MeanMustang

Hi Guys, I'm thinking of getting my first tank. It is partly for nostalgic reasons, but I don't have much knowledge of tanks so would like some infor on this. In particular, I'm considering a 1981 Tamiya 56004 King Tiger VI. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=327

How many versions of 56004 are there and are they all 1981-produced? What I mean is that I've seen some boxes with the word "Production Turret" on the box art but some without. I've also seen some with a symbol at the bottom right corner that says "factory assembled tracks" and some without. Is it like the XR311 where there is a re-issue of the same item bearing the same item number?

rclaw

Can't answer your questions. But, with Tamiya tanks. You will have to build/put the kit together. While others like HL Tiger, its RTR out of the box. However, Tamiya made great tanks.

phasor

Hi, Tamiya certainly offers great products for RC Tanking. The King Tiger may not be the right model to start with, if you're new to tanks, as this type may require upgrades to make it work reliably. The stock tracks are not strong enough to run on rough terrain like grass and so may require upgrade to metal tracks. However the added weight of 2kg will require an improved idler support, gear reduction for more torque and chassis stiffening. The current version of Tamiya's King Tiger release (56018) offers more features like better drivability, realistic engine and gun firing sounds, main gun recoil, gunflash, etc. The 56004 is propelled by a single type 540 motor and needs servos for speed control and steering with clutch assembly while the current version is driven by a dual ESC (DMD). "Production Turret" refers to the Henschel design which was commisioned for full production as opposed to the "Porsche Turret" of which only 50 were produced. Good models to start with are the Tiger 1 and Sherman. Heng Long and Mattoro brands offer RTR tanks and are good enough for the money.

MeanMustang

Hey Phasor, I think I get what u mean. Do u mean that the older Tamiya models do not have individual control over each track and there's some sort of a clutch/torque splitter that divides power - one for each track? They probably run on the old 6V NiCd pack too? So from a beginner perspective, a modern tank will be easier to build, more realistic and have less dead weight to carry?

Actually I kinda got interested in tanks after buying one in Hong Kong. Its more like a toy and shoots bb pellets - sorry I don't have the name of it off-hand. It reminded me of the Tamiya 56004 which I though was cool when I was a kid but couldn't afford and ended up with Hornet and a 1/35 static model of the King Tiger. Anyway, if I do get the 56004, it will be more to stare at than to build i guess. I searched around and found that some came with the word "production turret" on the box while others didn't. Some had "Assembled tracks" on the box too, so I am confused that there may be more than 1 release of 56004. Did Tamiya made some 56004s with the production turret and some with Porsche turrets?

phasor

To the 1st question, yes . To the 2nd, they were meant to run on 7.2v but works fine with 6v. Lower voltage slows it down a bit and makes it more realistic. On the 3rd, the current KT model comes with pre-assembled tracks so it's easier to build in that respect. Also, the elimination of servos makes it simpler. Tamiya did make different versions but each had different catalog #'s. The 56004 is the "production Turret" version and requires track assembly (easy though)

MeanMustang

phasor, you have a PM from me...