Yep, that's 1:16,
not 1:6... and I've completely gotten over the Cohoon Tiger fiasco
of a decade ago!
These articles cover 4 months' of quick learning about the hobby, with info from many different sources; I did try to give specific credit where due, but the brain sometimes smooshes stuff together-- so excuuuuuuuse me!
I was more interested in building these things than doing articles about them, so I missed taking in-progress pictures (especially of turret interiors) that I wished I had when I started concentrating on the articles. Sorry, but I'm not gonna take them apart just to get those pictures! To help fill that void, I've embedded some funky YouTube videos. (I confess, the videos were just an excuse for me to play with new toys.)
Hopefully, this documentation of my journey from "newbie" to one of
those dreaded "Tamiya snobs" has some useful info for folks interested
in the hobby.
09/08/09 Mudflaps Aren't Just For Shelf Queens An idea for mounting break-resistant mudflaps on Tigers and King Tigers. Not about mounting mudflap gals.
09/04/09 Tamiya's 1:16 Panther Ausf. G Kit When you spend this kind of money on a toy tank a second time, you're beyond the need for therapy.
SUPPLIERS
RC Tanks go hoof-in-mouth with spending money: These are some vendors that have helped me get rid of my hard-earned moolah. Bear in mind that I don't endorse these guys-- I didn't have any problems with them at the time, but the world changes, websites and businesses bite the dust, yadda, yadda, yadda.
USA-basedThe USA is like a third-world country when it comes to RC tanks (but we do have Predator drones and they aren't equipped with Airsoft guns!)
RC Command Heng Long tanks, spare parts and imported aftermarket upgrades (Asiatam)
RCTankWars Heng Long & Matorro tanks, aftermarket upgrades, ElMod & assembled DBC systems
ETO Armor Tamiya upgrade parts, Schumo, Daryl Turner
Tamiya USA Tamiya tank kits & replacement parts
International Specialty PartsFor those special parts that no one in the USA sells (which is a lot of really kewl stuff)...
WeCoHe Manufacture specialty and detail parts that can be hard-to-find elsewhere
Utility PartsThese are some useful parts, with links to specific sources that I've used. (09/2009- FWIW, vendor URLs do change, but I don't maintain them-- that's what Google's for.)
Batteries: All-Battery.com I'm happy with the Tenergy 7.2 volt 4200 mAh NiMH batteries & charger
Wireless Video Camera: Google this, because many vendors sell them and this seems to be an area of fast growth. Important- If you've got a 2.4GHz transmitter, you shouldn't get a 2.4GHz video system because you'll get lots of interference. Get a 900 MHz system (or other) instead.