Originally Posted by
pcsguy88
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a heavy tank too, but I have a KV-1 on asiatam metal hull and asiatam brass gears that can't even turn in the grass or move up a 10 degree incline. It also bottoms out the torsion suspension in the last 3 roadwheels sitting still. Nothing fun about that. All of my recommendations are based on stock electronics and keeping your tank to a reasonable $400 level for a first tank. Like I said, I cannot wait to see what it takes electronics, gear and motor wise to get the 15lb Leopard hull moving along at an acceptable rate. I stopped buying metal tracks when I realized a well broken in set of plastic ones will droop just as well and metal roadwheels with birdshot in the hull gives them the realistic ride we all crave without adding so much stress.
Domi898,
If you want a metal tank as a first, I highly recommend buying a prebuilt Taigen from Erik so that you have swift and reliable support Monday thru Friday and you know all the parts are designed to go together and installed properly.
Grass is not the best medium for running a 1/16 scale tank. From the earliest days even Tamiya strongly advised against it. Think about a
comparable running environment for a full size machine- there really isn't one. For a full size full tracked machine to run through weeds or tall vegetation isn't the same as a small machine running across or through all but the shortest cut grass. The load on the running gear is enormous for a small model. I won't say they can't do it; most all of mine are able I just won't subject them to it and never use that ability as a criterion of success... Like running in sand, I can but don't.
That all said, gearing like I mentioned previously and Sev echoed above. The lower the better IMHO. Lower geared and slower running models are, again IMHO, more realistic (
generally) and much easier to handle/drive accurately. Speed I reserve for my herd of old Kyosho Land Jumps...
Jerry