RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I love this hobby because it's fun and gets me out of my head for better or worse and stokes my creative and artistic side. But what would life be without a little drama? And where is a good place to find drama?' Facebook of course

This guy posts this in an RC Tank group=



Familiar?

Sooo, curious that I was I check out the G.I. Tank & Model Smokers group=



H'mmm...

Flattered? Yes. But also concerned. Honestly I could care less if they repost a picture of my tanks. But I have an issue if my stuff is used in a misleading or dishonest way. That's it, that's really all I'm worried about. Here's the drama part.

I contact Mr. Steven Hunt and mention to him that those tanks do not have GI Smokers in them. I tell him the tank Smoking is a Heng Long running a Stock Heng Long Smoker.

within minutes he deletes the post and blocks me. Ok...

Then I post on the G.I. Smoker group and ask which smoker is in the Tiger tank they are displaying with their banner name on.

I get banned almost instantly and my post question removed.

But,they keep the picture up=


The picture is kind of out of context since the before and after pictures of RC tanks show their products.

Soooo you can see at this point that my work has slowed down quite a bit at the end of the summer

I strike up a concise email to their home web page explaining the situation=





And the picture? very likely a mistake, but definitely a misleading mistake. The situation on the other hand has been handled poorly. Turns out I know someone in the real world who is an acquaintance of the owner of G.I. Smokers and shared this situation with him as well. But I won't share his position just yet. We'll just see how this one turns out.

Well there it stands in all its misleading glory=


So,,, a little hobby world drama to mix it up a bit on a boring day.

Those jokers are just heads.
Nothing but resentment from me , and any way I can think of to ruin their B.S. worlds, I shall take it.

i recognised the tanks in the 1st picture and thought youd changed the smoker but thos idiots are using your pictures without consent
agree with mr bix they are heads

We banned the owner twice from this forum. Joined solely to promote his over priced tat.
He used to join in on conversations about smokers, acting like a customer of theirs, advising folks what to purchase.

Maybe it is time to blacklist this joker.



Overdue I reckon.
We have term for them down here

A dog-act/an F'n Dog

This guy's a Dog

UPDATE.

They removed my picture. But I found this out from a friend since I'm still banned and can't check myself.

Turns out another vendor in the community that I have good dealings with reached out to me when he saw my post and did a little investigating and middle man communication with GI smokers owner and made him aware of the situation. Whatever happens response wise remains to be seen. I certainly won't hold my breath.

There is way too much of this kinda crap from people these days. I can't fathom taking someone's pictures or IP and just using it without permission.

I note that they have named Mr Forgebear as an agent.
Wonder if Mr Bear is aware of the dishonest conduct.

HERMAN BIX wrote: ↑Sat Aug 23, 2025 6:01 am I note that they have named Mr Forgebear as an agent.
Wonder if Mr Bear is aware of the dishonest conduct.

I have shared this on Dave's FB page as well. But it still needs admin approval to post.

So, I was contacted by the owner Jeff last night.

The "IP Address" question is kinda weird IMO.




I'm debating if I want further communication.

Firstly they shouldn’t be using a photo of your tank on any group/forum/video without at the very least some sort of notification/permission. Even at shows 90% of the people who want photos and videos of our works ask. It’s just good manners if nothing else

Secondly. GI smokers are for me a copy of tarr, but much more expensive. The which in the GI smokers also is not as good in my opinion. The tarr uses a wick similar to what you would see in a paraffin lamp just smaller where as the GI uses what I can only describe as a bunch of candle wicks tied together with a steel garden tie.

All of my tanks run either a tarr or a home made conversion of a henglong where space is limited. Tarrs are much cheaper and the only issues I have ever had with them is in my bigger tanks that run 11v batteries and even then it’s just burning through the wick quicker than a 7.4 would. My HL conversions. Well quite simple. Cut the piston pump off your old style smokers and glue a laptop fan to it, then connect the fan to the existing wires.

Both are much cheaper than GI who after reading this post clearly have no clue on customer service and given their prices I would never buy one anyway