Hello Gents, its been months since i have been on, and even longer since I have ran or worked on a tank. I have 3, PIII, a Tiger, and a PIV. All of them due to enthusiasm are in many pieces. I have purchased upgrade parts for all of them and really don't have time to work on them. I have moved twice since buying them, and some parts I believe are long gone.

So, the dilemma. Should I simply sell the tanks as is to fellow tankers? Or hang onto them and slowly bother you all for advice over the next 6-12 months as I attempt to rebuild. I have no idea if I am going to have time for them. I do enjoy modeling, and I guess i really enjoy painting them and adding detail far more than I enjoy messing with the running parts. The electronics are beyond my knowledge and as a result are in shambles.

So... My esteemed forum brothers(well your mostly older than I) esteemed forum father figures, what shall I do?

Well that is not an extenesive collection, so I would hang onto them. They will offer you something besides watching TV when you do have some down time, and this will keep you connected to the BORG CULTURE exhibited on this forum. You are part of the collective. We don't want to lose anyone.

as YHR said you are part of the collective and to leave spells one thing "Boredom"

i would keep them and do them when you have time

Hold on to them and work on them as time permits....................Besides resistance is futile

Mike                                                                                EOT 

Yeah ... what they said.

Besides, what ya gonna do in your spare time? Take up knitting?


- Jeff

(is that friendly enough?)

Hi Oliver,

Many a RC tanker has stood at the edge of the abyss staring over the edge. Chuck it all or keep what you love. I look at my RC tanks hobby as therapy. It eases my troubled soul and gets me excited about the next event. Many of the great guys in this hobby have become my freinds, not just fellow "tankers". One of the things that I liked the most about this hobby is the various levels at which you can participate. Static models, HL airsoft, HL IR, just drving the tanks, Tamiya and super detailed tanks from Hooben or Bandai or the gold ring of Tamiya IR battle tanks. Whatever your budget and time...you can stlll have fun. I see that you are in TX just south of Houston. Do you belong to the Texas Armor RC tank club? The are having a Epic battle weekend in two weeks not all that far from you (Texas wise). It is one of the fines RC tank battlefields int he US. Go to their event before you decide.

Here are some links: http://www.texasarmor.com/ & http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...m.htm#10697040

Bob

Thanks for the support guys! I am a teacher and a football coach down here, so there isn't too much spare time. We'll see how the Fiancee responds to the tanks taking over the table again!

:-) I am a bit south of Houston, about 8 hours! The big tank event does look fun but I have a game that weekend... I'll have to try and get up there after the season ends.

Oh, you will find the time. Especially when you need to escape it all for a while.

Mine is therapeutic too.


- Jeff

Hi
I'll be down your way for the bike rally this fall, maybe we can get together and shoot the crap for a little bit
Harle

As a now retired school administrator I understand your time crunch ordeal. WORK THRU IT! So what if it takes you 6 -12 months to get them running. If you enjoy it, do it. You only have one chance at life, make the most of it.

GA, great advice from a drill sargeant!!! I just moved and am buried by a lot of other stuff right now, but the tanks and smokers are waiting, so your words help me too.

Oliver - maybe you should build static tank models instead of RC if you really don't like the mechanical/electronic part. But then again, there is plenty of help on this forum and the hobby is a real source of learning - mechanics, electronics, history, teamwork in battling, and the artistic side of painting/weathering, etc etc etc.

Hang on to the tanks and make some time for yourself.

Thanks all for the support!!! I love driving them around, and if time premitted (and money) i think battling would be great! I just have to get one of them up and running again.

I have no idea if my electronics are working, and need a new controller. Does anyone have a budget friendly solution to tie a battle system into the running gear? Can I buy a plug and play system with directions?? It would be great to be able to use the same set of electronics for all three tanks. I am pretty sure I have lost circuit boards over the years...

I went to assemble my drive wheels last night and found many of the bolts/screws were rusty beyond use. Now to find some new ones...

Harlerider, my fiancee and I usually attend the bike fest simply to see the crazy people! It would be fun to meet up.

"Do not seek the Treasure", I love O'Brother Where Art Thou! That said, keep'em!!! I have not touched a model in about two years and came across this site looking for info about something r/c and got stuck in this forum. Cruised it as a guest for a while, but every time I stopped by the itch got worse and I pulled the Stug III G out again and started tearing it down to rebuild it as many have done here. Now I have a login and try to give what I can to the topics I come across and take what I can in what I see others doing. So don't sell'em, just take your time and jump back in every chance you get. Plenty of good people here to give advise and point you in the right direction when ya need something.

1 HL Stug III G almost ready to put back together, 1 Tamiya Tiger I being disassembled for rebuild. 1 Original Tamiya Tiger II as static right now, but have plans for it as well, 1 Tamiya Tiger II Porsche Turret, Oh how I want to make it FO, 1 Tamiya 1601 Sherman not running, 1 Bandai Stug IV in Box, 1 Bandai Tiger I in Box, 1 Tamiya Tiger II FO to build, 1 Tamiya Panther G FO to build, and 1 HL Stug III G out of the Box to play with till the other one is ready. You have to have at least one runner to play with!!!!

ah but that is what makes it fun, finding the things you need to make it work, to find the part to make it look cool, to find something to work in placeof the original that nobody has thought of, these things make it exciting. i'm now even saving popcicle sticks for what i don't know yet but one day i will know, keep your tanks you will miss them and want to do something with them one day

Greg

Brushie:

Popsicle stix, hoboy... been saving the ones from the no-name creamsicles I have the hankerin' for. And I know exactly where I'm gonna use them - cross-planks on the bridge, and other 'detailing' parts for it. They also make good epoxy and paint stirstix, or for pressing parts into place where you'd not wanna use (or can't fit) a finger. Can even take a knife and almost put a point on 'em.

Hell, I was even commenting to nick the other night, I had an idea to try to make a engine grlle from wire and framing. Was going to make a jig to hold the bars in place using popsicle stix ('cause when ya solder the next bar, the last one pops loose, eh?) Got the idea from a soldering bit I saw years back made for IC & socket removal - it was a bar, and you heated all the pins on one side, and yanked it en-mass. Then ya re-heated the plate-thru holes one at a time to clean out the solder.

Only think I hate is if I get sick, my dad tries to 'help' and clean up... last time he tossed all my half-litre storage tubs (from pudding & sour-cream) and I asked " Would ya rather I spent $$$ and BOUGHT ones ? " He tends to leave stuff alone now (fingers crossed)

And I agree: the joy is doing something someone hasn't thought of, or doing it differently/better, or with different/better materials, and then going " Ta-dah! " and showing it off.

And the thing that really did it for me since I got into the hobby: the smiles on the faces of the spectators, and unlike some, I don't mind explaining how the beasties work, or how I did something unusual. Even picked up some spare $ in HS & college as a tutor.

Keep your toe in the water... you'll be glad ya did.

PS: Olliver: let us know what sizes ya need, many of us have spares, or know of places to get hardware. I know of two places online that sell small hardware, and atleast one place in town that carries it - used 'em regulaly when I used to make the belly-plates for the Tamiyas...

WhiteWolf

Wooden siding on your buildings!




I must admit that making buildings has been a constructive "other hobby" for those times that I can't face wading thru 20 pages of instructions for a kit, or having to botch something together to make up for the lack of mechanical parts in a kit, or have to bust open a completed tank because the electronics are playing up [&:] [:@]