Boat or Tank

[Guest]

A thread inspired by Richard that i thought would be a good thread:

"If you could have either a Tamiya King Tiger RC 1:16th Tank or a Gas Nitro Off Shore RC Boat which would you choose and why?"

Personally i would have the boat, i find tanks boring and if they dont actually fire anything then not terrible exciting! Trying not to roll a powerboat as its skims across the water at 30mph is exciting in my little world....

What would you choose?

[Guest]

boat every time.....for me anyway...... or alternatively no tank or no boat give me a sub !!!!!

[Guest]

i think this is another way for you to make me get a boat Toby!!!!

...then Terry will post and try and make me get a tank!!!!

i cant afford either!!! lol

[Guest]

When you let go of the controls a tank stops, end of story.

With a boat it requires continuous input from the operator as wind and maybe currents play a part in what the boat is doing. I find it incredibly interesting manoeuvring a boat and getting it to dock just where you want it. When a single screw boat goes into reverse the rudder usually has very little effect however the prop will always 'walk' the back end one way or another making it always easier to turn the boat one way or another when it is confined.

With a twin screw set up the props will be contra-rotating so you do not have this benefit. If you do not have independant props manoeuvring a twin screw can be more difficult than a single screw boat.

As I said a tank stops!!!!!!

[Guest]

If i can add my two penny worth here

a tank is great it goes where you want it has noise gunfire etc!! Aboat can be in many different forms it floats it sinks it goes !!!

me personnaly i have found that i get immense pleasure from building the thing but after a couple of goes i lose interest so any will do just as long as i can build it!!

[Guest]

You can of course also get all sorts of sound modules for boats as well. Everything from differrent types of gunfire to engine noises, to telegraph bells and whistles.

I am not 100% convinced though that they always enhance the experience as sometimes the peace and quiet is all part of the relaxing effect of sailing your boat. As always it takes all sorts.

[Guest]

i'm with Bunk on the flying stuff....I cannot imagine the pain of seeing x amount of hours work ending up as tinder on a runway or dangling from a tree. Someone posted a video a while back of a four engined jet model ending up as charcoal, nice £5000 bonfire.

There's the up and downsides to all r/c genres. An I guess we all suffer from a certain amount of zealotry about our particular genre. (Apart from Nige, he a model ho!!).

Indulge me in a small story if you will!

Me, my kid Tyler and the dog (Tooly,Rhodesian Ridgeback-No point having a dog unless it scares small kids and pensioners!LMAO) went for a walk the other day. So, perfect opportunity to test Adolf and Eva (my Tam KT's) in the field. So with the tanks hopped up on 3800mah nimh's 3 in each, the kid hopped up on tic-tacs, the dog hopped up on children and pensioners and me hopped up first time out happiness, we headed forth.

At the end of our street there is a pedestrian crossing, our first hurdle.

With tanks set to full volume and smoke units running to perfection, we patiently waited for the lights to go red. I gave Tyler his battle orders and we crossed the road. With cars patiently waiting for the tanks to pass, halfway across while still rolling both turrets turned towards the waiting motorists letting off an almighty double volley. The smiling faces of the motorists and Tyler was worth every second of build time.

Onwards towards the playing fields, one more set of traffic lights and another volley for the motorists and we were there.

Long grass, mud, sand, rocks every kind of terrain you could think of.

Plugged in the Tamiya battle systems and let the kid blow the bejesus out of Adolf. The shell whistles sending the dog on a crazed run around the field. After about 45 minutes it started to rain ..mmmm problem. The turrets on these tanks is fairly water proof but the rear engine vents are'nt...The dog had decided not to poo so i tore up his poo bag and covered the vents. After an hour and 15 minutes of total fun we set of back home, another two volleys for the motorists and we were back...mission completed. lol.

The end result of all this is i guess, great memory's for the kid. I certainly had more fun than I have had for a long time. And let me know that there isnt a lot that can stop a Tam KT. Cant wait for winter for some snow and ice now!

