly would show his true character and integrity. Something that would cause me not to trust them.

Inkor, who is the person that designs a lot of what he is selling, is aware of this guy and is indeed getting some monetary compensation from him. This was stated by Inkor on his Discord server.

Not all of the designs he sells are Inkor's so I can't comment on those. You can see which one's are Inkor's on his site: https://rc3dtanks.site/

[Son of a gun-ner]

Cool, thanks for the clarification Derek

[Mithras]

Not a problem. Will send pictures as soon as I have any. But most importantly, when it arrives.

[Mithras]

Update:

Churchill is done (unpainted, but that isn't an issue, and I expected it unpainted.) Photos look very good, but I'll withhold judgement until it arrives.

There has been a bit of an annoyance. Seller wanted to ship it via slow boat, saying it'd be cheaper, but might take two to three months. I wanted to get it via airmail, and the price was... higher... than I expected via air mail, even from China. I'll keep you all informed as this develops. I do believe the tank is coming, and the photos do look good, but it's a small annoyance given the very reasonable price to have these built for someone like me new to the hobby and unable to find many references regarding how to build them.

[Mithras]

So, in short:

The Churchill arrived about a month ago. And no, I've not taken any photos yet. I will do that soon. It hasn't movedsince it was unpacked and sorted.

Initial thoughts:

High Notes:

- Obviously built with love, and the tank does very much look the part.
- Lots of spare parts provided.
- Shipped quickly and packed well.
- Seller communicates as much as our language differences will allow. Has been willing to help where they can. This is somewhat complicated that more than one person appears to have worked on it, and questions must sometimes be sent to the other individual before they can be answered.

Low Notes:

- This is all PLA. One of the side skirts has already cracked. I am deeply concerned about durability. As a case in point, the primary gun tube cracked fairly quickly when I was opening the model up to get at the electronics and the battery compartment (see below.) Builder thoughtfully provided an extra. Hull itself, however, relies upon several "static fit" bits to allow access to the interior. This is a problem. I know it will be a problem because I've dealt with PLA props and miniatures alike. They warp if exposed to heat, and they weaken when repeatedly used. This means that the areas of concern will eventually weaken and/or warp even with extreme care.

- One of the two overhanging track skirt constructions had already cracked before and been repaired before we received the model. Cracked when it was removed, too. And they have to be removed to get to the innards. No way around them. Further, they snap in place, and are very likely to warp.

- Wiring is a bit of a mess and sort of "fit where it fits." Not sure "rats nest" is a kind or appropriate term, but close enough. I can work with that, but it makes interior work challenging. One would think with a tank like the Churchill more room would be allowed by the hull to place internals. One in this case would be wrong, I think.

- No battery was provided, and our Heng Long battery was not compatible. When Boudicca asked which kind of battery (she said we were new, and unsure of the connector type), builder had to ask whomever did the wiring, and we received a photo in response, which didn't show name or brand of the battery in question. I expected no lithium in the mail, but it was odd to be unable to identify what was needed.

- Perhaps of greater concern: battery compartment can only be accessed by unscrewing and detaching the hull. There is no recharging port. Which means one will need to invest, I suppose, in a very strong battery and hope that a changeout isn't suddenly required in the middle of an event.


More as I dig more into the subject. Boudicca is deeply disappointed, suggests we should find someone who might know more and might be interested in either rebuilding/refitting it for us (at a price, of course, I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap) or simply taking it off of our hands.


To be clear: I am not saying this was a scam, or fraud, or bait and switch. But there are issues of concern in several aspects of design and build of the kit.

Edit:

I suppose I should say that this is particularly disappointing to me as the Seller does such a huge variety of vehicles that are simply unavailable elsewhere. I had hoped to pick up his 'S-Tank' in the future, at minimum. I'm hoping to figure this out but my mood has been a bit grey regarding the whole thing, if we're being honest.

[tankme]

The screw on parts is how Inkor designs his tanks. It's just the way he does it. Unfortunately some of the screwed down parts become part of the structure of the tank. I like the wide variety of tanks he has designed, but I also mod them to suit my needs. The Tortoise for instance does not have any traverse as designed by Inkor, but I used my Bambu slicer to make myself a ball mount for the gun that will allow it to traverse. Of course that also means I need to rework both the elevation and add a traverse servo mechanism. The PLA construction is a deal breaker for me. Some don't an issue with using PLA in their tanks, but I have had bad experiences with it. The only PLA I have in my tanks currently may be some recoils that I printed before I got my PETG dialed in.

[HERMAN BIX]

Send me some pics mate, I might be able to help

[Mithras]

Tankme:

The PLA and having to deconstruct the thing every time I put in the battery pack combine to make me quite nervous!

Send me some pics mate, I might be able to help

Thank you, sir. As I just said in our side conversation, I’ll post some photos in the next day or so,

[tankme]

Tankme:

The PLA and having to deconstruct the thing every time I put in the battery pack combine to make me quite nervous!

The PLA would worry me if you plan to run it in the sun. Folks in the UK claim the sun in their part of the world won't melt PLA...not sure I believe them. Not really deconstruct, just 4 screws usually (on the E100 and T28 I think it's 6). I'm going to rework the mounting on some of mine. Probably going to find a way to use magnets.