A green, white and brown camouflaged model tank with two antennas crossing dark gravel

Four ways to enjoy a tank

Battle it, shoot it, paint it or just drive it

Infrared BattlingTwo or more tanks fire invisible infrared beams at each other. A sensor on the turret counts hits, and the tank slows, shakes and finally shuts down when it is knocked out. It is the club side of the hobby.

Start here

Check the manual to confirm your tank has an infrared emitter and receiver, then ask on a tank forum for owners near you. A battle needs at least two tanks.

RC Tank Warfare forum

BB Target ShootingMany tanks have a spring-powered gun in the barrel that fires 6 mm plastic pellets about 60 feet. Aiming with the turret and gun elevation is harder than it looks.

Start here

Set a pellet trap against a solid wall in the garage or basement, put on safety glasses, and practice hitting it from 10 feet before you back up.

Weathering and DetailingPainting mud, dust, rust and chipped paint onto the factory finish. It is the same craft as static armor modeling, on a model that then drives through real dirt.

Start here

Start with the tracks and lower hull. Brush on a thin coat of earth-colored paint, let it dry, then dust the pigment powder into the corners.

Armorama

Scale DrivingRunning the tank over grass, gravel and homemade obstacles to watch the suspension work. It needs nothing beyond the tank.

Start here

Lay out a course in the yard with a board ramp, a gravel patch and a few bricks to steer between, and drive it without touching anything.

Open a card for its first step. BB Target Shooting and Weathering and Detailing also put their gear into the stowage bin.

Going deeper on painting and weathering

Armorama Free armor modeling site with painting and weathering articles and a forum

How to choose a first tank

1/16 scale is the standard.

It is large enough for lawns and gravel, and nearly every spare part and upgrade is made for it. Smaller scales work on a living room floor but stall in grass.

Buy ready-to-run.

The tank arrives assembled with its radio, battery and charger. Build-it-yourself kits cost several times more and suit a second tank.

Check which functions the version has.

The same model is sold with or without smoke, sound, infrared and a pellet gun. Read the listing closely, and get infrared if you ever want to battle.

Plastic or metal running gear.

Plastic tracks and gearboxes are cheaper, quieter and fine on carpet and short grass. Metal ones cost more, add weight and last far longer on rough ground. Plastic is enough to learn on, and the metal parts bolt in later.

Pick a common tank.

Popular models have the most spare parts and the most repair threads online. An obscure one can sit broken for weeks waiting on a part.

Look for a 2.4 GHz radio.

It lets several tanks run together without interference, which older crystal radios cannot do.

Close-up of a sand-colored model tank on sand, showing its road wheels, track links and turret — Road wheels and track links up close

Your first week

Tick these off as you go

Before and after every run

Before

Press down on the middle of each track's top run. It should sag slightly but not droop onto the wheels. A loose track pops off in turns, and a tight one strains the gearbox.
Pick grass, hair and carpet fiber out of the drive sprockets. Wrapped fibers are the most common reason a tank pulls to one side.

During

If the tank stutters or the sound cuts out, the battery is nearly flat. Stop and swap packs instead of running it down.

After

Switch the smoke off a minute before you stop so the heater does not run dry.
Unplug the battery from the tank. A pack left connected drains flat and may not charge again.

Storage

Keep lithium packs at room temperature and about half charged if the tank will sit for more than a couple of weeks.

What trips beginners up

Tanks are slow. Top speed is a brisk walk, and the fun is in control and realism, not speed.
Run time is 20 to 30 minutes per charge, and closer to 15 with the smoke on. One battery makes for a short session.
Thrown tracks are routine on thick grass and in tight turns on carpet. Refitting one takes a minute once you have done it twice.
Overfilling the smoke unit. More than a few drops floods the heater and stops the smoke entirely.
Pivot turning on rough ground at full power. It is the hardest load a plastic gearbox sees, and it strips gears. Turn while moving.
Driving through water or wet mud. The electronics sit low in the hull and are not sealed.
Upgrading everything to metal in the first month. Run the tank stock and replace what actually wears out.

A dark gray model tank numbered 112 on snow, with rust and dirt worked into its tracks — A weathered model tank on snow

Pellet and battery safety

Wear safety glasses whenever the pellet gun is loaded, and have everyone nearby do the same. The pellets are light, but they can injure an eye and they bounce off hard surfaces.
Never fire at people or animals. Shoot only at a trap or backstop, with nothing fragile behind it.
Keep pellet shooting on private property. Some cities and states restrict airsoft-type guns or firing them outdoors, so check local rules first. Infrared battling has no such limits.
Empty the pellet hopper before storing or carrying the tank, and keep pellets away from small children and pets, which can swallow them.
Lithium packs can catch fire if they are overcharged, punctured or charged while damaged. Use the charger that matches the pack, charge inside a fire-resistant bag, and never leave it charging unattended or overnight.
Retire a swollen pack. A battery that has puffed up or been dented should not be charged again. Take it to a battery recycling drop-off.
The smoke outlet gets hot. Keep fingers and fluid bottles away from it while the smoke is running, and use the smoke in a ventilated room.

Close-up of an olive model tank's rear hull, with pioneer tools, a white star and a painted serial number

Where to learn more

Owners' threads first, then the parts diagrams

Most of what is known about these tanks lives in forum threads written by owners. Search your exact model before opening the hull for the first time: someone has almost always photographed the same repair. The parts diagrams that makers publish show how the suspension and gearboxes go together, which helps even when your tank is a different brand built to the same layout.

Free forum, overview and manuals

How the kit is put together

The tank is nearly the whole cost, and it ships with a transmitter, one battery and a charger. The transmitter runs on AA batteries you probably have at home. The recommended lines fix the two limits you hit in the first week: one battery is a short session, and the small bottle of smoke fluid in the box runs out quickly. A precision screwdriver set matters sooner than you would think, because every repair starts with a dozen small screws under the hull. Pellets, a trap and safety glasses are only for BB Target Shooting, and the paints and pigments only for Weathering and Detailing, so add those when you decide to go that way.

A green and black camouflaged model battle tank on moss and fallen leaves, its gun pointing left — A camouflaged model tank on moss

Fill the stowage bin

The tank, a spare battery, a charging bag, smoke fluid and a screwdriver set start in the bin. The pellet-shooting and weathering lines stay out until you switch on their add-on, here, in the kit or from a card above. Compare the options, set your tiers and check out from the kit. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card takes that line out.

1/16 scale ready-to-run RC tank

essential · Core equipment

The tank itself. A ready-to-run model includes the transmitter, a battery pack and a charger, so it drives the day it arrives.

budget

Heng Long US in Stock, RC Tank 2.4G 1/16 Scale 7.0 Plastic Version M4A3 Sherman Smoking Unit Battle Tank Military Transport Vehicles 340° Rotating Turret IR Combat Model 3898 BB Airsoft

4.3(16)

$147.00

RC Tanks

Four ways to enjoy a tank

How to choose a first tank

Your first week

Before and after every run

Before

During

After

Storage

What trips beginners up

Pellet and battery safety

Where to learn more

How the kit is put together

Fill the stowage bin

1/16 scale ready-to-run RC tank

Spare 7.4V battery pack for a 1/16 RC tank

Fire-resistant battery charging bag

RC tank smoke fluid

Precision screwdriver set

6mm plastic BBs

Safety glasses

BB trap target

Acrylic model paint set

Weathering pigment set

Detail paint brush set

Matte clear coat spray