RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hello all. I'm hoping you can help me identify a prop from a film. It could be a high-end r/c tank or it could be a cheap toy... that's what I'm hoping to narrow down.

The film is Toys (1992) and it included these toy tanks:



Ignore everything above the tracks; the tanks are of course made up by the prop department, but I do know that 1) they were radio-controlled, and 2) they were made on top of a commercially-bought chassis. It would be very helpful if anybody could give me any clues to what that base model might have been.

So here's a nice side view of the prop, showing that the tracks are about fourteen inches. Do you know what scale that would make it - best guess?



Also, can you make any assumptions from the layout of the wheels? Five large wheels plus one idler at the front (although it appears that the idler is actually the one providing the power here?). Does that match any real-life tank you know?

This next one shows the back end. There is a jack socket there (more on that in the next photo) but I don't know if this was existing or if the prop people added it. It does show the tracks nicely though, if that helps. Do they look anything like real-life tracks, or is it definitely a toy?



Don't worry too much about the big stars on the wheels - I'm assuming they were added. In the film it's meant to look like a toy tank. Or, they might have come as stock on the tanks they purchased. I just don't know.

And the last photo is gold dust - the inside!



Does that ring any bells? Any clues to the manufacturer? It does appear that the aforementioned jack leads to a cable for charging, but I don't know if that would have come as standard.

So that's the story. As I said, it might have been a cheap toy or an expensive kit - but the fact that production had three dozen of them driving around leads me to think they might have been sure to buy something reliable? Can anyone help? Any little clues - "oh, that's a Tamiya chassis", or "five wheels, it's probably a Russian..." Whatever the model was, it had to be available in America around the start of the nineties.

I'm sorry if this is not really what the forum is for, but I hoped it might be interesting to some of you at least. Thank you very much in advance, and have a nice weekend.

My first thought was T34 but it lacks a Sprocket/Idler anyone else going to point out the blindingly obvious?

jarndice wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:27 pm My first thought was T34 but it lacks a Sprocket/Idler anyone else going to point out the blindingly obvious?

My money is on it more likely being from a robotics shop/store.
Now that is a minefield of track etc variations.
Looking at and under the lower hull, it doesn't look anything like an RC tank.
It's more likely from a robotics supplier.

The socket is probably a charging port.

jarndice wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:27 pm My first thought was T34 but it lacks a Sprocket/Idler anyone else going to point out the blindingly obvious?

Do all (real-life) tanks have idlers at both ends? Because if that's the case, then this becomes less realistic and more likely to have been a toy. Which is still good information.

Also, please do point out the blindingly obvious?

The usual configuration is a Sprocket,Wheels and sometime Rollers and an Idler.
Depending on where the engine and gearbox are located usually determines the location of the sprocket but by no means always, with an idler at the other end BUT there are a multitude of variations.

If you flip it over, any markings on the bottom? They love to put their company name there.

Sadly the photographs aren't mine, just whatever I could find online. Good suggestion though, thank you.

So that's a sprocket, not an idler? That makes sense. I'm learning!

If you look at the top photo you posted, you can see little tooth-like things sticking into the open centers of the tracks. Those are the teeth of the sprocket that (is supposed to) securely engage the tracks turning them.
I certainly agree with Sun of a Gunner. For ID help, you might want to fine a nearby robot maker store (there's even one in Podunk, Wisconsin, six miles from where I live in the woods). Someone there might be able to identify the lower hull--maybe even most of the toy.

I don't know if this helps. But this is what I found

https://propstore.com/product/toys-1992/tommy-tank/

Cheers

Wade

$2700 for the "battle damaged" one! That's a couple of tamiyas for a Tommy.