Hi . I'm totally new to this and like to start getting my first RC tank. Is there any introduction post for newbies where I can find summary on popular brands, what to look for, and what I can play with RC tanks (like what sort of games, battle, ...)

well what scale tank are you interested in? Seems like 1/16 is the most popular one. You can start off with a Heng Long which is an Ok tank for a low budget or you can go with a Tamiya which is a lot better quality but costs 6 times more. I myself am a newbie to this hobby too. Just recently I bought a Heng Long Tiger 1 but wasnt impressed by it so I went with a Tamiya one. Heng Long tanks come ready to play out of the box while Tamiya is a kit that you have to build and paint. Plus there are several upgrades out there for both kind of tanks.

First I would decide what you want out of it.

Do you want to run inside only with little if any maintenance needs?

If yes to this the VS 24th scale tanks would be my choice.

Do you want to run outside and do battle and either are on a tight budget or don't want to spend to much?

IF yes then the Henglong tanks available at www.rccommand.com would be my choice.

Do you want to battle and build a nice kit and have a top notch tank?

If yes to this then one of the tamiya models would be my choice.

I am new to tanks myself (however not new to rc) but did a lot of research before I bought. I wanted to run outside with the possibility of upgrading to battle IR but didn't want to spend 1000 plus so I went with e henglong tank over tamiya. They are good tanks and require some maintenance to keep running. I will one day build a tamiya but these are keeping me happy for now. I went with the metal track versions. I am thinking of buying some VS tanks to toy around inside with as well.

As the lads said, it depends on what you want to do and your budget. Also, for a Tamiya or other kit tank, it also depends on your modelling skills, and what you actually want in a tank. I would recommend 1/16 scale, especially if you want to get in to combat and such. Also, you may want to find a local tank club. There are lots around. Tankers are usually a pretty good bunch, and will set you on the path to build or mod your tank to what you want.

Heng Long tanks are basically a toy tank that has possibilities. Many of the tankers have taken these tanks and done wonders with them, up to and including Tamiya electronics, metal tracks, lots of detail parts, etc. They come basically ready to run, however be advised that they may not be particularly scale in appearence. Wasan RC tanks are the same, although with somewhat better initial quality and scale fidelity. The Wasan T34 does come with a lot of detail parts, and picture instructions as to where the parts go. Use a gel type acc glue to attach the parts on a Wasan. The Wasan will need some serious upgrades in the motive department relatively soon after you buy it. The trans gears are suitable for indoor use generally, and have a clutch in each side which gets weak fast. Both makers, HL and Wasan, use no bushings or bearings in their road wheels or idlers, so if you intend to run the tank outside, be prepared for wear on the wheel system. Plastic on plastic has a finite life. Tamiya uses bushings or bearings in their road wheels, but curiously not in the Sherman idler wheels, which wear fast. There are solutions out there for the Sherm idler, though.

Tamiya is the top of the line in RC tanks. They are considerably more expensive than HL or Wasan, but you get what you pay for. All come with full electronics in the kit unless clearly stated that it is a static model kit. Their most simple tank is the Sherman. Reliable, an easy build out of the box, and a real good runner. Panther/Jagdpanther would be next for ease of construction and operation. Then Tiger 1, a very detailed tank, but again excellent runner OTB, then King Tiger. The Kings idler adjustment system is pretty poor, but with a minimum of fiddling, works OK. Next in degree of difficulty is Pershing. Another good runner, but pretty cramped inside. Then the Leopard 2A6. Fabulous modern tank, stuffed full of electronics, good drive system. I have not built a Tamiya Panzer 4, so can give no judgement on it, but from what I hear, it is also a good runner OTB. For all Tamiya tanks, there are literally scores, if not hundreds. of detail parts, running gear upgrades, transimission systems, tracks, idler systems, etc etc. You can pretty much build most any tank from Tamiya to any time period the particular tank was used. There is also lots of research and info sights for the tanks. Makes for quite interesting reads, and the historical aspect is excellent. Rumor has it another tank is coming from Tamiya very very soon. Have no idea as to what it is.

