Advice for a nooby

[gliggsy]

Hi guys, just joined the forum with a view to buying a 1.16 rc tank and thought the best place to start was with some useful info and the pro's and cons, ie, is the Bay a good place to start, is there anywhere I can go to see some of the products on offer, I am in Lincoln UK but travel a lot with the job and find myself in London quite a bit. Is there any info or reading I should be doing before parting with the green stuff. Already in to r/c helis so understanding leccies isn't too much of a problem, look forward to getting plenty of replies an thanks in advance.........Glyn

[Johnf]

I do not live in UK so not familiar with UK shops. I buy from rctank.de Dominique has a great range of tanks an accessories some nicely upgraded kits. Buying this way can save quite a bit as you are not left with parts you did not want. Also Dominique is very helpful, great aftersales and speaks english.

Any idea on which tank to build. King tiger will be the one to go for at the moment. Check out the possible upgrades on rctank.de

[Delboy]

only 1 to mention in buying from ebay
is dave Forgebear he is one of the vendors that we use on this web site and he is in the uk
good on advice and exerlent on product and in sending and packaging 100 % recomended
cheers Derek

[sparks]

Hi Glyn,
Welcome to the forum
I think most of us here buy online, can certainly reccommend the two mentioned above, and there are other good ones too.
As for advice, just ask away, there's always someone here who can help.
sparks

[Dietrich]

Hi gliggsy, :~
Firstly welcome to the Forum . There is a wealth of information on here, you can always use the search facility which is located in the top right hand corner of the Forums banner or just ask a question and someone is bound to come along with an answer.
As far as a choice of a model Tank....in my Opinion there is Nothing to beat the Glorious Tiger 1 !! .... It has a real presence about it, with a place in history that is assured for as long as there are Tanks! It also has PLENTY of space inside to work on and to add parts into :~
Personally I would NOT spend my money on a Tamiya kit, for a lot of reasons apart from the fact that you actually have to assemble the whole thing sprue by sprue!
You can start out with a basic Heng Long and see how you like the hobby. If you do, then you can upgrade slowly as and when you feel like it / can afford it ...BUT....if you are ceratian that you will enjoy tanks then and are prepared to spend some money straight away then this is what I suggest as a really excellent combination to start with.
Heng Longs Tiger 1......and to start with, an Asiatam Hull from Welsh Dradon Models £59.74 at the moment, Steve also can supply a wide range of up-grade parts for all the varieties of tanks not just the Tiger..http://www.welshdragonmodels.co.uk/asia ... -512-p.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This is the best hull and suspension system that money can buy, people have run them on this forum since they first came out and with tanks weighing in at nearly 15 Lbs with no problems at all !!
Metal Gearboxes with a 3-1 reduction as standard are a ' Must Have Item' as are metal sprockets and metal tracks. Starting as you are, from scratch I would suggest that you go straight for a 400 motor, these are the most powerful that can be fitted to the gearbox without some modification to the motor mount and pinion size. This shop is excellent both in price and in service
http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/aca ... otors.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This is the motor reference..Graupner Speed 400 7.2V (1794) £6.43 each including vat and you will need 2 x 10 tooth pinion gears at a 48 pitch to mesh with the gearboxes correctly.
The Tiget Hull top and turret you can get from the member 'Forgebear' Dave although you could perhaps also ask Steve at Welsh dragon Models if he could help you if you buy the hull etc from him..
That is probably MORE than enough information to fire at you for one go.... ....then you have to decide if you want to use an R/C unit that you already have or if you want to go with the Heng Long RX-18 unit which is good, so long as it has fan(s) to keep it cool, especially pulling larger motors.
Any other questions, please feel free to ask. :~
Alb.

[panzerfahrer]

Hi Glyn, and welcome, my advice if you are unsure, is to buy a second hand Heng Long tiger 1 from ebay, don't bid more than £40 you will get one for that, or maybe less, have a play with it, have a good look through the forum, see what others are doing, and then its like smoking, you will be hooked! if not, than nothing lost, put the tiger back on ebay, and you will get your money back, but this is unlikely because, like us all, you will become addicted.

[gliggsy]

Thanks for the great replies guys, didn't expect so much, so quick. Gives me some ideas and a starting point at least, will probably look to 2nd hand from the bay and look at what Forgebear has to offer, any other guidance greatly appreciated.......Glyn

[gliggsy]

Ok guys, took the plunge and won, from the bay, a snow leopard 2nd hand fitted with metal gearboxes and tracks. There are a couple of plastic items broken ie m/c gun and other bits that were mounted on top of the turret, also the hatch cover where the bb's load in, would that be the commanders hatch? looks like it has been upgraded with the later rx18 board as well, got it for a song really as I have been monitoring prices for a couple of weeks now, maybe would have preferred the Tiger or the Panzer going purely on looks but hey ho I'm happy. Now I need to do some research, what are you guys using for smoke oil, surely I don't have to buy any somebody must know the formula . Plan is to run it awhile and have some fun then do a re-build/strengthening project and finish with a pucker paint job, any info or pointers to any links etc would be appreciated ,thanks guys......Glyn

[blimp]

el cheepo smoke oil a'comin right up - http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... =38&t=4896" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jackeb]

Hi,
Like you I got into the hobby by way of RC helis. I needed a diversion that I can indulge in when the kids are around (apparently the simple command "kids stand behind Daddy while I'm flying" is beyond them!).
I think you made a wise purchase. Tanks are like helis; if you buy the basic model and upgrade over time you spend a lot more than if you bought the 'super combo' in the first place!
For spares and upgrades, I've quickly found, that Forgebear and RC Tank DE are pretty brilliant. The same sort of service you get from Fastlads and Heliguy (that's not a spam, just an opinion), and the guys on this forum are very supportive and knowledgeable. Have fun.