BentWingBid

I had won a 1/16 Tamiya Panther but the seller checked his warehouse after I won and told me he didn't actually have one to sell. I was happy to hear this as after I ordered I read some of the horror stories here about the kit. I had thought it would have been one of Tamiya's better kits being the most rescent.

So now I am leaning to the Tamiya Tiger, Pershing, or Leopard. Which would be the best to start with and which has the least problems?

I've built RC aircraft in the past and I am an avid modeler. So I do have average to above average skills in assembly and finishing.

gww

Of those three, I'd say the Tiger 1. Sherman is an easy build too.
Geoff

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

Sherman

Tanxalot

If its free and a prize...go for the Leopard. Its the most expensive!! LOL!!

BentWingBid

At the moment I am attempting to see if the seller will send me a Leopard instead of the Panther. He still has my money and he does have a Leopard in stock, I'm hoping he will sell it for the same price ($650.00 US).

BentWingBid

I love the schemes I could apply to the Tiger. I am glad to hear it is easy to build.

BentWingBid

I do like the Sherman, but I'd prefer the Firefly. Too bad Tamiya did the Howitzer. I may buy one of them as well. The price is certainly right.

gww

You'd have to do a lot to convert it to a firefly. I think the guns etc, are available, but I think they (the originals) all had the VVS suspension as against the HVS suspension on the Tamiya model and getting a working version of that may be difficult. There are simulated VVSS out there, but they are more of a mask effect over the existing suspension. The HVSS on the tamiya is, i think, its star feature. It looks good and works really well. You could do a 76mm version with the HVSS (as a couple of people on this site are doing currently).
Geoff

BentWingBid

I am fairly sure you are correct about the suspension. Thank-you for the advice and information.

ksoc

When you say one I assume you mean on eBay. The Panther usually cost more than the other Tamiya tanks, except the Leo. $650 for a Sherman seems too high. For a Tiger I (including shipping?) that might be a little high, but not too bad. Almost sounds like a bait and switch.

The Sherman is the easiest to build, and once built the easiest to access. You grab the middle of the tank on both sides, pull out slightly, and the entire upper hull comes off. There is no recoil like the other, but this again simplifies the construction. The Tiger I is a great tank. The recoil on the 88 is cool. Access isn't as easy as the Sherman, but plenty of room on the inside.

Here is a recent thread with some more info about Tamiya tanks

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_66...mpage_1/tm.htm

kuhndog599

I also have a question on the sherman. Do the gearboxes come assembled? I've built a rc ship that was a pain because I had to put the gearboxes together.

gww

Yes, they come assembled.
geoff

BentWingBid

$650 for a Sherman is far too high. I paid $650.00 for a Panther. I tried to get the seller to swap it out with a Leopard for the same price, since he didn't have a Panther in the warehouse. He put the Panther up for bid but didn't have one.

So now it is down to the Tiger or Sherman, I completely changed my mind about the Pershing.

Tanxalot

That's a bit out of order, advertising something then "finding" that he doesn't actually have the item to sell??? I would be checking his feedback before parting with any funds, and a little word to the auction company would be prudent too. Buyer beware!!
Most sellers in this position would be extremely embarrassed and would be inclined to supply something "better", either in value or with "freebies" to console the client, certainly NEVER EVER settle for a lesser value item than that you've bid for, and I would imagine that a Sherman would fit that category IMHO.

StoneColdFreak

Well, I certainly hope he (the seller) expects to give you back the balance of your money when you buy either the Tiger or the Sherman! That is way too much for either tank if you are buying through Ebay. The tiger 1 can be had, including shipping, for about $550.00 and the Sherman for about $450.00. I think that you will enjoy either kit and there are tons of details that you can add yourself. This is interesting:

http://tiger1.info/bigtig/alter.html

BentWingBid

I did check his feedback prior to bidding. He had 2000 positive and zero negative.

I was sort of relieved to hear he didn't have it in stock after reading all the problems with the Tamiya Panther on this site. But it was also his mistake so I asked if he would sell me one of his Tamiya Leopards that he had up for auction for the same price. He said he would for $50.00 plus a refund of his ebay fee's. This totaled about another $100.00 so I declined. Especially considering he has a Leopard for $750.00 buy it now on ebay. In other words, he wanted me to buy the same Leopard for the same price he was selling it less the ebay fee's. I told him no so now he has to give me a full refund and his has to eat the ebay fee's himself. I think the best option for him would have been to accept my offer. Especially considering that the suggested mark-up on these kits is 1.7 (my pal had a hobby shop at one time).

So here I am, flip flopping over which kit to buy in the place of the Panther. I know in my last post I said I had it narrowed down to the Sherman or Tiger 1, but I went and bought a Tamiya Pershing. After doing a ton of reading I think I'll be happy with it. It's short of ironic as at one point it was my last choice.

BentWingBid

I never intended to buy anything but a Leopard or Panther off of him. He only had those in stock (or thought he had). So now I am waiting for a full refund. I don't think it will be a problem as he offered such in the first place. The main reason I picked this seller is he is a seller in Canada, his price was competitive, and it is a Christmas gift (for me from my lovely wife )

And I am well aware of the going price of Tamiya's tanks. I just bought a Pershing for $440.00. US. This one is coming from Hong Kong and I was careful to read through the sellers feedback. There is one seller who sells these kits dirt cheap, but if you look at his feedback every big ticket item (Tamiya tanks) has negative feedback.

edoubleaz

My Feedback: (1)

Here are pictures in fact.

StoneColdFreak

Congratulations on the Pershing. [sm=thumbs_up.gif] I had one and it seemed to have the most convincing sounds, IMO, with squeaking wheels etc. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it also seemed to drive more realistically at slower speeds than the Sherman.

The only "hang ups" with the Pershing that I ever found were 1) it was limited for space inside the lower hull, which led to turret rotation problems from wire bundles getting in the way. Omitting the mounting plate for the DMD/MFU made more room vertically and cutting the speaker box down helped, as well. 2) It required the removal of screws in order to recharge/replace the battery pack, which was inconvenient, unless you removed the turret to get to the battery. However, constantly removing the turret seemed to wear down the action of the slipper clutch in the turret rotation unit and I finally had to glue my clutch in place to help it power through any low resistance hang-ups from the wires. You might consider installing a charging port:

http://www.sead.us/technology4.html

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_61...tm.htm#6255804

These might help, too:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_44...tm.htm#4462190

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_27...tm.htm#2829879

BentWingBid

^ Great advice, this is such a helpful site. I have only a few posts but I have found this site to be full of helpful and considerate people. I base this on not only through the replis to me but also in the posts I have searched.

Not all internet sites are polite.

I'll keep you guys posted as I build this.

gww

ksoc made the same point about the turret removal being a problem on all the Tamiyas, weakening things if you have to hand turn it to the point where it will lift off. On my tiger, I made a note of the point at which it fits on and off (edge of mantlet lined up with the bottom of a tool handle in that case, but whatever works in your case) and just make sure of always parking the turret at that position as the last thing before I turn the tank off, so the turret justs lifts on and off with no need to strain the rotation mechanism. Wouldn't work if the battery ran to completely dead, but you can generally tell when the thing is getting near that point. Just a thought.
Geoff

b.bullfrog

After reading all this - My first and only tank is the Tamiya Pershing.It's been great for over a year now.