1st RC Tank, but long time RC addict
05-01-2014, 09:11 PM
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1st RC Tank, but long time RC addict
What's up fellow tankers?! It's been a while since I loast posted on here. I have been heavily involved in RC planes, EDF jets, helicopters, and off-road cars and trucks (electric and nitro) for over 25 years. After getting hooked on the World of Tanks game, I decided to take the leap into RC tanks.
I just purchased my first RC tank, a 1/16 Taigen King Tiger airsoft edition. Out of the box I was impressed with the size, weight, and detail of the Taigen King Tiger. I know it is not 100% scale and I am fine with that, since I will mainly be using it around the yard.
After adding the accessories, I charged the battery to test it out in my garage and front yard. After approximately 10 minutes of use, I noticed the tank kept pulling hard right and would struggle to traverse left or right. I brought it to my workbench and noticed that the right track could be moved with little resistance, while it was hard to move the left track. I went ahead and took the upper hull off and noticed that 2 gears had stripped on the right drive unit. I also noticed that when I fired the airsoft gun, the BB's would barely leave the end of the barrel 1/2 the time.
The next morning I called Taigen USA and spoke with Erik. Erik was extremely helpful and sent me a replacement set of drive units and a new airsoft unit. I proceeded to replace the drive units, only to realize the wrong ones were sent (the drive axels were too short). I emailed Erik and he confirmed that the wrong drive units were accidently sent to me. He sent out the correct drive units immediately (they arrived today). Erik has been excellent to work with. I wish there were more people like him in the hobby industry.
I am aware that most people think the Tigen/Heng Long tanks aren't "hobby grade". I disagree completely. I have had many "hobby grade" (read expensive) RC vehicles (planes, helis, and trucks) that required mods of some sort right out of the box. I love working on my RC vehicles and did not hesitate to open up my King Tiger to repair it.
I plan on upgrading to a Clark board, steel drive units, and a real 2.4 ghz transmitter/receiver. I really hate the Mode 1 method for control. With the Clark board is it possible to have the left stick used for driving duties, the right stick used for turret rotation and barrel elevation, and a seperate switch used for firing the gun?
Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
I just purchased my first RC tank, a 1/16 Taigen King Tiger airsoft edition. Out of the box I was impressed with the size, weight, and detail of the Taigen King Tiger. I know it is not 100% scale and I am fine with that, since I will mainly be using it around the yard.
After adding the accessories, I charged the battery to test it out in my garage and front yard. After approximately 10 minutes of use, I noticed the tank kept pulling hard right and would struggle to traverse left or right. I brought it to my workbench and noticed that the right track could be moved with little resistance, while it was hard to move the left track. I went ahead and took the upper hull off and noticed that 2 gears had stripped on the right drive unit. I also noticed that when I fired the airsoft gun, the BB's would barely leave the end of the barrel 1/2 the time.
The next morning I called Taigen USA and spoke with Erik. Erik was extremely helpful and sent me a replacement set of drive units and a new airsoft unit. I proceeded to replace the drive units, only to realize the wrong ones were sent (the drive axels were too short). I emailed Erik and he confirmed that the wrong drive units were accidently sent to me. He sent out the correct drive units immediately (they arrived today). Erik has been excellent to work with. I wish there were more people like him in the hobby industry.
I am aware that most people think the Tigen/Heng Long tanks aren't "hobby grade". I disagree completely. I have had many "hobby grade" (read expensive) RC vehicles (planes, helis, and trucks) that required mods of some sort right out of the box. I love working on my RC vehicles and did not hesitate to open up my King Tiger to repair it.
I plan on upgrading to a Clark board, steel drive units, and a real 2.4 ghz transmitter/receiver. I really hate the Mode 1 method for control. With the Clark board is it possible to have the left stick used for driving duties, the right stick used for turret rotation and barrel elevation, and a seperate switch used for firing the gun?
Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
05-02-2014, 10:01 AM
#2
Your not alone EZ, as Beautiful as Tamiya kits are they have their issues as well(mainly price). Don't worry about the elitest out there, If done right you can have a reliable, battleable tank for half the price. Taigens are merely HL's with all the Asiatam(now called Taigen) upgrades and are probably the best value for money out there. As far as the gearboxes go, steel is a definite must especially for bigger tanks like yours, if your running metal tracks, but a simple fix you can do that will definitely add some life to the standard zinc gearboxes is to install some flanged bearings in the hull where the output shafts come through the lower hull. Steel gearboxes will still have the same "slop" on the output shafts as any other HL gearboxes(shimming will help), but won't cure the whole problem and will need bearings anyways. For $6 on eBay and some careful sanding you can get a set of rubber sealed flanged bearings(8mm ID x 12mmOD x 4mm) to fit perfect and you'll be good to go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4PXjPrqDCI (steel gearboxes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4PXjPrqDCI (steel gearboxes)
Last edited by DirtyBird69; 05-02-2014 at 10:05 AM.
05-02-2014, 01:23 PM
#3
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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Your not alone EZ, as Beautiful as Tamiya kits are they have their issues as well(mainly price). Don't worry about the elitest out there, If done right you can have a reliable, battleable tank for half the price. Taigens are merely HL's with all the Asiatam(now called Taigen) upgrades and are probably the best value for money out there. As far as the gearboxes go, steel is a definite must especially for bigger tanks like yours, if your running metal tracks, but a simple fix you can do that will definitely add some life to the standard zinc gearboxes is to install some flanged bearings in the hull where the output shafts come through the lower hull. Steel gearboxes will still have the same "slop" on the output shafts as any other HL gearboxes(shimming will help), but won't cure the whole problem and will need bearings anyways. For $6 on eBay and some careful sanding you can get a set of rubber sealed flanged bearings(8mm ID x 12mmOD x 4mm) to fit perfect and you'll be good to go!
I can't believe it took me so long to find out how much fun these tanks can be.
Last edited by ez2bgman; 05-02-2014 at 02:50 PM.
05-02-2014, 03:18 PM
#4
Also forgot to mention, don't use the bb's included with the tank...they are garbage and will ruin your airsoft unit! Purchase some quality bb's from an airsoft gun store, they will be much better quality and shoot better. Personally I prefer 1.5-2.0 grams. The 1.2's that come with tank are a little light and go off target a little to easy
