Bear with me - What tank to get?

[billpe]

The Tamiya Tiger 1 needs no upgrades out of the box to have a working, reliable tank.

The stock idlers are absolutely fine and don't slip (the King Tigers do), the gearbox brace is only really something you might want with metal tracks, but I don't have one in mine and haven't seen any problems. There's a kit which allows you to modify the gear boxes to give more torque at lower speeds but it will strip the gears if you run metal tracks. Yeah, you build and paint it but it's pretty easy going. If you want the version used in Africa to paint it a yellow (it was actually a type of brown in RAL numbers) there is a Tamiya version of that but they are very rare. The yellow used on post 1943 Tigers (and all German tanks) is Dunkelgelb or dark yellow.

The Taigan is no more metal hulled than the Tamiya. The whole metal concept is basically a way to ship RCs as people see metal as good. In truth the only metal parts you actually need, depending on the tank, are the sprockets, idlers, wheel rims (if they really used metal ones, rubber if not) and high stress gearbox and suspension parts. If you look at the Tamiya Leo 2A6, which is probably the best tank out there, it's almost entirely ABS, polystyrene, nylon and some derlin. Don't get me wrong, the Taigans can be good tanks, but the Tamiya Tiger really is a benchmark in 1:16.

[cathurga]

Ok, so I have taken the plunge.....I ordered 58009 Tamiya Tiger Full Option Kit. This is the one that comes with the Tx, battery and everything. I got a decent price on it. I could have ordered 50010 and then got the Tx separately, but I just thought to get the whole lot, lock-stock! Very pricey at US$700 shipped to Dubai, but that is the price you pay for living here. US$130, just in shipping....I coulda bought a Heng Long for that! lol

I am also going to order the tensioner kit, schumo reductions and fit them at 'birth' of the tank.

Its not really the money I wanted to spend, but I know that Tamiya Tanks have some resale value if I want to recoup some of my money in the long run. I am also a long time (30 years) user of Tamiya products, and I really like their products. The last factors are that the Tiger seems to be a reliable, working tank and I often get more enjoyment out of the build. If I had bought another option, I may simply not enjoy running it, or it wont run nicely in the area I have to run it and would not have got the build enjoyment out of it.

Thanks for the help guys. I will probably post some pics of the build when it happens, but I am a little ashamed to put pics up of my pathetic painting and detailing after I see some of the work that you guys to. It is inspirational for sure, but also a rude awakening as to the limits of my capabilities.

Thanks again for the advice!
Andy

[billpe]

I hope you enjoy it. Don't be afraid to ask questions but it's an easy enough built.

Three small tips: buy a cheap 1:35 or 1:48 Tiger plastic kit, try out your paint scheme on that first and don't glue the turret roof on, you'll kick yourself later if you do and don't glue on the tyres. Other than that it's a nice easy build.

I didn't realise you were in Dubai, I might have recommended a HPI Baja instead! All those dunes to play in.

[cathurga]

Thanks for the tips...

I might just look into a 1:35 tank to practice painting on, I suppose it doesn't necessarily need to be a Tiger....just similar.

Whats the deal with not gluing the tires onto the wheels? Do they keep falling off or what? I assume the turret roof is going to provide access at a later date if needed, will keep that in mind.

HPI Bajas are all over the place here, but there is no track to race them on, and 'souping' them up for road racing/drag racing is what people do with them. I used to ride rally's here on a Honda XR 650 Rally bike, and when I realized that as I get older, I realized I don't bounce as well as I used to...

[jarndice]

You will discover that the tyres are a tight fit on the wheels so no need to worry about them falling off,
And just like the real thing they are expendable items and they do wear.
I don't know about TAMIYA TYRES but TAIGEN TYRES are "HANDED" which means to get the tyre to "sit" in the rim it has to be the right way round, I am sorry but the only way to work it out is by trial and error.
Of course the later Tiger 1s used a different pattern of wheel which did not have tyres simply wheel rim to track. shaun

[DavidByrden]

The real Tiger tyres, ironically, were not handed.
I phoned up a man in Continental, years ago, gave him the tyre's part number and asked him if he could supply more. He got embarassed and said it was for "a military project" and couldn't be supplied.

David

[cathurga]

Ok cool, will test the concept of not gluing the tyres on.

The tank has been despatched, and is on its way via EMS, should be here in a few days. I also ordered the following, which I think I may need, just from my assumptions and based on the fact that they are difficult to change later:
Henntech idler system
Darryl T gearbox mount
Schumo reductions

[billpe]

I can't remember exactly but I think the Tamiya ones are not handed. They're a tight fit but you'll want to paint the wheels without the tyres on. Mine are not glued and don't come off, there is a raised area in the middle which keeps them from coming off anyway.

Be careful with those reductions, they will kill the boxes if you ever run metal tracks.

[cathurga]

Hey Guys,

I have been searching for a decent 'from scratch' Tamiya Tiger Build thread, and apart from one or two, that we'rent very detailed, there are no detailed builds,. There are a lot of modded threads where people have bought a second hand one, and improved/changed it.

Anyone know of a good thread on an ou of box build?