I got back from Danville this weekend and wanted to tell you all what a blast it was. This was the first time I’d worked with and competed against other R/C folks and man it was some serious fun. Tamiya’s Tiger I is exceptional and performed very well, even in the soil with the pebbles. I think the only thing I would seriously consider adding would be spring loaded idler wheels for some give and take when rocks get stuck in between the tracks and the wheels. The Zagi 400s do slow the tank down some when added to the Type 4 gears, but it still runs fast (33 mph at scale speed). The real Tiger could only run 24 mph. I might have to replace those Zagis with Graupners.
While there I also got to see some outstanding models that the other guys brought, most notably a King Tiger with a winter wash and very convincing rust in the weld seams and road wheels, and a Tiger I with some very detailed zimmerit and the numbers painted in Russian italic for the Russian campaign.
And yes, the Axis won out overall…
Of course I took pictures! Of course, there will be better pics than the ones I snapped up on the museum’s website. They even got my wife to operate the video camera for our battles.
The word “fun” is an understatement. I mean, I thought I had a great time researching and building my Tiger, but a new dimension was added when I went down to Danville and saw the battlefield with it’s buildings, roads, bridges, rivers and mountains. In many of the battle scenarios, heavy German tanks could ouly use the one stone bridge, whereas the allies could use that bridge and the three other wooden bridges. I also can’t forget seeing all the other tanks that were there. It was really something to see other folks’ tanks, paint schemes and configurations. But the best part was actually working as a team against another force. Since the Tiger has a slower rate of fire than the Sherman and couldn’t move as fast, it was a real contest. You couldn’t just lumber your Tiger right out to meet them and expect to win. The Sherman would just run circles around you and pick you off. The best ways to do it was to approach the enemy at an angle with your turret pointed at him. I was told this was also an actual tactic since the Tiger had flat armor, they would attack at a 45 degree angle to maximize their armor. Sadly though, there was only one Sherman operating that day, so it was mainly a contest between Tigers and Pershings.
The battlefield was also equipped with smoke dischargers for fires and explosions and a fog machine to simulate clouds and fog. the battles also brought in tons of people to watch, which brought in a lot of dough for the museum.
Although I’m extremely busy, I’m glad I took the time to go to this event. I found out they have an Amtrak station in Danville, so next time I’ll forego driving the 6-7 hours.
Ouch, after reading the article, I get the not so subtle impression that some folks were mad about my Tiger being a bit faster than allowed. Yeah, the Pershings did kick butt in the beginning. My only defense is that it was my first battle of the day and I didn’t know squat. Oh well, I went to have fun, and that goal was achieved. As for pics, it will be a while. I recommend going to the American Armored Foundation’s website, or to www.onthebattlefront.com . They’ll have pics up much faster than I.