Do not buy a Heng Long or Wasan tank with plans to upgrade it to full Tamiya or Tamiya type electronics. It is not cost effecient.....at the moment. There are soon coming developements in that vein which will put paid to my statement and open up a whole new world of tanking for HL and Wasan, and older Tamiya static models, and the system will be plug and play. More on that before the year's end, I think. First, and this is a given, a new totally Tamiya compatible Battle System is coming from Impact by 01 February 09. Pretty much identical to the Tamiya system, but less expensive. It's in final pre-production mode now, molds being tweaked as we speak. Electronics are finished, tested, and approved by selected customers in the Orient. It works in any environment, and works extremely well. And for you experienced tankers out there, you better rethink your "out of range" specs, even in direct strong sun light.

I've browsed rccommand site. They mainly sell Heng Long. Where are other brands like Wasan or VS sold? Also, I'm in Australia. Any members here from down under? What's the best source to buy RC tanks? RC Command charges US$60 for shipping, maybe some other site have a cheaper shipping cost to Australia?

If you dwell in Oz, try here:
http://www.hobbyhavoc.com/store/index.php
Regards
Jose

Hey Nick,

Glad to have another Aussie on board.
Hobby Havoc are good.
Check out RC Tigerland on Evilbay as well, that guy is awesome.
I've bought 2 tanks from him and just about to grab a third.

Hi Nick,

RC Tigerland Tony will look after you TOP bloke.
Hobby Havoc also great people to deal with.

WARNING its addictive

Hi Nick,

I think now is a great time to be getting into 1/16th scale armor... there are more and more kits coming onto the market all the time, and I think that prices will become more and more reasonable as time moves on.

1/16th just seems to have the right mix of size/features/fun for the money. I got my first tank a year ago, and it's been a bucket of fun. I'm currently doing my first serious conversion - and that's even better. So, whether you want to be running right out of the box, or want to trick out something special and unusual, there's something in 1/16th for everyone. And you get get in for under $100 with a very nice tank (be it a Heng Long Tiger, or a WSN T34 or what have you.)

Welcome to the hobby!
Shep

I think I'll get a Henglong 1/16, maybe a Panther. I tried email Tony of RC Tigerland about buying from him, not through evilBay but got no response so far. [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

Hi Nick also after you buy your first tank you will have to immediately enroll in a 12 step program to fight off the addiction.

I have ordered a panzer III with a set of metal tracks from Hobby Havoc. I tried contacting the guy from RC Tigerland but did not receive any reply after a week.

When ordering from Hobby Havoc people should know that there's a hidden cost which is the GST. That is a bad practice and I think they should include that in the price shown. Anyway, the total sum is about the same.

Now the next part is to read about what to do with my tank: is it breaking-in the gearbox as mentioned in the FAQ?

One question about most tanks: why are the batteries all Ni-Cad but not NiMh or LiIon? Any reason other than cost? If the battery pack is 7.2v can we use 2 of the 18650 LiIon cells to make the pack? Would the size be the same and would there be enough room to fit if the 2x18650 is bigger?

Tony is very slow with emails but he will look after you. I bought a Panzer IV off him recently that had a plastic gearbox instead of the metal one advertised and he offered to replcace the tank for me but to save on postage I asked him to send me a metal gearbox and he was fine with that.

On of the best acessories I picked up so far is an Ansmann peak charger. You don't have any worries with trying to estimate when the battery's fully charged and it does a full charge of 2000mAh battery in about 20 minutes. I don't really trust the stock Heng Long charger either, it has firestarter written all over it.

