Imex-Erik

So recently I got some more help around the office and even got permission to do a few custom builds (which I never have time for these days!) and was thinking about doing a very few limited run custom builds for people. My specialty is in the electronics area and the upgrade would consist of an aftermarket board, upgraded gearboxes, custom wiring, and a full setup on the transmitter. It would come as a new tank with some of my touch-ups. I was wondering a few things before I start and was wondering if I could get a few opinions....

• The tank will have an Open Panzer board installed as well as beefy car ESCs or possibly a Sabertooth. I personally don't think a Sabertooth is needed and some regular old waterproof car ESCs should be plenty, but how many of you would actually want one? The price difference is considerable between the options and would add at least an extra $50 on the bill. As I'm not planning on doing a bunch I can't get a good deal on just a handful of them, but ESCs we have here and the cost savings will reflect that.
• The tank will also have a Taigen sound card in it. This is both the cheapest and easiest option here, not really sure if anyone will want a Benedinni but if you do then speak up so I can see the numbers or interest at least.
• Do you want FPV? While I'm at it, wiring a PDB with a filtered 5V out or adding a LC filter wouldn't be too difficult at all. I can run the wires and leave a connector for you to run the rest of the way. I might also be able to include a FPV camera, but due to legal reasons it will be limited at 25mW as you need a HAM license to operate anything higher on 5.8GHz. You can either get a filtered 5V or filter battery voltage for the cam. I will wire the filtered voltage and add a plug on it for you or you can use 5V from the OP board as well and use the AUX switch to turn on/off the power as long as the VTX and camera do not draw too much power.
• Airsoft or Infrared? Also what tanks? Painted or Unpainted?
• Transmitters/Receivers.... Ok so here the options get a bit slim, but only because I trust these two brands and the cost is acceptable for the features.... The FlySky i6S or the FRSky X-Lite as transmitter options. The FlySky is going to be a lot cheaper AND have better firing buttons (two press buttons on the back, one for MG and one for cannon) while the FRSky X-Lite is going to have a better form factor, RF link, and features. I am comfortable with these two brands and have used them both over the years and am pretty familiar with the systems. FlySky is super simple while FRSky is way more advanced and has a steeper learning curve. Either way they will be setup out of the box and need no adjustments, turn on and go. Both of these systems include diversity receivers and 100% for sure I can get the FRSky to notify you of a low battery on your tank and most likely can on your FlySky to at least display the voltage from your tank as well.
• These tanks WILL require a big battery. You will need a 5000mAh NIMH 7.2V battery, 2S 7.4V Lipo, or possibly even a 3S 11.1V Lipo (3S is only if it is a fast tank, speed limits will be adjusted of course). Out of curiosity how many of you guys actually have Lipos? I'm not asking how many have and use them in your tanks, I just mean in general, do you have at least x1 2S/3S Lipo and a charger that *might* fit the tanks?
• I do not have any plans to add anything like servo rotation or elevation at this time, but if provided with a 3D print I might change my mind (and even include something nice for you if you do) but it must be YOUR print, not someone else's print. If you are interested in sharing an open source file for the community I will also reward this as well separately or with your build. We could all use an open source file for rotation and elevation Please contact me in PM if you are interested in this.

I still don't have anything set in stone or dates. Heck I still don't even know how many I'm even gonna have time for but I'm gonna do a handful at least. No paint options will be available but minor upgrades will be no biggie while I'm at it too. Any thoughts on what you would like to see would be great!

Pcomm1.v2

Imex-Erik

Shermans will be back right around Xmas. We had a few hiccups this year with ordering, tariffs, and new laws enabled so things got a bit behind. However we will be in full swing right around Xmas time and have tons of plans for next year including bringing the Waltersons line to full swing around Q2'ish (please don't quote me on that, that is just the estimated timeline) with 24th scale tanks and the 16th is coming along as well. I wish I could share some of the info I am given but I cannot until I am told I can share. Just remember, EVERYTHING in the 1/16th Waltersons is new.... NOTHING is shared from other manufacturers

I'm most curious about the transmitter choice though. Would you rather have a less comfortable radio with better button placement or a better fitting in your hand radio that cost a bit more?

Pcomm1.v2

Imex-Erik

Yea the buttons are great and already installed. I think it would also be easier to work with if something needs to be changed or another model added. The FRSky is a bit much but having the ability to make custom sound packs and assigning to switches is always nice too...

