dmos85

I have been into rc tanks for many years and have always wanted to go one of the rc battles, But since I live in northwest minnesota It's a good drive to go to one. I will build a tamiya jagdpanzer 4 and will pick up the tamiya battle unit, Is that all I need to go to one these events? I plan to go to Danville this year hopefully. Also what radio is recommended for battling? thanks, dan

cleong

And I thought traveling from Connecticut was far - you are three times further! I was a regular at Danville between 2013 to 2015 and made the trip every couple of months when my schedule permitted. Back then there were three day battle weekends, Friday afternoons, full day on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sometimes you had after-dinner night battles on Saturdays as well. But at this point I think AAF has scaled back to Friday afternoons and Saturdays only.

You would be right that a basic Tamiya full-option tank and a IR battle unit are all you would need for battling. If you build it according to the instructions you would be ready for battle. Any 4 channel surface radio would work, although most would suggest a minimum of a 4 channel radio with 2.4 ghz being preferred so that there is no frequency deconflicts to deal with.

Most tankers from out of town will book a room at the Comfort Inn and they would have discounts for AAF Tank Museum visitors.

edoubleaz

My Feedback: (1)

DAK here in Phoenix hosts people from all over and our rules are very flexible. We run all sorts of vehicles and as long as they use the Tamiya coding for battle.

We really suggest 2.4g to avoid any channel conflicts and the Futaba 4yf and Spektrum DXE are great ways to start.

Also check out a good travel box with foam to secure the vehicle. Home Depot's Husky 26 in box will fit many vehicles and is less than $20 bucks.

Small travel tool kit with the Tamiya tools, screwdriver set, superglue and tape always helps as well! Any left over hardware from the build in a jar is good to start a collection with for repairs!

dmos85

love seeing what your club is up to as well , would be fun to drive there as well

Panther F

AND, (in preparations) not to sound discouraging but what you DO use will also come into play. AFV's with turrets usually are a little more adapt at IR battles than fixed guns, depending on it's use/rules and the battlefield condition.

Also, the Jagdpanzer IV with the shorter L48 gun is much better than the longer L/70 armed Panzer IV/70 (Lang), again depending on the battlefield layout.

Pah co chu puk

If you are from Minnesota then you should do a DAK battle in the winter or early spring. I've made the trip from Colorado and it's nice to get out of the snow to play with tanks in warm sunshine. The DAK folks are great, and they have a nice battlefield.

A good travel box is nice to protect the tanks on the trip, I found one at a hardware store for $17 so I bought two. Used the boxes to haul my tanks in an open truck bed in a snowstorm with no problems. A field repair kit is also a must, something WILL break, so be ready.

Big, fast tanks with long guns are good for open field battles, small slower tanks with short guns are better for urban battles. Some clubs allow non turreted AFV's to cover the front of the IR receiver to mimic the thicker armor those vehicles often had.

I'm a long way from any clubs too. It is worth the drive to experience a RC tank battle at a club event. I've gone to DAK three times, and FRAG twice. I hope to get to San Diego one day too.

tankme

My travel boxes from Home Depot. Just added some 3" cushion foam to the bottom for the tank to sit on. Can also be used for long term storage as the tracks are suspended off the bottom. Bring lots of batteries and chargers if you are staying more than one day at an event. A small tool kit is handy. I found this past weekend that a copy of the operation manuals for your tanks can be convenient unless you really enjoy troubleshooting issues on your phone in the field. Extra AA batteries for your transmitters if you need AAs for them. I had to make a bind plug from a twist tie at the last event. I found one of my radios mysteriously unbound itself. Test your tanks before you leave.

Pcomm1.v2

I bought my Tamiya Jagdpanzer Lang kit, Battle Unit and Futaba Skysport 2.4 Radio with the left stick spring return kit at the AAF Museum and I use the above recommended tool box for carry and storage too. There is a possibility, built stock, the Lang might run a little fast for Danville rules.

While I do not participate in club battles, several regular Danville guys have bought and run my builds there. The rc tank builds were all modified using battle day spec recommendations provided by Daryl Turner: the DT gearbox mount brace, metal elevation arm, road wheel bearings and tuning to meet speed requirements. These are the same specs Daryl uses in my x-Tamiya Pz4J build, which he fights at Danville.



Sold on to Dr Williams. A Daryl Turner collaboration build, spec’d and built for Danville Battles.

Small TD, the Lang.




No where to hide! The Tamiya Pz4J was out gunned in backyard SoCal battles, 5 hits to 9 hits.

Daryl’s Pz4 at Danville. My build, Daryl’s recommended upgrades for use at Danville.

Pair of Panzers at Danville.

dmos85

I give all credit to the frag group for my interest in 1/16 rc tanks , I remember drooling at their website pictures back in the early 2000's mostly shermans and tigers then lol. I could not afford a tamiya tank then but now I can and want to finally be able to partake in the infrared battle side of the hobby that sparked my interest so many years ago. I want to visit all the groups if I can at some point. I went to look for daryl turner upgrades on eto armor and none there, Is he retired from upgrade part production?

Pcomm1.v2

Hi,

Email ETO directly, they may have the parts you want, just not listed.

You can message Daryl B. Turner directly on Facebook to ask about Lang parts, best way to reach him.

Check here under Tamiya Pz4, Jagdpanzer for a gearbox mount brace and metal elevation arm, last ditch.

https://www.axels-modellbau-shop.de/...s-accessories/

Have fun, John

dmos85

I will ask for sure, I will order from axels if I have to even though shipping is steep

1qaz

Hi Dan,
As a "new to the 1/16 IR tank scene" I can tell you that the Danville R/C tank group has been incredibly welcoming to both me and my wife. I really enjoy the history/building aspect of the models and the running aspect is secondary to me, so I don't run my tanks all that much when I do attend the battles. I enjoy spending time checking out what the other modelers are building and chatting about current projects and such.
I have had other tankers take hours out of their time at Danville to help me with programming of a new IBU2 board because of my total lack of computer skills and being new to the IBU2 boards. You will find a wide variety of talent & experience at Danville, Tamiya stuff, Clark stuff and IBU2 stuff along with all the different tank kits out there.
There were times when several of us "newbies" showed up and the group actually had a introduction class for us, things to do and things not to do on the battle field.
Bottom line is that the Danville group, from my experience, is a fantastic welcoming group of modelers that is there to have fun and help anybody new to the hobby in anyway they can. There are a few modelers there who take the battles a little to serious in my opinion, but like any hobby you can get as carried away as you want!
Hopefully we will run into each other at Danville this year, Larry

JoshuaFic

I still care about the gear. Your looking at it the wrong way. You can allow some weaker players in to the battles if they are wearing the NFS armour. It might not make individuals stronger, long term, but it will make your alliance stronger, long term.

Anyway... I have a question...

1 Alliance can only declare maximum 3 wars until they finish those declared battles.

2 Alliance can be attacked by maximum 5 enemy alliances on the battling date.

Is this still only allowed on the special designated battle days? Or after you finish a war, you can declare another war?