provopaul

Hi there,
I'm looking forward to getting this and was wondering what upgrades you think I might need. I've purchased the IR version - I just love the gun recoil on this version. I plan on playing with this with my grandchildren and perhaps getting another so we can have battles. I''ve done r/c before (1/200 Yamato & 1/72 Mk VII U-boat) so I have some experience. Will this tank run ok on the lawn, or do I need to upgrade the motors? How about a battery upgrade - where to get these items would be appreciated. Also how long can I expect the gears to last? I understand they aren't the best quality.
I've also done a lot of modeling & have a website:

www.bishophobbies.com

Any advice or help is greatly appreciated,
Paul

ausf

Hey Paul, Welcome to the hobby!

If you can pull off a Type VII, you will have no trouble here.

I'm sure you have a good charger, if not that and a battery or two would be the only thing I recommend off the bat. These run on 7.2, so any NiMH in the 3000-5000 mAh range (or NiCad in lower is fine) would give you plenty of drive time.

There's a ton of upgrades and options, but really the best advice I can think of is get it in your hands a mess around with it first. If you decide you like it, you can make a better choice of where you want to go from there, ie club battling, backyard battling, realistic modeling, etc. It'll save a lot of time (and money) to have an idea before you take off with it.

Either way, ask questions, the more specific the better.

welchgc

Hey,
I recently picked up the late version taigen metal tiger-BB
Great tank. Runs great in normal grass, only sometimes gotta work the tight turns. I get about 20 minutes on the stock battery.
Smoker sucks, so I took it out. No need for that anyway.
I do beat my tanks up (hard running, smash into things), and no issue yet for the Tiger (and panther as well, but my the road wheels on my Mark IV do get loose often and throw the track)

Upgrades...I live in the forest and have my Tiger covered in burlap and brush....nuff said.

provopaul

Thanks for the comments! I have ordered a 5000mah battery and the Super Smoker II. Is the motor and gear setup robust enough or will it wear out in time?

Max-U52

Hey Paul,

First, I have that same tank and I just love it. The smoker in mine works great. Unfortunately, the Super Smoker 2 you ordered isn't going to work in that tank. I went the super smoker route and they're great if you're using it in a Heng Long, but for some reason the Taigen/Imex isn't compatible. Of course, you can always hook it up to the battery direct, and I've heard that works but you'll need a separate switch for it. Next, I haven't had any trouble with the gears and though they will eventually wear out, it should take quite a while (depending on use). The only upgrades I've added to that tank are metal mudflaps and airfilter boxes, but they have a TON of aftermarket stuff for the Tiger I. My biggest battery is a 3000ma so I'll be interested to hear if you find much advantage to the 5000ma (I'm still pretty new to R/C). Another suggestion is to get to know Imex Erik. He's a great guy that works for Imex but is also a tanker with more than 30 tanks so he's one of those rare guys that really knows what his customers need. He's been a HUGE help to me, and I highly recommend him.

Just one last thing - not to be a jerk, but as the only male grandchild of a machinist mate that served on the U-52 (and gave his life there), I must say that I've never heard of a U Boat referred to as "Mk VII". It's Type VII. Please forgive me for being rather anal about it, but like I said, Opa was a U Boat man. :-)

Welcome to the hobby, and I truly hope you have as much fun as I'm having with it. I'm even looking into manufacturing kits for structures for tank villages (I've got a start on a Gasthaus. Now if I can just learn to get the photo at the END of the post!!)).

Again, it's good to see new people joining the forum. I've met some great guys here.

Gary

provopaul

Gary - you are correct - I should have said Type VII not MK VII. There is no MKVII. My RC Type VII runs pretty well - especially when I command it to dive. Surfacing is rather iffy though. Not a good thing for a submarine! Submarind service required a special type of person - it wasn't easy. I'm sorry that your Grandfather lost his life. I have built a lot of "war" type of models but I always remember that there was great loss of life assicated with them and I feel that keeps their memory and sacrifice alive.

Regards,
Paul

Imex-Erik

Hey Paul!
The Tiger tank is a great buy, especially for the modders out there. There are a plethora of upgrades for the Tiger 1. Your motors should be ok, but be careful if you bind your tracks on anything, the weight of that tank makes the gearboxes the weak point, but if driven decently you should have no issues. With that being said though, I myself always upgrade to the brass or steel gearboxes. The steel is a lot quieter and of course has steel gears while the brass has removeable pinions on the motor and final drive shaft. If you just dremel one of the motor mount holes you can change the gearing quite substantially with a different pinion gear. As for batteries I agree with Ausf and maxu52 that a 3000-5000mAh battery should be more than plenty. I've seen upwards of 10,000mAh in customer photos just btw

Yes ask away, I am always available either through PM here or by emailing me through the support page on our website (currently under construction) www.taigentanks.com
However, the guys on RCU are some of the best informed there is. Period. I've seen some amazing things from people here and drool over some. I've learned a lot myself since I jumped in the fray over here and still think RCU is the best place for RC tankers. I promote RCU only and do so at all the shows I go to as well as to my customers/dealers. The more people here the better. Like Ausf said, just ask away and you will be surprised how readily available people are willing to help in this hobby.

