Old Tamiya found!

[Florida Ranger]

Found this old Tamiya Tiger II, going to try a total overhaul. Got only the tank. Welcome to all help and suggestions on where to start and how to proceed.

thanks to all! Looking forward to sharing results

[Rubicon99]

Found this old Tamiya Tiger II, going to try a total overhaul. Got only the tank. Welcome to all help and suggestions on where to start and how to proceed.

thanks to all! Looking forward to sharing results

Sorry for the bad new I am not trying to be a buss kill. If you want a nice display tank put the time into it. If you want a reliable running tank just buy a new one. I am very familiar with that generation of Tamiya tank and it will cost you more to make it run reliably then buying a new Tamiya King Tiger.

The clutch drive are horrible and fail rather quickly. There are NO spare parts from Tamiya any longer for them. Changing out the entire drive system is the only way to make the tank run reliably. Then there is the turret and the issue there. The list can go on and on.

The 1970s generation Tamiya tanks were and are garbage. They are nothing like the new tanks. Heck even HL old King Tiger is a better tank then a 1970 Tamiya Tiger.

[MrChef]

I might be more bummed out than the OP. I've seen several videos of people trying to bring these old dinosaurs back to life.And I saw some issues but thought it was a cool idea too.

So, hypothetically how would you rebuild this? What would be the most cost effective, reliable fully functional way to rebuild such a model? If you say just get an old Heng Long again then the OP's find is destined as a range target. But hey that'd be a cool rebuild, a knocked out King Tiger for a diorama or RC battlefield.

[Rubicon99]

I might be more bummed out than the OP. I've seen several videos of people trying to bring these old dinosaurs back to life.And I saw some issues but thought it was a cool idea too.

So, hypothetically how would you rebuild this? What would be the most cost effective, reliable fully functional way to rebuild such a model? If you say just get an old Heng Long again then the OP's find is destined as a range target. But hey that'd be a cool rebuild, a knocked out King Tiger for a diorama or RC battlefield.

I wish I could say it was easy, I just can't because it's not. There are no simple routes for drop in parts, everything has to be hand fitted.
The list of parts needed is long and can get rather expensive. Just retrofitting new transmission like ETOs can cost $300+ which doesn't mean they are simple drop in replacements either. Then there are the tracks and electronics. They will need to be replaced so add another $200+ easy and on and on. Can it be done absolutely YES and people do it, but these people usually have years of experience in tanks and other RC ground vehicles and know where to source the needed parts from. An example is Rich Johnson a member on this site. He completely refits older Tamiya Leopard 1 tanks to modern standards using new Tamiya DMD control systems, new metal tracks, new Taigen or ETO transmission, ball bearings in the road wheels, new turret rotation systems, barrel recoil and more.

An old 70s era Tamiya tank is just not a good tank to attempting to learn tank building skills on. But if a person wants to try go for it, just be ready for the headaches to comes and please don't judge the tank hobby of today by the standards of tanks from the 70s.

[cmdrcody]

Sorry for the bad new I am not trying to be a buss kill. If you want a nice display tank put the time into it.

I agree 100%. Would be a nice display model of an outdated totally analog tank.

[RichJohnson]

You have no idea how much work it is to make those old things run again let alone reliably.
I use lathes drill presses tapping tools drummel lots of bearings and on and on to make the old leopard 1 chassis come up to modern rc standards. And I only use them because they are all that is available ever. That’s if they are t worn out and shot, which they can be.
The exception is the old clutch drive Sherman, it’s a lot easier but still not a walk in the park. It still requires all the equipment minutes the late. I convert them or HL style trannys.

the German tanks are still being produced by Tamiya in the full option format. Bearings all around, full turret operation packages and nice electronics. It just is not worth any time or money at all to convert those old German models

[Florida Ranger]

The Wise Men Have Spoken!

Thank for the advice, Tank will be heading back to library shelf.