parlorgames

Hello everyone,

I'm totally new to the hobby of remote controlled tanks, I would very much appreciate any advice that you offer....I have half a basement
17ft x 15 ft to play around with, I would like to build some tables and set up a really authentic looking WW2 tank battlefield for competitions......Here are myquestions:

1) I was wondering what sort of tanks would be good for this scenario, I am looking for the smallest and most authentic tanks possible,maybe even some that smoke and blow apart ...if possible ?

2) Is infra-red better than airsoft in competition ?

3) Where can I get the tanks, and scenery to do this?.... I'm looking for realism

4) How much do you think all of this will cost?...I have a little bit of money to kick around, however, I would still like to save money where I can.


Thanks...all comments appreciated!

pattoncommander

15x17 ' isn't much room when you consider 1;16 scale RCtanks. Outside in a back yard would be better. For a WWIIscenario, the HLPanzer III or IV and a Pershing or the forthcoming VVSSSherman would be good. The Pz IIIoffers many variations and conversions but the Tigers are popular and those can be converted to early-mid-late production with a bit of modeling. On the Russian side, the WSNT-34/85 is good, when re-worked with HLelectronics. For smaller scale, the 1;24 scale tanks are getting popular but not much variety. Scenery you will have to scratch build. Check some of the popular RCsites and look at the battle areas. Hope this helps.

philipat

Hmmm...indoors and in a tiny space...that's a difficult one. Like pattoncommander said, I would recommend outside so that you get more manuever room. But to answer your question, 1:24 is about as big as you can go. To the best of my knowledge, that limits your options to VsTank'sTiger I. They plan to release a Sherman, but it's not out yet.

VsTank does have a micro series that includes a Panther G, Tiger I, T-34/85 and a Sherman. While, I'm not keen on their looks, they might be the best way for you get more use of the small space that you have.

Here's a website: www.vstank.com.

RMSINSD

Check out Tower Hobbies;http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...SEARCH=vs+tankThey havean Abrams, a T-72, a Japanese Type 90, a Tiger 1 and there is a KV-2 due out soon. 1/24th scale, IR battle ready,,,,,

philipat

hmmm...there's the Sherman, too. Iwonder why it wasn't there when I pulled up the VsTank webpage.

Oh yea...I forgot to mention that for anything indoors, I would recommend IR versus airsoft. Iwouldn't want the pellets rolling around under my feet. What you prefer outdoors has been a subject of several debates on this forum. In the end, it boils down to personal preference.

parlorgames

Thanks all .... that answered quite alot!! .....1:24 might be alright ? ...  1:32 or smaller would be perfect ....I read about RC tanks that are small enough to be parked on a business card, Japanese...I think ?.....I'll just have to keep looking , good advice with the IR!!  ....pellets on the floor would not be good ....lol

YHR

Tamiya make qualtiy 1/35 scale RC tanks. No IR though. That would be cool if Darkith could do something about that. They have a Sherman, Panther and Tiger.

hatakashi

How about VS tank series?

Ern

VSTank makes the small IRtanks, you can see them at www.toyeast.com. The VSTank*R models have turrets that traverse about 180 degrees and look a little better than the first series, and their speed is more scale. They are not the easiest to control and battery life is very short, maybe 10 minutes and they are prone to charging problems if run down too much. They are around 1/100 scale and close to HOscale so buildings that are close to scale are available, or you could go the paper model. There was a thread about these recently, read this for more information. As you will read, it appears that toyeast may be closing these out as the member states he got them for $20 when retail was around $70 for two. The new models that is pictured looks much better, but if they are like the much promised Pro models with laser aiming devices and improved sound, it's hard to say when they will be out.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4075194/tm.htm

Here's the link to the paper model buldings. He dd an awesome job and they look as good or better than the railroad buildings and at a fraction of the cost

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8721629/tm.htm

13BT

I would check out the model train section of a hobby shop for scenery bits. Or you can make em yourself.

parlorgames

Thanks Ern!!  ....the VS tank tank series is definately the way I'm going to go at this point....the closer I can get to HO scale , the better! ...the 1:24 scale I decided is way too big for a 17ft area...even 1:32 is pushing it !....   HO is small enough to be able to do a ton of things with and maintain a birdseye view.  I want to keep this indoors, outside is not a good option for where I live and come winter, no way! ......Those paper buildings are awesome! ...I think I might try to custom make some out of balsa wood ....make them so they are able to collapse on tank impact as in a real tank situation.   Any ideas on how to make small battlefield explosions without burning my house down...?  ....lol

Ern

Parlorgames, if you get the small VS, remember that only the *R models have a turret that moves and they drive closer to a scale speed. The other small tanks drive really erratic and to shoot to the side you have to turn the tank. You have to turn the turrets manually. I wanted to do the same as you are planning but the run time and battery problems made me loose interest and I got into the 1/16 scale. If you haven't ordered yet, be sure to order extra batteries. They don't cost much, but shipping for a $3.00 battery kind of makes it cose prohibitive. I believe that toyeast also sells on eBay. I don't remember if it was any cheaper, but they may combine shipping costs or something there. Good luck with your project!

parlorgames

R models ...gotcha! ......yeah,  I know what you're saying about the short-term batteries,  that presents somewhat of an obstacle,  I'm planning on turning this into a ruled competition RC tank battle,   with enough tanks ready for action, I think this problem can be overcome ...one tank dies, another tanks fires up ....it might actually add a bit of excitement if done right ...

Do the batteries drain only when the tank is actually running or do they drain immediately after they are charged ?  ....a 3 for 10 charge is terrible !    they really should fix that!