RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

EDIT 08.07.2024: New video!



In many ocasions you have all seen me saying that all the models need lights and sounds, no matter how small they are. Some say it is not possible or it is too complicated. Some other guys when Rcing the vehicles think they have to remove any detailed interior at best, or to attach big trailers, or create huge stowing things in the roof which not always look good.

I always said that is not needed, but I have never showed how to... Until now:
This is a VW beetle, 1/16. In the front part is the servo steering, and in the rear is the motor with the huge stock gearbox. In one side you can see a small 2 euros ESC, and in front of it, a 4 ch receiver with a benedini sound. At the moment of that picture the benedini and receiver were not fully wired, but now they are.

So far this vehicle has:
Headlights, short beams.
Headlights, long beams.
Working combined rear and brake lights.
Indicators and warning blinkers.
Interior lights.

And sounds. Fully motor sounds, horn, and my own voice shouting the usual traffic jam things in german.

In the case of this beetle, it came with a huge 5 AA battery box which was removed, and the entire floor was epoxied giving more resistence and the needed weight. Now a tamiya figure can be propperly placed in the driver position and a smaller battery can be fitted under the rear seats.

Imagine what you guys can do with bigger things like any WPL/JJRC truck...

Any question I will be glad to help!

Watching this one develop with interest Rad, looks like you will spend more time flipping switches than actually driving it

Cheers, Lee.

Model Builder 4 wrote:Watching this one develop with interest Rad, looks like you will spend more time flipping switches than actually driving it

Cheers, Lee.

Wait, does it need to drive?

LOL

This is what l do on all my WPL and subsequent trucks. It doubles the cost but that's still a bargain for what you end up with. It's great fun making just about anything work and with sounds (l've not tried voices yet!) and since you can save lots of models to a cheap Flysky radio system and then use cheap sequencial multiple switches per channel, all those added functions can be easily accommodated.

Cheap models can be very much improved but l do struggle at times with cheap suspension systems. Typically, the supplied leaf springs give the vehicle more of a pogo stick ride! Dampers help, as does extra weight, but it's not easy. Do you find this too?

Great thread btw.

A fine suspension is always an issue, sure it does. This Käfer has none, so it will be mainly an indoor runner. My experience with the WPL trucks is limited so far. Plan is to make a tanker truck, with the tank full of water and a pump that pumps it at my will but I´ve found the weak suspension is definitelly an issue that needs to be ironed out. So many ideas, and so little time and money, lol...

I agree on the suspension issue guys, I think that the main problem is the weight of the actual vehicle itself. As most of the vehicles bodies are plastic and very lightweight it offers no resistance once the suspension has compressed so when it rebounds it just pogos as GJ said , maybe adding some extra wait to the vehicle could help dampen the effect so to speak?

Cheers, Lee.

Model Builder 4 wrote:I agree on the suspension issue guys, I think that the main problem is the weight of the actual vehicle itself. As most of the vehicles bodies are plastic and very lightweight it offers no resistance once the suspension has compressed so when it rebounds it just pogos as GJ said , maybe adding some extra wait to the vehicle could help dampen the effect so to speak?

Cheers, Lee.

Yes, some weight definitelly helps. But not a lot or the suspension springs will be too compressed and wont work. You have to find the equilibrium.

It is a bit like the RC planes, sometimes they need some more weight in the nose or in the tail, but if you add too much it wont fly.

The early Heng Long/WPL trucks came with spare leaves for the suspension (I do not know if they still do) It is worth attaching these to the existing springs to beef them up.
Of course you could start spending real money and fit proper working dampers but you are getting into expense and engineering which is missing the point of these trucks.
At the moment decently designed and built trucks with quality components are not to be found in 1/16.
For that you have to go to 1/14, 1/12 and 1/10 but check with your bank manager first

But surely the point of these trucks for us is that they offer a 1/16 model of a vehicle that we can use. That means that the toy price point that they ask makes it possible for us to purchase knowing full well that we will be binning the stock electronics and fitting hobby grade parts. This we happily do BUT sorting out the toy grade suspension is not so easy.

I think that Tamiya has resolved the problem on their 1/14 trucks as the two l own move very realistically. These are heavy, use decent dampers, often oil filled and less springy leaf spring metals.

Sorry Rad, back to Your thread topic!!