My First Tank, "do you still remember your First '!

[Merlin707]

My first model tank was a 1/72 Airfix Jagdpanther in the early 90s, still have it as well.

My first proper rc tank was my 1/16 Sherman which I've recently converted, that was followed in quick succession by my tiki tiger from Forgebear and as of 5 mins a go a torro king tiger.

[Saxondog]

Great Times hey guys. Seeing the youth today they have it so easy,yet somehow they miss out on the imagination we had to use.Video games have somehow changed the world of being 10-14 and not always into a better human I think.

We had a great neighborhood of large families,I have 7 older brothers and three sisters,being the youngest I caught hell.Yet our neighbors were large families as well,many summer nights having war games, and forts,then in our smaller groups blowing up every kind of model.

Tennessee in the 1970 where fireworks were legal all year and hunting ,fishing and ammo was a way of life. The older brothers went off to fight a stupid war, and I got the cool HAUNTED TANK,Sgt.Rock Sgt.Fury comics. All there old model kits and just had a great time.

Then moved to L.A. and things changed fast in the city.Model building though has always been an escape and always imagination is involved.

Seeing my sons,and now grandson grow up in a different world concerns me, yet so far no casualties. So all is well, and I still build,they even admire my stuff sometimes, And come on guys, you know were just kids in older bodies,keeping our minds occupied with the happier days of our youth,and not a damn thing wrong with it either! Peter Pan Syndrome I shall never grow up!

Merry Christmas, lets have a great coming year, and some fun building and imagining the machines,the men and the conflicts. But most of all, let's enjoy the adventure a tank,a landscape and a little imagination can provide in an otherwise changing world ,a complex world that does not always accept what we do,and why we do it.

cheers, Blake

[hawkeye3guns]

Hi Wayne (AA Gepard)
Yes most of her was there I had to scratch build some of the small details and also had to make new barrels and radar rotation gear, But I've still got her and that picture was last year at Rauceby WAR weekend where she still struts her stuff around the field. The metal tracks are getting old now and occasionally a link will come loose otherwise it still going strong I'm still using the original clutches on the gearbox.
The vehicle next to her is a Isralie Trailblazer AVR of which 6 was built based on sherman chassis in 1956, To their credit 4 are still in existence ( one is a static in a museum, 1 is still a runner also in a display, another is in private hands in the uk at a surplus yard not sure of its condition running wise and the forth one I believe is in the states again not sure if it still runs..
I also have a Jagdepanther, Tiger 1, Panzer iv, Pantiger, M16 halftrack ,1958 Centurian Bridgelayer (FV4005) Protype sherman (Easy 8 hull with M26 turret 1 off built at Fort Belvidor as an experiment), Walter Bulldog, 1999 Aero max truck and lowloader, all these are 1/16 scale and about half are HL's modified and the others are scratch built from plasticard and glass fibre, (all are fully RC'ed and working) I also have a 1/10 M1 abrams and I'm in the process of scratch
Building a M270 MLRS at the moment.
As of last year I started going to the war weekends and country shows showing my tanks and also trying to get the youngsters intrested in our hobby, I have 2 small RC 1/35 scale IR battling tanks that I place on a 2.5m squre tarp on the ground with a couple of cottages and bridges and let the young un's play as long as the battery last for free it always generates a lot lf intrest both for the youngster's and also the big kids as well (you know who I mean)
Here's a picture of my display

web shot.jpg (34.06 KiB) Viewed 1019 times

regards Denzil

[JBdk]

My first tank was and still is a HL Tiger 1 the first type that came with no sound, smoke and only two speed...fast and way to fast...it is now enjoying it's retirement on the self and waiting too be back in duty as a towing load when I sometime in the future get a berger-somthing...