Hello johnnymorris,
Don't let everyone scare you,most of the things that don't work or that are missing can be replaced or repaired.The non S&S tanks are ok as far as that goes,I still have a couple that I haven't converted to S&S yet.A guy has to buy what he can afford,and we all have to start somewhere.Besides it will be a good one to practice on and you can still have lots of fun with it.I'm not a painter,but I hand brushed a couple of mine and they look pretty darn good.I did buy a cheapie air brush but have not even used it yet.A paint job on your tank will make them look just like new.My local hobby shop had bottles of tamiya paint on sale so I bought a bunch and mixed my own color that I wanted to paint my tanks.(hand brushed two of them).I brushed them with 3 coats,and it was kind of fun and they look great.If the gun trys to shoot(sounds like you allready have it trying to shoot)and no BB comes out the barrel,the rubber seal may be missing,installed wrong,or jammed and won't let the BB go through the breach.The wire to the gun motor is one thing that can cause dammage to the motor if you wire it backwards.The gears for the elevation motor
may be harder to find unless someone in your area might want to help you out with a motor unit they don't need.These units are fairly cheap to replace.Just take it step by step and if you need some advice,just post the question and someone will help you out I'm sure.Good luck and have fun with your tank. BIGMIG