Winter tank battles in real snow
01-18-2011, 10:32 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Winter tank battles in real snow
After Action Report: NEAD Winter Battleday 1-16-11 Part One
Eight NEAD members met this past Sunday in northern NJ for a battle day in the Snow. To the best of my knowledge this is the first organized RC IR tank battle in real snow. We called it Battle of the Bulge but is was probably more like Stalingrad since our battlefield was very large and had so few trees and no town. We had many buildings and I brought a few dozen trees but they disappeared on the vast field. We used a snowblower to expand the snow and thin the heavy stuff. We carved roads and left plenty of thick snow for those who dared to press their luck crossing the fresh stuff. We gathered around 11 AM and didn't stop until it grew dark. Brett and Tony came up from Delaware, Wayne fro SI NY, Steve from Prosp Pk NJ, Joe and Louis from Bayonne NJ, and Kim and I from Hillsdale. We didn't have too many winter tanks but those who did reaped a great reward. Their tanks literally disappeared in the snow. Brett brought a KT with a winter paint job that was used mainly by Tony. It was white with a tree outline and was very hard to spot. Wayne took top homors in the camo area with his new Tamiya KV1 (a Christmas gift that his loving wife purchased from me) and his Jagdpanther. I really wish he had posted some pix personally on RCU but he did a great white-wash on the KV 1 with a paste he made up from (Get this) ground up black-board chalk and water. He made it into a slurry and brushed in onto the tank just like the original tankers did their white-washes. It was very simple, very effective, looked great and is easy to remove. Please check the pix below. Thank you Wayne (AKA Chiefsonn) for showing this. I must try it.
We chose teams for several battles and odered out pizza for lunch. I brought my RV so we would have a warm and dry spot to relax and eat. Later we also did an every man for himself battle which Brett won (Why am I not surprised). I think he drives 2 1/2 hours just for the fun of killing so many of us. I was lucky enough to get 2nd and Wayne 3rd. Bretts T I did very well in the snow. My Panther did not fare as well and Steves HL Walker with DBU was a great performer. Waynes KV did very well. The wide tracks like Joe's (Yellowshaker) HL Tiger with Elmod did well also. We had many issues with clogged wheels and idlers since it became warm and the snow softened in the sun. My Panther has never thrown a track but id did 3 times in the snow that day. Now I think we all have a better idea of how the WW II tankers were effected by the snow on the battlefield. I have gained a new respect for their toils and perseverance. I will post more later on this event.
We all took pix and video so I'm sure you will see more coming to keep you entertained this winter. I had my video camera atop the Panther and debuted the articulated camera head that moves in sync with the gun elevation. I was not a must have for this battle, but will be nice to capture the action in Danville where I prefer to fight from the high ground.
Some pix are posted below and here is a link to two videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYlqntxPjs & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z6VU-b6s5U
Enjoy and we welcome your comments.... Bob, NEAD CO
Eight NEAD members met this past Sunday in northern NJ for a battle day in the Snow. To the best of my knowledge this is the first organized RC IR tank battle in real snow. We called it Battle of the Bulge but is was probably more like Stalingrad since our battlefield was very large and had so few trees and no town. We had many buildings and I brought a few dozen trees but they disappeared on the vast field. We used a snowblower to expand the snow and thin the heavy stuff. We carved roads and left plenty of thick snow for those who dared to press their luck crossing the fresh stuff. We gathered around 11 AM and didn't stop until it grew dark. Brett and Tony came up from Delaware, Wayne fro SI NY, Steve from Prosp Pk NJ, Joe and Louis from Bayonne NJ, and Kim and I from Hillsdale. We didn't have too many winter tanks but those who did reaped a great reward. Their tanks literally disappeared in the snow. Brett brought a KT with a winter paint job that was used mainly by Tony. It was white with a tree outline and was very hard to spot. Wayne took top homors in the camo area with his new Tamiya KV1 (a Christmas gift that his loving wife purchased from me) and his Jagdpanther. I really wish he had posted some pix personally on RCU but he did a great white-wash on the KV 1 with a paste he made up from (Get this) ground up black-board chalk and water. He made it into a slurry and brushed in onto the tank just like the original tankers did their white-washes. It was very simple, very effective, looked great and is easy to remove. Please check the pix below. Thank you Wayne (AKA Chiefsonn) for showing this. I must try it.
We chose teams for several battles and odered out pizza for lunch. I brought my RV so we would have a warm and dry spot to relax and eat. Later we also did an every man for himself battle which Brett won (Why am I not surprised). I think he drives 2 1/2 hours just for the fun of killing so many of us. I was lucky enough to get 2nd and Wayne 3rd. Bretts T I did very well in the snow. My Panther did not fare as well and Steves HL Walker with DBU was a great performer. Waynes KV did very well. The wide tracks like Joe's (Yellowshaker) HL Tiger with Elmod did well also. We had many issues with clogged wheels and idlers since it became warm and the snow softened in the sun. My Panther has never thrown a track but id did 3 times in the snow that day. Now I think we all have a better idea of how the WW II tankers were effected by the snow on the battlefield. I have gained a new respect for their toils and perseverance. I will post more later on this event.
We all took pix and video so I'm sure you will see more coming to keep you entertained this winter. I had my video camera atop the Panther and debuted the articulated camera head that moves in sync with the gun elevation. I was not a must have for this battle, but will be nice to capture the action in Danville where I prefer to fight from the high ground.
Some pix are posted below and here is a link to two videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYlqntxPjs & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z6VU-b6s5U
Enjoy and we welcome your comments.... Bob, NEAD CO
01-18-2011, 10:57 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
RE: Winter tank battles in real snow
ORIGINAL: Buckeye36
Sounds like it was a blast, wish I could have been there....
Sounds like it was a blast, wish I could have been there....
01-19-2011, 02:31 PM
#7
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RE: Winter tank battles in real snow
hi bob and the nead guys. i just wanted to say thanks for having me at the winter battle. i had a great time, it was cool to take some shots at you guys. lol. i look forward to seeing you guys again. me and bret are already making plans for the april danville trip. i hope to see you all there. best of luck to you all, happy tanking
later,
tony
later,
tony
