Tank or Big Rig?

[GTodd 1341]

Good evening all, after I finish the 801X Id like to build something different. I'm leaning toward a Tank or Semi. So which one and why? Which model? Go!

[Tamiyabigstuff 831]

They are all good !

Tank kits are a lot more expensive than the Semi's so depends on how deep your wallet is.

If it was my 1st tank I would go for the Sherman as that is probably the cheapest, for the semi I would go for the Grand Hauler for the extra 'bling' factor.

 

[MadInventor 3884]

If going for a tank, I'd go for either the Tiger I or Panther. Both are large and easy to work on, and have good off road performance, and will have good re-sale potential if you subsequently decide it's not for you. I'd favour the panther over the JagdPanther as the barrel tends to bounce around with the JagdPanther when on the move, due to the flex in the plastic mounting.

If going for a semi truck, I'd go for either the Globe Liner or a variant of the King / Grand Hauler, and the flat bed trailer. I just prefer the look of the classic American truck over the other trucks, and would want a tractor unit with 3 axles over 2.

If you're looking for something different though, there are a few 6x6 and 8x8 1/12 truck kits for sale out there now made by Cross RC.

 

 

[Mad Ax 9294]

Hmm, tank or truck?  Well, I went with truck because there's a few good truck clubs near me and they run regularly, indoors, every month.  So, even in the depths of winter, when there's nothing else on, I can still have a good day out truckin' around a layout and shooting the breeze with some old RC buddies.  Are there any truck clubs on your area?  Are there any tank clubs?  That would be the big decider for me.

I can't help with what tank, as I have none.

As for what truck - IMO it's all down to preference.  If you like American rigs then you have the obvious choices: King or Grand Hauler for that classic Yank look, Globe Liner to be a bit different.  Aeromax, Freightliner and Knight Hauler if you want to be a bit more modern.  Most Tamiya trailers are of the American design (axles right at the back, no run-under bars) and so they look best on the American rigs.  They don't look like on Euro trucks.

If you like euro style, then the world is your oyster.  Scanias are hugely over-represented at my local truck meets, but there are hundreds of bling aftermarket parts for Scania and not so much for MAN, Mercedes, Volvo etc.  There are still parts for non-Scania trucks, just not so many and not so well stocked.  Tamiya's euro-style trailers are expensive but Hercules Hobby do some very good euro trailers for much cheaper.  They're a direct fit onto Tamiya rigs (Tamiya's trailer lighting kit fits too).

It's worth mentioning that you (officially) can't fit the MFU into some Euro cabs with the interior fitted.  (This may be the same on some US cabs, although there must be buckets of space in those big sleeper cabs).  The instructions for my TGX actually say to paint the windows black if fitting the MFU, to hide the wiring.  They're not wrong - it's actually really ugly with all the wires on display behind the windows.  I'm in the process of building a behind-the-cab generator to hide the MFU in so I can fit the proper interior.

If you want to go full-option (and let's face it, who doesn't?) then hunt around to see what brand you want before you buy.  I bought a "full option" MAN TGX that came with MFU, lights, battery and radio.  Unfortunately it came with the MFU-01, which is the US sound module, despite being a Euro truck.  It lasted a year before my OCD got the better of me and I bought an MFU-03 to replace it (I might actually get around to fitting it this month!)  It was an expensive way to change my mind.  I considered trying to piggyback a non-Tamiya sound module off the MFU, but it looked like too much of a challenge.

So, while Tamiya's MFUs do everything out of the box, but once you've gone Tamiya, you're stuck with Tamiya.  If you decide you don't like the Tamiya functionality or the pre-recorded Tamiya sounds, there's no way to change it.  There are some wireless trailer light kits that work with the Tamiya MFU (I'm about to fit one to my Bruder low-loader conversion).

Beier and Servonaut are modular MFU designs that you can add and expand as you please.  You can download sound libraries or record your own.  Astec models in Bristol are knowledgeable in Beier sounds; the boss runs a Scania at my local truck meet with some very impressive recordings made from a genuine Scania rig.  Servonaut had lots and lots of different options for truck functions, trailers, servo controllers for tippers, support legs, hydraulics, all sorts.

I hope that helps - trucking can be very expensive so I think it's best to have a plan before you get started, so you don't do what I do and start buying the wrong things.

[Backlash 481]

In addition to Mad Ax's brilliant reply..

From a build perspective, all of the trucks use the same front axle, front suspension and 3 speed gearbox.. All of the 2 axle trucks use the same rear axle and suspension, and all the 3 axle trucks use the same 2 rear axles and bogie suspension... The only real difference in all the trucks is in the length of the chassis rails, as they are basically determined by the cab that is fitted to them....

[Ad Lav 367]

Having 8 tanks currently and just purchased a truck to tow my tanks I can say it doesn't really matter as you'll inevitably end up getting the other one at some point anyway!

Tank wise the Sherman and tiger are great and not too expensive.

If you are after a second hand one I may be able to help out as I am selling my King Tiger to fund a new jagdpanzer one.

The Leopard and Type 10 have to most sophisticated electrics of the range but are the most expensive.

[Shodog 1835]

I was once in your situation. Since I had a full option knight hauler I figured I'd get a full option pershing tank. Spent lots of money building and detailing the tank. After ten minutes of running I realized that unless you have someone to battle, their pretty boring to run. I wish I would have used all that money to buy a truck and trailer. 

[GTodd 1341]

Great replies gents, I'm stuck between the super Sherman and Grand Hauler.

[Shodog 1835]

The Box trailer fits three six packs of beer. Just saying. 

 

 

[Ad Lav 367]

Super Sherman imo not worth the extra - it's inaccurate and doesn't have any features over the Sherman bar recoil. You lose lights.

I got one and sold the turret, used it for my M4A3E8 build for ease of using all the parts for the conversion.

If you want a really good one get the leopard, Panzer iv or wait for the Abrams.

[Tamiyabigstuff 831]

I built the KV-1 & KV-2 last year - both good builds & excellent sound effects - worth considering.

 

[berman 5315]

Some fantastic info here.

Would love to build another tank. I built a 2a6 but wanted a Tiger 1 initially, I still love my leopard but would get a tiger or sherman (want one with ww2 or historical significance) next.

One thing to note is the tanks are more of a glue together kitset than any other RC Tamiya makes. Mostly the main hulls/gearbox etc are screwed and the upper hulls and turrets you will spend a lot of time gluing. The trucks dont use much glue if any and you can poddle along quite happily with a screwdriver.

If the tank has more than one colour paint scheme (camo or substantial weathering) you will need to think about painting it in sections if you want to do it justice as it is very hard to get into places like under turrets and behind road wheels tracks etc when it is all built. A similar scenario with the sound units in the trucks, you want to add lights and control boards as you build as it is a mission to do it when it is built.

I love the fact that both the trucks and the tanks are immensely satisfying builds (the amount of parts trees is almost overwhelming, esp the leopard), but neither are anything alike.

I will agree that I run the trucks 10-1 more than the tank, but that is because of my habitat. If I was around a tank club or had some nice woods locally and a friend with one, It would get much more use.

Best of luck with your choice!