Crius

This sounds like a really great idea, Erik. You already know that I use lipos and have the proper chargers for them. With me buying a resin printer I don't think I'll have the money for one of these tanks but I still think it's a great idea and I think guys should take advantage of it. As for your radio question, I vote for the i6. It's a well-known radio that a lot of guys are familiar with and if you can add fire buttons to that I think it would be a great thing. I might even be interested in just a radio with the extra buttons added.

Again, I think this is a great project so if there's anything I can do to help just let me know. I'm not sure what you wanted guys to provide a 3D print for, maybe the servo holders? At any rate, if we come up with an STL file I'll be more than happy to print these things for any Forum members that need them.

Imex-Erik

Yes it would be great to get a community approved and designed servo adapters for rotation or an elevation system for the turrets. This way everyone could have access to them (including manufacturers/shop owners) and print them or customers themselves. The more demand we get for servos and servo related things the better IMO.

RC_BobM

Would you consider giving assistance on larger scale models? Im not so great at the electronics - esp all the new boards, sound cards etc.
Bob

ThomasJW

When it comes to the electronics is there a real difference between 1/6 and 1/16? I'm on a parallel track here and have a longing eye at what the electronics will be for a 1/6 Sherman. I could see myself stripping my Tamiya 1/16 Sherman of the electronics and applying it to the 1/6 Sherman but then I'm left with a useless 1/16 Sherman. Better to find a MFU that would do the same ...the Clark TK22 board looks promising.

Crius

Did you check out the way I used an IBU for my 1/6 Hetzer? I use a sabertooth for motor control, but the IBU provides a lot of the rest, like sound, machine gun traverse and flash, and it even pulls the trigger on the .50 caliber paintball cannon.

For a tank like the Dragon Sherman, you could use an IBU with a 3S lipo and not have to use the sabertooth. It would be just like wiring a 1/16 tank, but you'd want to use the servo features on the IBU for both elevation and traverse, and you'd want bigger servos than you use in 16th. With the TPA amp and two four inch speakers (the Sherman will have plenty of room for them, just like my Hetzer) you'll get awesome sound, and the RVC will give you volume control from the TX. If you have the channels you can easily make the bow MG servo operated, and use the flash circuit from the IBU. If I ever pop for one of the Dragon tanks, it will be the IBU I use to control it. But just one thing, I won't use the IBU that's currently available until they sort out the momentum issue. The Hetzer uses an IBU2 Pro, and hopefully they'll have the momentum thing sorted soon. I know a lot of guys that won't buy the current IBU because of that built in momentum that can't be disabled. What was Ivano thinking?

Rad_Schuhart

Hi Erik, I would not buy one kit like this because IMHO building, wiring and painting is the funniest part of the hobby, but of course I understand some people has no time or skills for doing it, so it might be a great opportunity for them.

Answering one of your questions, I use hard case lipos, about 5.000 Mah.

Regarding the servo mounts, some days ago I found this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2103220

Im desperatelly looking for a servo mount for barrel elevation and recoil in Tamiya tanks by the way. If somebody can print them would be amazing.

I am also interested in installing FPV to some of my vehicles. What would you use for it?

philipat

I'm with Rad in that I like to build my own. That said, custom builds like yours show what can be done and give me options.

What I would really like is the option to buy the tanks unpainted. I can start from scratch and do my detailing from there.

tankme

Thomas,

For larger models I wouldn't recommend the Clark because I think the onboard ESCs are too small for larger tanks. The IBU can use an external ESC and so can the TCB Open Panzer board. I have found the TCB doesn't like my Vantec RDFR36E ESC, but I don't need the board to control it. I just connected it directly to the receiver and it seems to work well that way. I lose some of the "tuning" of the TCB movement that way, but the Vantec has a lot of options already via jumpers. Haven't tried it with my IFI Victor ESCs yet. When the TCB is connected to the Vantec, one of the tracks is always moving even with no stick input. Trimming the radio makes things worse. I have tried all the settings on the TCB to get rid of it, but it still does it. Connect the Vantec to the receiver and all the issues go away. I even swapped in a different TCB and the track movement is still there. Played with all the jumper settings on the Vantec also...no dice.

maillemaker

I don't use lipos after all the scare stories here.

