So, does anyone have any info on truly micro rc gear? I came across a plastic model of a 1/144 scale US landing craft (and of course bought one) and I am seriously considering trying to get it running for convoy duty... -Greg
Truly micro like LCVP (or whatever the little landing craft were that got carried on an LST)? Crazy... True story that may be of use: Last Nats, 2 battlecruiser captains got lit up on hard cider and built a very small convoy ship, using the thin cardboard from the case the cider came in as ribs, and newspaper as hull sheeting, covered with 2 thin layers of 2oz fiberglass (using CA glue as resin). The motor and steering gear (here's the maybe helpful part) were salvaged from a zip-zap RC car that was bought for $10 new. Some "left over" parts from the car were used for steering gear and the rudder stuffing tube was made from a reinforced coffee stirrer. The range of the controller was a little short, but with a bigger antenna and a good battery, the signal went 20 feet. Now, disavowing any relationship to these scurrilous individuals, I will speculate that if one replaced a few components in the transmitter (or built a little preamp for the receiver) [or both], you could have a nice, teeny-tiny convoy ship radio. The zip-zap also includes the steering servo! (Actually, if you built a litle yagi antenna, you wouldn't need an amplifier, jsut keep the antenna pointed at your landing craft. A 4-element yagi will increase transmitted power (in one direction) by a factor of around x3. Go to 6-ele, and it's almost x4. Sad that 2 grown men would waste an evening (till about 3AM) on such things... tut, tut. I wonder if I can find that sucker and see if it'll still float?
I found it last night and of course had to order one... Part of it is the challenge of making something that small... we will see if I can figure out how to do it... -Greg
WooooOOOOooooaaaaahhh.... You are truly hard core. The zip-zap card and motor would barely fit, I can't think of anything else that would. It's funny as heck, Brian and I were talking about casting them in foam for LSTs... It'd rock to see one running under power.
I also have one of the little buggers. Put it together at NABGO. A picture of it, with a Sherman tank aboard, sitting in the shadow of the Titanic. is at Visit this site. My plan - when I get the urge - use the guts from a microboat of similar size (it has two motor pods that I would put where the prop cavities are in the model) Take a casting of the top of the tank body and use that to make a tank-sized running gear compartment to double the size of the space for the running gear, radio, etc. With differential steering, looks close to doable. Note I did not say practical or useful (it would be a novelty), but perhaps doable. For now, it is a nice indicator of scale. Cheers, Wreno
Dana had his PT boat out on Wed during Nats, ran it around the pond for about a hour, Marc's Yamato's prop wash just about sank it. Cute little thing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/TAKARA-WTM-WORLD-TANK-MUSEUM-IRC-WR-04-JAGDTIGER-JAPAN_W0QQitemZ130135541754QQcmdZViewItem I think that cannibalizing one of these might be just the trick...
Actually, what I was planning on using was Visit this site. Longer run time, RF instead of IR, and you get the props and engines in modular form. I am thinking a much easier conversion. I already have a couple in stock to fiddle with (was planning on converting the uppers to PT boats). Cheers,
Yep, they are out of a lot of their stock right now, as they are getting in their new stuff. I am guessing that they are in process of clearing out/ordering fresh stock for the next Christmas season. They do have a new minisub which has (I believe) similar electronics/drives here Visit this site for only $9. kill the LED and you should get better battery life. Of course, they are not the only source for the micro RC racers, if you want one, just one of the lower prices I have found. Cheers, Wreno