Long time no see
Hey Gary!
You know you were actually one of my first customers when I started haha? Anyways I'm going to look into the super smoker issue. I'll be getting one shortly anyways for a project. I like the fenders you did on the KT btw, looks good. Keep me updated on that one.

Strato50

Just my quick 2 cents, the Taigen Tiger I is a really great tank to drive. Mine (what amounts to one, hehe..) is my best driver while also being my heaviest tank. Go figure.

The low-ratio 4:1 steel gears power mine, and it will turn continuous circles in the grass. They really are a great gearbox.

Poke around a few vendors and eBay (if possible) and with just the gearboxes, you'll have a nearly bulletproof tank.

provopaul

Does anyone know if the Wattersons 5:1 3 speed gearbox with the 20mm shaft will work on the Taigen Tiger 1 that I have ordered? I found it on the UK Amazon for 49.99 (pounds) is that a good price or is there another vendor that I should look at?
Thanks a bunch,
Paul

Max-U52

Let's see ... 49.99 in pounds is about $68, right? Well, for an extra 12 bucks you can get the brass gear box (usually around $80) and in my lowly opinion that's the way to go. I only have brass in one tank right now, but they're sooo much better that I'll eventually upgrade ALL my tanks to brass gears.

And I totally agree with Erik about the guys you'll meet here. I've had guys do some wonderful things for me, even though we've never even met. All I'm waiting for now is a chance to return the favor.

Gary

philipat

Which gear box are you referring to as the brass gear box? I thought the Walterson's gearbox was brass. Are you talking about the flat gearbox that Asiatam and Taigen sell?

Max-U52

The brass gears you can get from Imex, rcdynasty, mato, etc. The set I have now came with an all metal mato panzer III and it's just great.

FreakyDude

The Walterson will not fit in its current configuration so don't buy them and by the 49 pounds is not such a great deal when you add shipping and duties etc.
The steel 4 to 1 gears are best as the Tigers are heavy, worst case is you have to upgrade to a stronger motor

Max-U52

What about these "black steel" gears? What do you guys think about those?

provopaul

Thanks for all of the great comments!! I'm going to hold off on purchasing the Wattersons 5:1 3 speed brass gearbox since it won't fit in the Imex Taigen metal Tiger 1.

Strato50

Double post :/

Strato50

Where abouts do you live? There are good vendors all over the world with plenty of parts if you ever want to dive into your Tiger.

The steel 4:1 gears from Taigen mentioned in this thread are tough, smooth and pretty quiet. They are direct drop in replacements for HengLong tanks, which is nice. I'm sort of their personal cheerleader around here... :P

My new Pershing gears during break-in :P

provopaul

Strato50,
Are thos the gears that come with the tank I ordered?

Imex-Erik

Here are the brass gearboxes and the steel gearbox. Both will fit your Tiger 1. The brass will give you a bit more more room to work with in your tank as it is a lower profile. It also sounds pretty good too. The steel will be stronger but will not be in that low profile type. The brass should be back in stock shortly, I ordered lots more this time

Imex-Erik

Those are his steel gears for the Pershing. You have the zinc gears stock.

provopaul

Ok - thanks Erik!

welchgc

"Long time no see "

Work travel got the best of me the past month. But I got my Taigen Jadgpanther on order (from Splatterpaintball)....looking forward to that!

Imex-Erik

Oh very nice, the paint job on that one is awesome. I've always liked the tank destroyer look too. There is a certain person I am watching here to finish up that Hetzer

Marc780

You're right you need at least a 3000 miamp battery made of nickel metal hydride (Nimh). The charger that comes with the tank won't work with this one so, unfortunately you need another charger. Don't toss the old battery though, it's hard to tell where this hobby will take you-i bought a stripped HL mark III from ebay for $35 just figured I'd use the old parts I'd stripped from my other two tanks-battery, radio and transmitter, it is missing tracks for this one talk about a project! but he seller did say "as is"!

The only upgrade I feel is essential-is to upgrade the radio system to the heng long 2 4 ghz. The rx18 and others are just too buggy, for me, if you want a tank that drives first time every time and dead reliable, with no worry about lost signals and non responsive controls it is well worth the $80.

philipat

Go with the Taigen 2.4GHz instead. It is much better than the HL 2.4 GHz.

Or look at other controllers for more functionality. I like Taigen because it's simple for kids to learn and supports airsoft. Just wish it could change the sound programming so that it was correct to the tank.