A short history of RC tanking

RC Tanks is a fairly new hobby that has started growing in the last 10 years. This is mainly due to new tanks coming into the market at affordable prices. Up until recently the only major player on the market was Tamiya. Its tanks are of good quality but their price point ($600+) has been out of affordable range for most folks. On the other end of the range are toy-like tanks that one can still find in Radio Shack and Wal-Mart. Those tanks cost anywhere from $40 to $80 but they are just that - toys. Their quality is lacking in both detail and running capabilities.

There has also been little known RC tank manufacturer on the market in the last decade - Marui. It is a japanese company, which is well known for their line of airsoft guns. They have also been manufacturing 1/24 RC tanks that can shoot airsoft bullets, just like their real airsoft guns. But most of the rest of the world hasn't had access to them because they were never marketed and sold outside of Japan. These tanks are Abrams M1A2, Leopard 2A5 and 2A6, Japanese Type 90 and German WWII Tiger I. The tanks sold for around $150+. Few individuals who had these tanks commented on their good detail quality, running characteristics and an awesome airsoft gun. Another interesting feature is that these tanks run on standard AA batteries. The ability to use rechargeable NiMH batteries with 2500+MAh capacity increased tank runtime to well over one hour.

With Marui tanks slowly appearing on Ebay both RC car and military modelers quickly noticed them and interest in this hobby increased. The tanks satisfied both groups nicely: RC guys got a rugged vehicle with great runtime and good appearance and military modelers who for many years were stuck with good looking but stationary vehicles received a fairly detailed model out of the box that was actually drivable (and was good at that!)

But it took another company's initiative to advance this hobby line to the next level. And that will be the subject of my next blog entry to come...