That time of the year...
 

Well, we made out pretty good with Uncle Sam this year. And the wife let me have $1,500 for myself.
So here is my dilemma...I would like to do a Sherman.
The Tamiya M4 comes to mind. Tower Hobbies carries it for $539.
And then the Taigen Sherman M4A3 75mm (Metal Edition) Imex has it for $511.99.

I thought about HL and just doing a custom build.

Any thoughts' from you guys would be great.

Apples to oranges buddy. What do you want to do?

The Tamiya "kit" will have to be assembled and has the HVSS with a 105MM gun.

The Taigen M4A3 has the VVSS, 75MM gun.


Two completely different tanks! :cool: Big decision!




Jeff

$479 at Tower with coupon plus free shipping for the Tamiya.

I would like to throw out something, take it for what it's worth...

I believe that every tanker should own at least one Tamiya and the M4 for $480 shipped is a great start.

Debate aside, they are the standard for a reason and the knowledge you will gain from assembly will help you so much with other conversions etc. as well as forcing you to paint too if you haven't, starting with a monochomatic scheme, instead of a camo pattern. Every part is easily replaceable and attainable, it truly is a great frustration free intro to working on a tank.

All that is said on the assumption that you don't already have a Tamiya of some sort, if you do, forgive me but I would think if you do have one now, your decision would be simple since the tired old 'Tamiya is too expensive' argument doesn't exist in this case.

I agree! I wish I would have taken this advice a year ago. Struggling as we speak with non Tamiya tank.
Also if you are going to IR battle, the TBU is only $99!
If bought together at Tower, with coupon, thats only $574.

I have both and both have their pro's and cons. The tamiya was a very fun build, but in the end I missed the barrel recoil. So, I bought the Tamiya M-51 kit. Not an accurate M-51 by any means but I don't care. It's painted OD and I really enjoy it. The sounds are great also. Others have made changes to the M4 and have a recoiling barrel but I don't have the skill set to do this.

The Taigen 75 mm IR I have is a great tank too. Came with IR and a recoiling barrel. The sounds produced from the MFU leave something to be desired. That said, it's a great tank and I will purchase the upcoming 76mm in IR. I'm hoping the tank sounds will be improved. Good luck with your decision.

Tamiya every time and twice on Sunday! I appreciate the other offerings and I am so pleased the market is growing from the massive efforts of retailors like Imex and others, but like asuf put it, Tamiya is the standard for a reason. I own other products, but usually only if Tamiya does not offer that model. The Tammy Sherman kit is a fun and enjoyable build, you will not be disappointed.

I'm curious about "the standard" and how it's being used. I see many 1/16 tanks here blended with Tamiya, IMEX, and Heng Long hulls, turrets, tracks, etc. and fitted with an after market board and the TBU. Is the TBU the standard you speak of?

Without getting into the usual this vs that argument to me the tamiya "standard" is due to it's ready to IR battle/durability out of the box (with addition of an IR bulb and apple which is plug and play.) In MOST cases the other offerings will be modified to get up to this standard whether it's changing electronics to be tamiya compliant on IR, changing metal suspension parts, gearboxes, sprocket/idler etc. This is also the case since most clubs or events are using the tamiya IR code as "standard."