Hey Bman,

just wondering where you got Ansmann peak charger from? cost? and output specs?

cheers

rob

I trashed the stock HL batteries and charger. I already have load of RC equipment with two high end peak chargers that charge all battery types as well as an assortment of batteries. You can pick up decent 3500 mah and above nimh batteries fairly cheap these days which are a far cry better than what HL supplies. As for chargers you should always use a peak detection charge for nimh, lithium, and other types of batteries. It gives a better charge and doubles to triples your battery life. Nimh and Lithium Polymer batteries can be damaged if not using peak detection.

Anyway, enjoy the new Tank!

Me get my 1st vstank leo A6 to start my rc tank.. It was really fun, which can do battle w/o buying any battle kits. right now, i going to upgrade my tank to tamiya.. Because of the limitation on vstank nothing much. Cannot play outdoor due to IR not very good. When i first play tamiya tank, the feeling is different.. I like, wow, got engine startup sound, idle sound n shut down engine sound too.. Tamiya battle unit oso very good for outdoor battle.. As for HL, if u got limit budget, u can try. But i seen many peoples buy those Elmod or other 3rd party to mod thier HL, it's usually cost up to tamiya tank value.. AND, after u mod, it electronics will sometimes HANG or reboot if u do many things in one time.. My friend have a HL Pz3, the look is toooo plastic not very detail worse than vstank.. This is only my point of view, it up to u to choose. No hurt trying all tanks. Have fun.. U will love it.

@TexasSP: Can you tell me where you got your batteries and chargers and which model pls?

Nick Bose I would suggest to stay away from nimh Venom batteries they're not good. Im sure a lot of guys here would agree.

Here you go Nick this is the reply i got from Tony in regards to you.

hello, i might have deleted his message if he sent it to my email address as wouldnt have known the contact name when going through my emails, instead of a message through evilbay. if he still needs anything get him to message me through my shop. sorry for any inconvenience caused, i would not have not responded on purpose.
regards Tony


Top bloke just a little slow.

My charger is a Hyperion EOS0606i AC/DC Balance Charger. It charges Lithium Polymer up to 6s, up to 18 cell nimh, and 7s A123 cells, and 18 cell nicad, all at up to 6 amps. It also comes with a built in balancer and power supply. Price is between 125-150 depending on where you buy it. This may be overkill for your needs, but it is an excellent charger (I own 2 of them) and charges everything.

My batteries I have picked up anywhere from Radioshack (GP 3300 cells only, and they may not have them anymore) to www.promatchracing.com, to maxamps.com (I do not buy lipo from them though), and on my Lipo I only use packs made with enerland cells from Korea (brands are Flightpower, Trackpower, Hyperion, NeuEnergy, Polyquest).

My chargers all came from maxamps.com. I will ask some of the Aussies on my car site where is good to pick up batteries and chargers like I posted in Australia.

To be fair, if your are going to put down an entire line of batteries you might want to back it up with some specific problems you and others have had.

I run Venom batteries in my tanks for years and have not had any unusual problems.

Venom in high drain applications have been known to fail, and their lipo's leave much to be desired. However in the low amp draw tank application, batteries that would fail in other RC's will survive. My BL applications can have 300 amp spikes and 25-50 amp constant draws easily, so high quality batteries and equipment is a must. You have more leeway with lower amp draw applications though.

As for Venom, while still not on par with the top guys out there, they have made major strides on improving their products and QC. Venom has some very nice new and coming products for the market and I for one am watching them closely with eager anticipation. It's kind of like Hyundai, while I still would not buy their cars yet, they are clearly leaps and bounds better than their offerings 20 years ago.

Here is some suggestions I got from another Aussie:

Will post more as I get them.

Hi Rob,


Details for the charger are:

ACS 67P+ from Ansmann Energy
-

Super fast delta-peak charger
7.2V-8.4V (6-7 cells)
Microprocessor controlled
Delta-peak detection
For NiCd/NiMH battery packs (futaba-type plug)

Fast charge 3A
Trickle charge 150mA

It cost about $50AUD from a local hobby shop in Canberra.

Thanks M.A.Ts. I'll certainly try Tony for my next tank.