RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

The light weight of model tanks is part of the problem. Weighing them down helps to keep the jerking more realistic. The main dislike I have with the Heng Long motion is that the tank advances slightly after each shot if fired from a still position. Real tanks on the firing line that are stationary may buck a lot but the stay put in one place as they are normally fired with brakes on and in neutral. Without bakes on, even when in gear, the tank is pushed backward a bit.

greengiant wrote:The light weight of model tanks is part of the problem. Weighing them down helps to keep the jerking more realistic. The main dislike I have with the Heng Long motion is that the tank advances slightly after each shot if fired from a still position. Real tanks on the firing line that are stationary may buck a lot but the stay put in one place as they are normally fired with brakes on and in neutral. Without bakes on, even when in gear, the tank is pushed backward a bit.

I often wonder how much those old galleons heeled over when firing a full 30-gun broadside. I know tons of rocks were used as ballast in those old wooden warships, but maybe the armed ones carried more ballast than mercantile vessels, to act as a sort of 'brake'. Heeling over could be dangerous when firing and turning...especially with gun ports open. Just an incidenatal thought..
Perhaps we should put some lead weights on our tank floors, as tank ballast, eh? Tamiya provide cannon counterweights for their KT model, to retain some equilibrium when firing. Maybe they could add stick on weights to the floor as well. I've noticed from videos that their lighter models jerk more, but at least it's generally to the rear.

Painless First fitted foam sheet then poured stainless steel shot into the turret stowage box of his Tiger 1 to compensate for the weight of the retrofitted Aluminium main gun barrel,
Perhaps a similar solution would reduce the recoil in your piece de resistance.
Shaun.

jarndice wrote:Painless First fitted foam sheet then poured stainless steel shot into the turret stowage box of his Tiger 1 to compensate for the weight of the retrofitted Aluminium main gun barrel,
Perhaps a similar solution would reduce the recoil in your piece de resistance.
Shaun.

That man is becoming a legend .. yes, perhaps it would Shaun, although at this juncture I'm not sure which particular project will be my piece de resistance. I'm slowly becoming an RC project octopus though..
Ah...but women are better at multi-tasking than men I've read . Hard cheese for me, then.

Kevin of rctanks Australia made the ATRC unit (Anti-Track recoil Circuit) specifically to stop track recoil on HL/Taigen models. Here's his install video, which also includes a before- and- after segment showing the effect of the ATRC unit on
a KV-1.
Personally, I think a modicum of track jerk is better than none. Otherwise there's no drama in the cannon shot, apart from brief flash of light- especially in tanks with no barrel recoil. (Tamiya Sherman 105mm for example)

Also note his penchant for detergents in the background

Also note his penchant for detergents in the background

Isn't that weedkiller??

greengiant wrote:The light weight of model tanks is part of the problem. Weighing them down helps to keep the jerking more realistic. The main dislike I have with the Heng Long motion is that the tank advances slightly after each shot if fired from a still position. Real tanks on the firing line that are stationary may buck a lot but the stay put in one place as they are normally fired with brakes on and in neutral. Without bakes on, even when in gear, the tank is pushed backward a bit.

Buying a mostly metal tank makes a big difference.
Once I had bought a Torro/Taigen metal Tiger, I sold my HL plastic ones, the recoil and ridiculous speed of the tanks spoiled the realism of the tank compared to when it was static as a model.
Even in the heavier metal tanks, a light touch on the controller is advisable if you want your tank to look real.

The recoil on my Torro Tiger 205 is spot on.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR6jiY2KUgo

wibblywobbly wrote:

Also note his penchant for detergents in the background

Isn't that weedkiller??

I think 'Resolve' is a stain remover (detergent)..and .the others look a bit blurry. I thought the only weeds they had in Australia were the England Test Match batting line up.. ( I do stress Test Match though)

Tiggr wrote:

greengiant wrote:The light weight of model tanks is part of the problem. Weighing them down helps to keep the jerking more realistic. The main dislike I have with the Heng Long motion is that the tank advances slightly after each shot if fired from a still position. Real tanks on the firing line that are stationary may buck a lot but the stay put in one place as they are normally fired with brakes on and in neutral. Without bakes on, even when in gear, the tank is pushed backward a bit.

Buying a mostly metal tank makes a big difference.
Once I had bought a Torro/Taigen metal Tiger, I sold my HL plastic ones, the recoil and ridiculous speed of the tanks spoiled the realism of the tank compared to when it was static as a model.
Even in the heavier metal tanks, a light touch on the controller is advisable if you want your tank to look real.

The recoil on my Torro Tiger 205 is spot on.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR6jiY2KUgo

Couldn't agree more Tiggr. But the extra weight then brings it's own unique set of challenges, especially with an under strength drive train (Including motors and ESCs). Personally, though,i could never understand why some contributors here want to turn their tanks into dragsters, like this one: The British Scorpion was known for its speed; so that wouldn't look odd racing across the garden. Even an ungoverned Cromwell could hit 40mph, and one was known to jump a canal in WW2 to escape a Tiger..
But, you really shouldn't see a King Tiger doing the 'traffic lights Grand Prix' thing. It really should crawl.
My Torro KY almost gave me a hernia. Luckily the right choice of suspension, and drive upgrades, have left it fairly dependable. Proportional speed is King with model tanks. Any deviation from that turns the model into a toy..and we don't play with toys.

Well I will chime in here with my own experiences. In Viet Nam we Marines had an odd little critter called the "Ontos". It had 6 106 recoilless, yeah right, rifles mounted on it. I t was great for the country as it was light enough it could cross rice paddies without sinking in. And the 106's had a flechette round that was most impressive.You wanted fire superiority a couple barrels of needle like darts flung with precision into the area where we were taking fire and the fight was over. It would kill so quick the victims rarely bled. Shredded would be more the term I would use. And yeah the vehicle would recoil to a small degree. What I noticed more was the amount of dust kicked up around the pig.

I was in the last Marine beach assault being directly supported by the USS New Jersey. And it moved in the water as a broadside went off.Most impressive. Those of us heading for the beach in Amtracs were very impressed. Watch any WW-II film of a Marine beach assault in the Island campaigns and seeing the results on shore while offshore lent us to believe nothing could have survived. We were badly disappointed by the significant lack of damage. One little farmer had his garden damaged by the fire. The craters were most impressive though. But the ship would moved a couple of feet in the water when it fired.

Tanks would also recoil from firing. My problem with the 1/16 scale is that it always moves backwards. And if I am shooting towards the rear it would need to move forward. The M-1 Abrams doesn't tend to recoil as a unit. I was part of the senior infantry staff that witnessed its debut up at Ft. Lewis. And at 60 mph it could shoot, and hit, whatever it was aiming at. At a standstill it doesn't move but a tiny amount due to the superb recoil system in the main battery and how it handles the recoil.

So for me, if I want realism I want the tank to move, just not in any specific direction. A stiff shake would be much more appropriate. And the road dust that accumulates on tanks makes for a nice dust storm. THAT is the real truth about a tank firing. And yeah I am thinking it would near knock your butt off the rear deck.

Just my .02 centavos!!
Be well,
Steve