Introduction

[whitecitadel]

Seems an introdution is expected/requested so thought I better be polite and say hello.

Always been an RC fan since being a kid, when I bought my tamiya lunchbox (the original) I always used to covert the tanks at the back of the Tamiya catalogue that were hopelessly expensive to a schoolboy.

Last year I bought the kids a cheap "basher" car - amazing what you can get for the money these days - and I bought myself a crawler kit which satisfied my need to mechanically assembly (and customise) something as well as being a bit of fun to drive around the garden. The good thing with the crawler is that you don't need a lot of space (i.e. carpark or airfield), so you can eat and run around for 30 minutes in the garden on lunchbreak.

After looking at tanks last year and deciding I didn't want to spend more on RC at the time, I made a bit of an impulse purchase this week of a Heng Long Tiger 1 when I saw a good price (v7, with the metal tracks/gearbox). I like a lot of the RC tanks but went for the tiger because apart from always wanting one I have learned in RC that if you start with the popular option its easy to get sparts/spares/upgrades.

My plan at the moment is to run it around as is, then maybe think about how it drives and mechanicals, but later I am sure I will repaint it and do some "fix your new tank" mods and add some detailing.

Lots of info on the forum so just reading up at the moment, as the HL is still in the post, and just to add some colour and prove its been a bit of a long term obsession, here is a photo of the back of 131 I took in 2006 in case I ever needed it for reference.

[Jimster]

Welcome aboard and a most excellent introduction. Be sure to share photos of your upcoming Tiger. My favorite tank.

[Son of a gun-ner]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Go on, it looks like you enjoyed fulfilling the "requirement" of an introduction

The Tiger1 is quite the iconic beast.

I remember those days of drooling over Tamiya kits as a lad, although they were only 1/35th back then, so I got a paper round, and washed cars at a car hire place to pay for them. Those were the days.

Enjoy the forum.

[whitecitadel]

I have always wanted an RC tank, so I suppose in that sense I am "one of you" - but I don't really know anything either historically or how they run/drive so very much a novice in that sense.

There is something special about the Tamiya if your a certain age, I think as well its those drawings you use the get on the box and magazines - now its all redbull and go pro marketing and about jumping off a cliff

Loads of great info on the forum, but wary of falling onto the upgrade train too soon (but those metal chassis from Taigen look great and a direct for for the HL - must resist!)

[jarndice]

WC, Welcome to the Forum ,
As you say the Tiger 1 is very popular and Heng Longs mildly imperfect example is very good value for money and a good introduction to rc armour although the 7.0 board is not the best example, the 6.01 or the 7.01 being better performers,
There are more upgrades available for the Tiger 1 than for any other 1/16 rc Tank but I would suggest you do your research before you spend any money,
We will still be here when that time comes with dealer info and lots of hints and tips.

[tankme]

Welcome. Personally I don't see an issue with the 7.0 board unless you want to use servos which is really the only thing the 7.1 board gives you.

[whitecitadel]

So far my only issue with a brief test is that the controller is pretty low quality, by which the right hand stick keeps falling out, and it’s not very precise, the manual states you can make a moving turn halfway between forward/reverse and l/r but when reversing it suddenly goes into a spot turn.

As Jarndice politely said “cheap and mildly imperfect”, it seemed very toy like taking it out of the box but I can see after a good look that with some paint and the accessories tow cables and things attached it will likely look a lot better.

So far on carpet it seems a bit over-geared, could do with lower ratio for more torque and less speed. Already worked out how to set throttle to 70% max as it was way to fast - the one I have seems to be 7.0 and came with Lipo not a Nicad. Not tried grass but have doubts already, and notice the rather brief manual says do not use on grass!

Will have some fun to start with and look at the basics on the forum, I can see the attraction already of a decent controller and the aftermarket control units though! Compared to my crawler with decent ESC the Tiger lacks slow speed control.

Off to do some reading again…

[Herr Dr. Professor]

What a fine introduction, whitecitadel! I certainly approve of your approach as smart: initially stay "...wary of falling onto the upgrade train too soon," starting with the Tiger 1 so later there are dozens upon dozens of possibilities, and reading up on the real thing and the RC models. There's time enough to go broke on upgrades, more tanks, more tanks, more tanks... And as for the metal Taigen lower hull, here's my 2 cents worth. Keep the HengLong intact. Learn whether it is a "late," "mid-war," or "early" Tiger I. Then go for a metal Taigen (or Torro, same thing) Tiger one representing a different time of the war. That will give you a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each brand and two fine tanks on which, perhaps, later to try weathering, upgrades, modifications.

Above all, photos and questions are always welcome! Hello and Gute Jagd!

[EAO]

WC,

You've found the best place to learn, be motivated, and have fun! The guy's here are amazing, I don't think there is much that these guys couldn't figure out! I've learned more here than one can even imagine! I'd still be staring at a static "shelf queen" without the help of these guys!

Cheers,
Eric.