RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi all.
I might be answering my own question here, but having bought my first tank, is there anything I should do before running it for the first time, such as taking it apart & lubricating internal moving parts such as gears ? Is there some kind of "standard procedure" that I need to learn on acquiring a new vehicle ?

The tank (a Taigen M41 Bulldog with metal upgrade) has a lot of small bits such as grab rails, stowage brackets, etc that I plan to attach during the Xmas break, but once fitted these will (obviously) make it more difficult to handle, so I'd prefer to do any work needed to prepare the tank for it's first run beforehand, to prevent accidental damage.

Suggestions ?

I tend to charge the batteries and go. Once I know it works I take the smoker out, and that's about it: I am slowly painting a T34 and I'd suggest deciding what you want to do before sticking bits on.

When it comes to lubing the gears you will get lots of different suggestions,
My own is
"WD-40 Specialist Anti Friction DRY PTFE Lubricant",
It comes in a 400ml rattle can,
It has the distinct advantage of not "Throwing" oil/grease over the electrics which is the biggest failing of most of the alternatives.
It is not WD-40 but quite different so don't be palmed off with something different.
Do ensure there is oil in the Smoker NOT TOO MUCH
My first run of a Tank is done with the Tracks clear of a surface but you should secure the Tank from moving,
Then just run it through all of the systems before running it on the floor,
I would recommend that whenever you are not using your Tank you place it with the Tracks free of the ground, A full size Tank's springs can support it indefinitely a 1/16 Tanks springs will lose their tension over time if they have the imposed weight of the Tank on them constantly.
Shaun.

Thanks for the replies.

@ RobW - I'm thinking of running it without the smoker anyway because (IMHO) the smoke just drifting away from the exhausts rather than being expelled under pressure is unconvincing, though you could argue that some smoke is better than NO smoke. Before disconnecting I'll check the smoker works, though.

@ Shaun - Thanks for the lube recommendation. I was rather concerned about oil/grease getting thrown over the internals so the dry PTFE stuff will do the job nicely ! I can get it at the local Halfords too.

As I mentioned above, I intend to run the tank without the smoker, but I have to ask (for the times I DO use it); How much is too much ?
I read somewhere that just a couple of drops is enough, & that over filling causes damage to the unit, so what's a happy medium ?

Nice tip about doing the first run & checking the systems with the tank suspended, & storing it with it's weight off the tracks. The box looks like it will store it "off the ground" but if not I can get offcuts of a suitable foam sheet from work to adjust it, or even make a bespoke storage container from the same material.

finding out how much oil goes into a Heng Long Smoker is a bit like trying to discover how old my wife is
The accepted amount is 5 ml,
If you buy a bottle of Mega-Steam, Ian at
http://www.rctankelectronics.com
or
http://www.petersspares.com
can supply you with it and of course Dave at
www.forgebeartanks.com
It comes in a multitude of different smells including petrol and diesel,
The cap includes a pipette to fill up the smoker.
Shaun.

So I got the tank running over Xmas, all systems working & after lubing the gearbox etc with dry PTFE I soon had it trundling around the house. My Mrs reckons it's "scary".

The smoker is a bit mysterious but I think I got about the right amount of liquid in there. Not impressed with the smoke it makes but I'm putting that down to the supplied liquid being 'weak' ?
I wasn't intending to run the smoker much but I'll buy some of the stuff you recommended & if it churns out great asphyxiating clouds then I might change my mind.