RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Tamiya scale series NO.41
This originally is a motorized single motor APC with on\off switch for forward direction motor control as from the factory in Japan in 1974.
In this thread the model is first setup in stock configuration but with a Radio Control forward\reverse with the single motor gearbox.

Then after chassis is running good with tracks staying on the model and such it will be converted to 2 channel dual motor Radio Remote Control.

Just got this a while ago. 1974 vintage kit. I had a tough time getting it to run because it came with the wrong gear box I managed to modify the incorrect gearbox and got it going. These are very rare kits (#41) So I decided to keep it and work with what was there. While working with this kit that I noticed it had a date (1974) on the bottom of the hull. Surprised I never noticed these kits have a year code. Not all just ones from the 70's and maybe the 60's. I have two other Tamiya models with a 1970 year casting.

This is a single motor kit with on\off switch. My first Tamiya kit with single motor. I set it up with a RRC throttle in this video.

It is not finished yet just a running bare bones kit at this point. I may modify it into a dual motor RRC.


Video of this thing running.
https://youtu.be/H_lUSlChTdg

Sorry video was lost. I will do another and post it here ASAP.

I bought this NATO M113 Track kit about 15 years ago and thought I could use them for something...Well, I can use them on this model as that is what they are for!

I think this track kit was for use on static model M113 but I will let everyone know if they actually work in a motorize version.

Decided today to make this APC dual motor RRC. There are several ways to do this but Tamiya's all metal dual gearbox (GB) is the prefered way to go.

Well my dual motor conversion was a total success. The twin motor GB used came from a Tamiya 1/35 Japan type 90, I am just borrowing it for now I have had that model over 20 years and never finished it and I like this little APC right now

I will post a video of it ASAP. It works very well and I wonder if anyone else has converted one of these to twin motor GB. Probably not.

Anyway it will make a nice addition to my collection. I may put the single motor GB that came with the APC (M113) in something else. That GB was really for a M41 or M42 Tank and was the wrong GB for the M113.

The all metal gearbox used here is from vintage 1974 Tamiya Type 74 Tank and uses the round RE-140 motors. These are slightly more powerful than 130 motors. The RE-140 motors used in this project are special 6v low speed high torque series. Can not remember exactly where I got them.

Looking forward to the video. I haven’t seen much RC 1/35 armor but you are really good at it.

More work done on the M113 APC. In this phase the body will be assembled along with the custom wiring using the factory on\off switch.

A 1s 130mah lipo will be used for power. 6v motors rewired with noise limiting capacitors and micro polarized connectors. 2 Channel 27mhz micro receiver with programmable throttle hold (analog).

With the twin motor GB, this will be a fully functional RRC APC with FWD,REV,L,R Steering with throttle hold timer for hands off operation with a setpoint via adjustable potentiometer on the TX.

This is a s far as I got today. More Tomorrow

I believe you have the dark arts of the RC 1/35 armor mastered. I’ve watched some YouTube videos in 1/35 and I’m impressed. Carry on!

Jimster wrote:I believe you have the dark arts of the RC 1/35 armor mastered. I’ve watched some YouTube videos in 1/35 and I’m impressed. Carry on!

Thank you Sir, I have been working with this scale for a long time and have only recently went to a new level in my work on RRC 1/35. This little Bug is one of my favorites and is in the top 2 models 1/35 I have built. I like the hidden factory switch that allows me to power up at any time and leave the lipo cell in the model. This APC uses so little current that it can run off the tiny 1s lipo for a good while. this keeps the APC lite weight and will last a good while before any work needs done. I have had ones like this run 20+ years without a breakdown. Of course my 1/35 models don't play in the dirt or outside at all. They are just too fragile for that type of operation. However, they can be run in a very small space. Nice for rainy days and mondays.

I did some video of the APC running up a 30° incline bridge but decided to finish the model aesthetically before posting a video. Got most of it done today and now trying to figure out which decal set to go with. I am favoring the German decals on this one.

Here is a short video of the M113 on my workbench. https://youtu.be/4hFd8mnA5OI

This model runs slow and scale like due to the 6v motors. With Stock 3v motors, it would be twice the speed or more. The motors can be changed out and if fact, the whole model comes apart quite easily for service\repair if needed.

Its small and scale like in speed so it can be run in a very small space. This thing is now my favorite little bug

That has better slow speed track control than some 1/16 stuff I’ve seen! I vote for the German decals.

I just ordered another one except the newest one is not motorized and I have a few ideas for that.