So when the sub and boat boys ponds are frozen over, The plane and copter men are grounded due to wind,rain and snow.

Think of us tankers roaring across your frozen ponds, trundling through rain, snow and wind.

Only problem with tanks is...they aint no fun on your own...unless your a back garden sadist (Scaring birds and cats and burglars)

[Guest]

Cracking story Tiger. To be honest whatever you do it is on a differrent level when you share it with others, particularly kids.

A few months ago a young mother with her two sons were watching the boats go round the pond on a Sunday morning. After the eldest asked a few questions, he must have been about ten, I asked him if he wanted a go. I worked on the principal that if it stayed in the middle, based on the speed of the model, I could have the transmitter out of his hands and stop the boat before it hit the edge!!

The look on his face as he manoeuvred the boat was priceless.

I used to know a friend with a pair of Ridgebacks which reminds me of a joke. What is the differrence between a Poodle sh****ng your leg and a Ridgeback sh****ng your leg? The Ridgeback gets to finish!!!

[Guest]

Richard, i 110% agree with you! Oftern just "taxing" about the river is much more fun that flat out power. Because the nearest boating pond to me is MILES away i sail on the local river. Not the best place as you can imagine due to the fact theres tides and muddy reed backs to crash in. That said its also the most fun, using the currant to turn the boat, and seeing who can do the best approach up to the jetty!

Reversing against the currants always fun, steering becomes a work of art! As you said its easier to turn one direction but that changes depending on what the waters doing! I would dread to think of the calculations you have to do on the full sized thing!

RJ- Tank or Boat, as long as its RC its the way forward :-)

As for the kids, i have an old Tamiya Blackfoot that i take to shows purely for that reason. Like you say, the expression on their face is soo funny as the thing flies across the green. (yes its been crashed...many many times)

[Guest]

Thats the stuff Squiffy. Rivers are a whole new challenge but extreemly satisfying when you get it right.

Pain in the arse when you don't!!

[Guest]

Pain in the arse when you don't!!

And the wallet!

[Guest]

When I did my Certificate of Profficiency in Survival Craft (CPSC Certificate) We had to manoeuvre a ships lifeboat on a river with oars!!

The boat was manned with about a dozen of us and we rotated through all the positions in the boat including Lead Oar and Cox. The idea was to learn the orders used in boat rowing and to put them into practise handling a boat in a current.

Imagine approaching a jetty against a current when you have to "Ship Oars" on the Port side as you approach the jetty. Ship oars too early and you will start to drift off and loose way and steerage. Ship oars too late and they will get tangled up with the jetty. Get it wrong and you have to go all the way round again and then approach upstream against the current.

I don't think I have ever enjoyed doing something as much as I did that day!

Nowadays they don't use oars, cue Tiger and ageist comments!!!

[Guest]

lmao...u invite me in bunk!

But no...no ageist comments...i was made a grandad at 41, 4 weeks ago by my middle daughter from my first marriage. By my reckoning i could be a great-great grandad before i pop my clogs. Or maybe a great great great grandad if i get past 100. Vodka and cigarette addiction go against me on that one though. But there again the oldest man in Britain blames his longevity on liberal booze intake and woodbines....lmao....one in the eye for the health zealots!!!!!

Hackunamatada!

[Guest]

....what a wonderfull phrase!

contrats Terry!!

[Guest]

I have read all the above posts with great interest and I think that is why I am glad I am pretty much an all rounder in that I do fly planes & Heli's, I have 3 Boats and a Hovercraft too and a Tank, as well as the Cars which you well know about by now.

I can pick whatever model suits my mood or the weather circumstances at the time and still enjoy myself...and that surely is what the Hobby is all about...!!! I have yet to try Subs and that is very likely too as they fascinate me and I have a nice idea for one I want to build.

Quite a few guys who sail at My Local Boat Model Pond on Sunday morning go home at 1pm for Lunch and after that you will then find them either Slope Soaring off the Great Orme in Llandudno or down at the Rhyl and District Model Flying site with the powered planes.

Regards.......Mark.