I believe the "standard" that everyone speaks of is mostly to do with the IR Tamiya Battle System (TBU).
The ability to send a Tamiya IR signal a certain distance, width, and length of time. The ability to receive that
signal with a specific Apple, Mushroom, TBU, and communicate with the tanks multi function unit (MFU), clark board,
DBU, BARC, Taigen, and so on... From what I have learned is the tanks must, PER TAMIYA STANDARDS, show some sort of hit indicator, leds on apple, loss of speed, (battle damage), barrel flash to show when you have fired a shot, specific wight class foe light, medium, and heavy tanks, 3 hits, 5 hits, 9 hits,and down time after being destroyed. I think these are the basics. If your tank can not meet these TAMIYA STANDARDS, then you might not be able to play
with the Tamiya crowd. So if you dont IR battle, or battle at a club (with Tamiya standards), or have a IR Tamiya,, IR Heng Long, or IR Taigen you dont have to worry about it. If you want to battle with all then you will have to update all IR tanks to meet the Tamiya standards. I have a Tamiya Pershing, 3 Taigens, and 1 Heng Long. They all battle each other. My Tamiya is the standard, the Taigens have clark boards with Tamiya Battle Units and Tamiya IR emitters, they are all programed properly to meet Tamiya battle standards. My Heng Long has a BARC4 in it, a Tamiya Battle Unit, and Tamiya IR emitter, it is also programmed to meet Tamiya standards for IR play. Now some may say the Tamiyas have other standards, like better electronics, wiring, gears motors, and so on, thats an opinion. To me, my opinion, and I have only be into tanks for about 14 months, is that the Tamiya Standard is only the IR Battle System side of it.
If your tank meets the IR Battle System requirements, the who cares if your tank is plastic or Titanium, bright orange or fully detailed, you shouldnt get kicked out of a official battle event. I hope I answered a part of your question? This may start a huge debate, again. There are more seasoned Tankers out their than me, so Im sure this will get more attention. Im still a newbe and open to learning more also. I like each one of my tanks.

I've never thought of the TBU as the tamiya "standard." More the mechanical aspect and plug and play ease as well as reliability on the battlefield. Yes most events use the tamiya code but most aftermarket boards allow for different classes, use of tammy apples and code, etc so there is no real "standard" on that. If it uses the tamiya IR code, takes hits and dies it doesn't matter what apple or IR bulb your using (thats another discussion on it's own) its welcome to fight. The only real tamiya "standard" on the battle system would be IR code and depth of IR emitter which we enforce at Danville events, but not every club, backyard battler, etc does this. For instance, you could install tamiya electronics and apple in a basic HL but it is still not up to a tamiya kit's standards in my eyes. Sure we'll hear some different aspects on this.

OK, I'm a newbe as well as far as the Tamiya tanks are concerned. I was just trying to get a definition for "standard" as it applies. Seems we will have to wait and see what the reliability factor is on tanks other than Tamiya that are equipped with after market boards and use the TBU in actual battle scenario's. Not having competed in an organized tank battle, I can't make a judgement and must rely on those of you who have. I haven't experienced any breakdowns in my Tamiya or IMEX TBU equipped tanks so I will continue to enjoy both. Thanks for the replies guys.

There could be two use's of "standard" I suppose. One for IR code/battling and one for opinion in quality of the tank itself.

I agree with that. I just hope we see other tanks in organized battles using the TBU so we have a true comparison. It will be good for us as a tanking community to have a choice. Especially as new tank models are being produced.

I enjoy these discussions, I am all about learning, mostly by my own mistakes, lol. Is there a sticky somewhere about the club standards? It would nice if a guy, (new guy) could access it fairly easily. I know not all clubs are the same, but as far as the IR battle system goes is there a solid guidline to follow? IR emitter tube size, how far back in the tube, mantlet, weight class Sherman vs Tiger vs T34, stuff like that? It would help answer a lot of questions for new guys that want to battle at a club. Of coarse if you never want to, then it really doesnt matter what kind of battle system you have as long as each tank is the same brand. As far as my HL Tiger I not up to Tamiya standards, well I guess it would replicate a real Tiger then, I mean they did brake down alot in real life right? lol. Also when it brakes down, its easier for my daughter to take out with her little Sherman.

And then are you a modeler or not, some guys can make anything so they can buy a cheap tank and convert it into something amazing. Others, like me, can build a solid kit and be further ahead. I spent a lot of money and a ton of time making my RTRs work properly, I would have been time and money ahead building a kit. A person really has to answer alot of there own questions before getting a tank. What are you going to use it for? How talented of a modeler are you?

Your right! Also what always seems to be missing from these discussions is TIME! Before kids I had all the time in the world to scratch build, detail, weather, etc. Not the case anymore. Now when I get time in the shop I usually stare at projects for a bit then crack a beer and watch hockey/football game to decompress. Been working on 2 projects since June.....slowly!

