Tamiya 1:16 RC Tanks

[350wedge]

Has anyone here got any of the Tamiya range of 1:16 radio controlled tanks. I'm looking at buying a King Tiger in the near future and would like to find out if anyone has experience of building them.

More specifically are there any things in the build process i should look out for, or any general advice would be good too. I've built various r/c cars and monster trucks in the past but this will be my first Tank...

Cheers

[skodaku]

350wedge said:

Has anyone here got any of the Tamiya range of 1:16 radio controlled tanks. I'm looking at buying a King Tiger in the near future and would like to find out if anyone has experience of building them.

More specifically are there any things in the build process i should look out for, or any general advice would be good too. I've built various r/c cars and monster trucks in the past but this will be my first Tank...

Cheers

You need to Google around and you'll find lots of Forums dealing with this topic. IPMS are heavily into Military stuff and might be a good start-point. Go here.

www.ipms-uk.co.uk/

You may find build info on the Tamiys site; either UK or USA. Good hunting. I believe they are superb kits and Tamiya rarely prove problematic.

[roop]

Get over to www.tamiyaclub.com - lots of peeps in the forums to help.

[murph7355]

I have 2 - a Tiger I and a Pershing (well you have to have a German and an Ally for the battle system, don't you ).

If you've built other Tamiya kits before, you'll be fine. There are some fiddly bits (probably the fiddliest parts are the suspension, turret/gun gearing and getting everything to fit in the hull), but take your time, read the destructions carefully before trying to assemble anything and it'll be a breeze.

Satisfying seeing the end results

When buying, I'd strongly recommend the full option kits (stereo system, lights etc etc).

Any particular reason for going for the King TIger? I had a good look at the 4 WWI kits they do (Sherman, Pershing, Tiger I, King Tiger) and the King Tiger seemed a bit...boring to me. Sherman is an earlier, less advanced kit. Pershing has the most features and it and the Tiger I seemed by far the nicest of them to my eye.

[350wedge]

Thanks for the replies so far, thats very helpful.

I'm going for a King Tiger as its the biggest.... Seriously though i've looked at them all as well and i have to say i like all of them, just I prefer the shape of the King Tiger. Chances are in time i may get one or two of the others as well. At the moment the best deal i can get is also on the King Tiger and i'm definatly going for the full option kit.

If i had the cash i'd really like the new A6 leopard Main Battle Tank, it looks like a really impressive model

[murph7355]

You'll enjoy whichever you get I'm sure. And if you get two, you must get the battle system and have mates round. Seeing the tank take hits, and then the noises and performance change is great

I'd also advise you spray the kits up properly too (pre-assembly). They're easy to paint, and it makes a lot of difference to the finished product.

I was lucky - was in Japan for a while and bought mine there. Bought two full kits for the general price of one over here. If you know anyone in Tokyo, it would be well worth trying to source that way.

[350wedge]

I dont know anyone in Japan unfortunatly but i have found a very good seller on ebay based in Hong Kong and he sells in US$. With the exchange rate as it is currently it makes it a rather good buy even if i get stung for import duty....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Are metal tracks a good option by the way?? I doubt i'll get them to start with but maybe fit later once i've worn the originals out...lol

Edited by 350wedge on Sunday 14th January 16:04

[jimmyjimjim]

www.hlj.com
And get the full option complete kit.
Really really really nice kits.
Got the Tiger 1 complete kit, and thoroughly recommend it.
If you've got the cash, the leopard 2a6 would be the one to go for, but the Tiger and Pershing run it a close second.
The moment you test the sound unit is the moment you realise that you haven't wasted your money as you start giggling!
Take your time, and everything will be fine. The only finicky bit I had was the grub screw for the drive wheels was malformed, but I had spares. Only 1 component wrong out of how ever many the kit has...
Looking at the leopard myself as a treat; etamiya.com do them for about $800, plus another $200 for a radio.
As for wearing the tracks out, I think you'd have to put a lot of miles on them. And for the most part you'll be playing with the sounds...

[anonymous-user]

350wedge said:

I dont know anyone in Japan unfortunatly but i have found a very good seller on ebay based in Hong Kong and he sells in US$. With the exchange rate as it is currently it makes it a rather good buy even if i get stung for import duty....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Are metal tracks a good option by the way?? I doubt i'll get them to start with but maybe fit later once i've worn the originals out...lol

Stella models are excellent , I've bought loads of Tamiya stuff from them.

I didn't know they sold through ebay also.

[350wedge]

stovey said:

350wedge said:

I dont know anyone in Japan unfortunatly but i have found a very good seller on ebay based in Hong Kong and he sells in US$. With the exchange rate as it is currently it makes it a rather good buy even if i get stung for import duty....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Are metal tracks a good option by the way?? I doubt i'll get them to start with but maybe fit later once i've worn the originals out...lol

Stella models are excellent , I've bought loads of Tamiya stuff from them.

I didn't know they sold through ebay also.

Excellent thats really good to know... My finger is hovering over the buy it now button...lol. Really i need to wait until end of month though when i get paid!!

Having said that i've just put up some Graham Farish N gauge loco's up for sale on ebay...here's hoping i get lots of bids...