Hi

I’m a huge Tamiya fan (RC car builds). 

If however I want to try out tanks, the Tamiya “buy-in” is huge.  

To effectively participate in tank battles, what brand and models would you recommend to start…if I really enjoy it, then I can invest in Tamiya

Thanks

Mike from south Mississauga

Welcome Mike. The main issue is that any off the shelf stuff you buy you will need some modification or upgrade to do battle. Dean on the forum here sells a kit for Heng Long tanks, but they are not really suitable to battle in any realistic sense.

The other option if you are not handy is to buy a used tank that is battle ready from a fellow tanker. 

Come out to our next meet and you can have a look see yourself in person !

Mikeb365 wrote:

Hi

I’m a huge Tamiya fan (RC car builds). 

If however I want to try out tanks, the Tamiya “buy-in” is huge.  

To effectively participate in tank battles, what brand and models would you recommend to start…if I really enjoy it, then I can invest in Tamiya

Thanks

Mike from south Mississauga

Welcome Mike, (yes another Mike!!!)

So at the Mississauga field, a standard newer Heng Long tank would do you OK. Hach runs the VietRCClub Iron Fist Battalion
Mississauga, ON – Can-Am Radio Control Tank Club (can-amrctankclub.com)

For us at the Riemer Field Battleground, you can come run any type of tank you want.
Waterloo, ON – Can-Am Radio Control Tank Club (can-amrctankclub.com)

However in Waterloo, our Heng Long, Taigen, Hooben, etc... are all upgraded to compete in IR Battles compatible with the Tamiya system.

• Base Tank $250-800 CDN
  
• $150 CDN control Board, IR upgrades $50-75 CDN
  
• Or instead of the previous 2 you buy a Tamiya...
  
• Radio (TX and RX)
  
• Upgrades (Idler adjustment, aftermarket recoil/flash/etc...)
  

I guess this new Mike could henceforth be designated “MikeB” if acceptable?




Welcome to the forum!

Technically Jarlath = MikeD if he was less creative with his forum ID.

MikeC wrote:

Technically Jarlath = MikeD if he was less creative with his forum ID.

Indeed!

I sometimes call Jarlath MikeD as well

To the new Mike,

Our next and, sadly, last meet for the year is December 9; there’s a post with the deets, under the latest topics on left of web page.

As a fellow newbie I'm curious as to what exactly renders Heng Long tanks as "not really suitable to battle in any realistic sense"

While HL 7.1 it is compatible with Tamiya Battle System. The main issue is you cannot control the number of lives (5 is fixed) and there is no delay on firing. With Tamiya, you can set the number of hits taken from the class (light tank, medium tank or heavy) and you have a corresponding delay in firing (light tank can fire quicker and heavy longer). You can even change that relationship with Clark board but we don't usually.

Bottomline is HL is great for running around shooting each other, but can't really meaningfully participate in more realistic battle like we do on the field.

Interesting - thanks for the response. Are there many people running HL in your club?

Pretty much all of us started out with HL. Best thing to do come out to a meet, play around with your tank, talk to us and see the upgrades we do. It is one of the best outdoor battlefields in the world so well worth it to come out for a day. :-)

I should add that there are always lenders around to use for battling with us no problem...