That was going to be my next post, lol. Time is right! I work hard all day at work pulling wrenches, the last thing I want to do is come in the house and have to work on repairing or fabricating a servo recoil! I would rather just work a little more a work and BUY a plug and play part and install it rather than try and fabricate one. I dont personally find that a stress relief, but putting a kit together with all the right reliable parts to begin with, thats a whole different story, I can do that. If I added up all my time fabricating my Taigens and HL, and put a labor price on it, I could have had a couple more built Tamiyas, lol. When my hobbies turn into work, they become work and not hobbies, its then I make a decision, either get out of the hobby or find a way to make the hobby a hobby again. Everyone is different as how they look at a hobby.

Your best bet is to contact the host person, club, location where your going and ask. They're all going to be a bit different. For the most part if they are using "tamiya standards" that would be an emitter mounted in a tube with no greater than 6mm ID and the bulb recessed no less than 9mm from front of tube. These dimensions come from the tube supplied with the tamiya TBU. Some clubs/events also require a muzzle flash and no obstructions of the apple (hatches, MG's, pennants, etc.) Sherman and T-34 are mediums unless you have a "jumbo" Sherman which is classed heavy. Tiger as you probably would guess is a heavy. Here's some old RCACN classification tables and literature on battle rules. Some of this is outdated, just took too long to inspect 30-40 tankers especially when it got to depression and turret rotation speed.

http://www.bayareatankers.org/Intell...atified03_.htm

http://www.bayareatankers.org/Intell...les_RCACN_.htm

Panther F, Battle I hope.

Ausf and Shorty, Already have a full option Tiger 1. Local hobby shop guy has become my best bet. He meets anything Tower does and get's some money to keep his doors open.

So I did go with the Tamiya...Wasn't to happy about the radio situation...Wanted another DX5i but they are getting hard to come by.
Thanks for all the input guys...

Now...Does anyone know if "Nick Aguilar mods" are still available?

Last that I heard he is alive and still doing outstanding work.

Herman

O-kay....I need some help.

I'm using a Spektrum DX6i, And no matter what I do I can't get the MG, Cannon/recoil or Light's to work off of the trim settings.
I'm kinda kicking myself for not using/getting another radio. I know that the DX6i trims are different. Is there a work around, or should I swap radios?
My DX5 works fine with my full option Tamiya Tiger 1....

Set your travel adj to 125% in both directions on the elevator and whatever direction on the rudder the lights require.

The analog trims just tip the travel, that's how the MFU recognizes you want to fire, instead of just full speed elevation. The DX6i allows you to increase it without using trims, very easy. Plus, you'll never need to adjust trim while driving, just hit it full up. If you find it too sensitive, back off the percentage until it fires as you want it.

Thanks ausf...That did the trick on the lights and M.G., But no joy on the main gun/recoil? Arrrrggghhh...
I must have spent an hour trying to figure the main gun out, Is the MFU any different than the one in the Tiger?

No, the setup is the same.

I'd double check all adjustments, even do a complete reset or start a new model. Make sure it's a plane, not a heli and start from scratch that way you know there's no weird trim or subtrim adjustment.

Did you do the initial Tamiya Tx setup protocol as per the manual? It's usually not necessary when using the Attack Txs, but maybe a throw is off somewhere.

Don't worry, I know it's confusing and can be frustrating, but that's due to the ridiculous amount of control you have with a programmable Tx. When you figure it all out, there's an amazing wealth of things you can do with it, but start simple, reset to zero, make sure all switches are neutral and go from there.

I have two DX6is and can switch between a tank, RC camera dolly, animated zombie head, triple screw steering on a Vospers MTB and a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Flying Sub, each of them with completely different needs of expo, mixing and adjustments.

The immediate reaction is to blame the Tx, I've heard it over and over again. One battle I was in with my T-34, the tank was performing like a slug from the start. My teammate got in my head telling me it was the Tx, which got me to start going through the menu looking to issues and sticking back during an assault. What it ended up being was my son battled the tank right before and never turned it off, so I was fighting with his accrued damage. Not the Tx, just a simple issue that I was blind to because I believed the hype.