Back in March, I started thinking about custom building a large remote control tank. Big as in maybe 1:6 scale. Yeah I know, like I need another hobby, right? So, I started noodling ideas. That's when the trouble began. You guessed it; I started thinking. 1:6 scale is big, but if I went just a little bit bigger then I could fit my big but into it. I started down the rabbit hole.
While I was digging around on the internet for parts and ideas, I ran across a internet forum that has been incredibly helpful: scaledtanks.com . Great bunch of very talented people. They really helped me turn my stream of ideas into something a little more coherent and with a little bit more volume. Like going from a garden hose to a fire hose.
It was not an easy decision however. I had quite a few hurdles to overcome. First of all, I have little or no skills in drafting or CAD. So I had to teach myself some CAD. Most of what I have done so far has been in SketchUp. It's free and is easy to learn, but I wish it had a few more features. I have played around with some other CAD programs, but I do most of the work in SketchUp due to its very friendly user interface. If there is something more complicated I need done, I use TurboCAD. I got an older version of it off of eBay pretty cheap.
The second hurdle was a doosy. At the start of this, I had zero metal fabrication skills/knowledge and only a very moderate amount mechanical skills/knowledge. So I had to teach myself how to weld and I had to do a good bit of research on hydraulics and engines. I still don't consider myself a welder. Even with all of the practice I have had since the start of the project, I still feel my skill level is not much better then just burning two pieces of metal together. I am getting better though.
That left me with the question of which tank to build.....
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