Steve

Imex-Erik

As mentioned below I don't see too much help really needed there. Anything that can accept a hobby grade receiver will work with any scale really, you just have to be creative on how you drive that component. I personally really like the TCB due to the passthroughs, but I'm pretty sure the new IBU has these features too though as I have only the older IBU2 I'm not fully up to date on that one. The OP board however has worked flawlessly for the tanks I have installed them in but I do understand a lot of the wiring can be a pain. This run will gauge interest in aftermarket boards and the direction I'm gonna try and steer bossman next year. So far I've already had a few emails and it does look good
Yea the software, wiring, and cable management is my specialty. I figure add my specialty and let the real painters do the rest The model building crowd is really starting to fade out, when it comes to kits vs RTRs the numbers don't even compare. Almost all RC is like that these days, one of the last few remaining DIY hobbies from scratch are planes and drones (not those crappy DJI quads, REAL ones that do 80+mph in less than 2 seconds). Even RC cars are almost all RTR.
Glad to hear another Lipo user is there I might just toss in a 5000mAh battery or leave it up to the user. I carry around at least 10-20 with me at all times (today I'm in the 15ish, testing new video receiver today) and bossman makes me go back to the warehouse if I forget my lipo bag. He has seen a few scares here from samples we get but we are setup for issues if there ever is one. I think this part I will leave an option for a NIMH battery or none to save a few bucks or possibly a charger instead of a battery.
For what I would do with FPV, mostly it is to enjoy myself. I have some strange things I'm into.... I do lots of long range stuff after all I've been talking with a friend on a long range mission for one of the tanks. So far I've got around 200m on 25mW with CP antennas with little to no breakup, but I'm thinking with the right setup and 800mW-1W I should be able to get a decent amount of range I also run 900MHz at around 250mW so my range is pretty crazy With that kind of power I can run my missions from inside the house or in the car as I like to do in the summer.
This I can work on. What tanks would you like to see most?
I think the Clark is plenty fine for large models, just run a Y-cable from the RX to the Clark board and don't connect the motor outputs. Then on the other split of the Y-cable you can hook it up to some ESCs then that way the Clark will still make the sounds but the other ESCs will drive it. I think this is where I can offer the most help. ESCs, motors, wiring, etc.... this stuff is cake to me. I build at least 1-2 racing quads a week that absolutely dwarf our tanks in complexity for electronics setup. I want to see if I can bring some of my drone experience over to the tank industry. The tank industry is too far behind in terms of hardware. I would like to see some of that change next year whether it be on a larger or smaller scale.

Oh and also I did print that Leopard part a while ago, couldn't get it to fit since HL changed the mold from the last time that was worked on. But yea if someone wanted to work on a universal file for everyone I would make the reward worth it for sure If not I'll look into it in Q1 next year, right now my printer pretty full for the next few weeks with some jobs and it is kinda busy at work atm.

philipat

Tanks available that are unpainted...

On a personal note, I'd prefer to see the Tiger I and II and the Panther, just because they are the next in line that I plan to build. But, generally speaking, I'd prefer to be able to get all the tanks unpainted.

Imex-Erik

The painted and unpainted is something I have wanted to do for a while. I actually started the kit section as a response to that. I made a few of the requested tanks available in part form (not kit form like the T1) which includes the major parts minus the motherboard and gearboxes. I figured any way to save a few bucks would be better, most likely these kit tanks are build for battling and they would just remove the stock motherboard and repaint it anyways. I actually have both Panther kits in stock now but I have the winter tracks instead of the normal tracks so if you don't mind the winter tracks then you can actually pick up both Panther kits now and the KT is available in BB atm on the site too. I'll keep working on this

Thanks all for the comments, I'm always happy to listen and work on ways to better serve you guys! As a bonus I've decided to go with the FS-i6S for the transmitters, it should be super simple to set one up for use with other motherboards or even the stock Taigen board if you want. It is cheap and has tons of features

MAUS45

Do the Panther F steel road wheels have bearings?

Thanks,
Rudy

philipat

Thanks. I'll have a look.

Imex-Erik

No, just checked them
No problem, if you want a set of the winter tracks let me know and I'll change the listing or modify it at least. Darn Black Friday is driving me nuts.... I do the advertising around here too and between Google, Facebook, and Amazon I'm about ready for this holiday to be over before it even starts!