WWI RC TANK

[DREADNOUGHT II]

Hello all. I am building a WWI tank. It is a modified Tamiya with two of their motors and Heng Long radio gear. The build is fairly simple and everything fits into the fairly compact hull. A speaker is mounted underneath the motors and gives a reasonable sound as well as MG and Canon sounds. It also powers the MG flashes through a combination of LEDs and fiber optic cable. I could do the canon flash the same way, but would like to use the Heng Long flash kit. I am having a bit of trouble with this, but will open up a separate post in the Heng Long section about this. A chap called Mick Dady has been helping me with some aspects as he has already done one of these modifications but has not fitted a flash kit. The tank is called DREADNOUGHT II and has the division number of D17. This is all made up but was done to reflect my interest in maritime matters and the RN's involvement in tank development. If anyone has any questions, please ask away.

[PainlessWolf]

Good afternoon,
Is this build based on the Tamiya 1/35 model? I hope so, I've been wanting to see what could be done with that kit.
regards,
Painless

[DREADNOUGHT II]

Shall I call you Painless or Wolf?
Yes it is. I would like a large scale one but they are out a bit expensive and I do not have the time to scratch build one. Some others have done wonderful work. As you probably know, the kit can come with a motor and gear drive. There are two engine mounts in the kit so a second moter has to be found. It can be bought from Tamiya (importer) but if over £20 here in the UK. I bought a second kit and removed the motor and sold it on Ebay to someone who wanted to build a static kit. They were happy as they got what they wanted, but cheaper and I was happy because the motor cost me about £10.00. A small speaker can be mounted under the motors. The on/of switch was relocated to inside the fuel tank at the rear. A Heng Long board was removed from its case and fitted centrally and brackets made to support a battery pack above. Resistors are wired into the motor feed. The Lewis MGs are brass tubes with an LED wired in parallel to the two other MGs LEDs and a short length of fiber optic to take the flash to the tip of the muzzle. Up front there is space for a flash unit, but I am having trouble sorting out the wiring. If I cannot get this to work I will use a similar arrangement to the MGs. At this stage I have got most of the painting and weathering done, but have not fitted one side of the tank as it is easier to get to the inside while I am fiddling with stuff.

[Panther Ausf G]

Hi DREADNOUGHT II.
Welcome to the forum.
This sounds like a very interesting project.
We like photos and build logs, so we hope you keep us posted with your progress.

[PainlessWolf]

Dreadnought II,
Painless will do just fine. ;o) It sounds like you have really jumped into this build with both feet. Excellent on the motor deal and as Panther noted, Welcome to the Forum! Pictures please!
regards,
Painless

[wibblywobbly]

How are you wiring up the flash unit? On a standard HL tank it plugs into the 5 pin socket, and there is another 2 pin fly lead. The 2 pin connects to another loom, but in your build you won't have that part, so you will need to make one up yourself so that the flash unit is activated when the gun is fired.