Combat Digi Q Mini FAQ

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Hoopla!

I recieved my two Digi Q Combat tanks last Thursday!From Toyeast (using theEXPRESS method of postage as this is the only guaranteed way of making sure it reaches you from Hong Kong) Complete with miniature sandbags and wires… which area little tacky but a nice addition.(Am I the first one in Oz to have these things??) And they are absolutely something else. Here’s my mini FAQ on what I’ve found out first hand. It pretty much confirmed hopes and suspicions regarding these hi tech beasties. Hopefully this will encourage people in Australia to get more of them.

Panzer – G

Ok this was the “problem child” of the two. It is the best looking one with the additional details, the chassis for both tanks were painted by DRAGON a very reputable modelling company. And it shows, the details are sharp and it has detailing that you would expect to see on higher class resin kits rather than the cheap plastic stock bitschargs and digi-q bodies. The chassis are made of remarkably high grade resin, the details are crisp and the detail authenticity (despite the obvious digi-q deformed “cute” proportions) is very high. Hatches are in the right place, as are the rear exhaust details and side accessories. The rubber tracks are very good on both tiled surfaces and low pile carpet. They’re just the right tension too.. I try not to fiddle with them much otherwise I might stretch them. I have also noticed that they do not attract a lot of hair and lint like 1/24 rc does (ie my Marui tank and my Mini Z both are 1/24 scale) This is because they are too small! And merely run over hair and such, and you’d only get them jammed if you really tried very hard and or ran them through a lint basket or something. You recieve a runner with detail parts which you can easily attach with plastic modelling glue. The panther is geared for high torque and can easily climb over most small objects ie pens, screwdrivers, newspapers and socks. However both tanks have a habit of falling over when the grade is too steep… (they both have a high centre of gravity because of the digi-q proportions) I am thinking of attaching a small tensile antenna to both of them, as this would aid the tanks in righting themselves when they fall over (which happens a lot if you drive it up a sleeping girlfriend..).

But yes, contrary to what has been said… they are very quiet… they make a very pleasing “wind up” toy sound when moving (if they are working properly) The Panzer G as I said before was a problem child… and I will state why.

It would seem that the gearing for the Panzer G, is very high torque, and as such, there is a lot of friction. I have read numerous people have bought tanks from toyeast, only to find that the Panzer is defective, it keeps on driving to one side, or it refuses to move or it makes horrible “grating” sounds when it moves. To straighten things out, that horrible “grating” sound is NOT meant to be there. What this sound is, is the motors “brush sparking” and causing the electronics go crazy from EM interference. The reason they are sparkingand making a horrible grating sound is a) there are no capacitors attached to the motors to allieviate interference and b) the motors are grinding away because there is too much resistance in the wormscrew gearbox. The tank’s motors are too small for capacitators,so lubrication of the tight gearbox is the next best solution. I have read that lubrication of the Panzer G gearbox is the most effective way of fixing the problem. So I quickly dropped in to Dick Smith and bought some “Electronic Lubricant” (it’s a lubricant which does not interfere with electrical equipment and is good for use with mechanisms that are near electrical equipment such as Cd players and disc drives.) I was thinking of using WD-40, but I was a bit skittish as to what affect it would have on plastic gears and the fact it’s a WATER DISPLACER and not really an all purpose lubricant for tiny little gearboxes. So yes I bought an aerosol can of the stuff and carefully popped the middle running wheel of the tank off with a jeweler’s screw. The middle running wheels are remarkably easy to remove and with a gentle push, they come off. There are three screws, the two on the side skirts of the tank and one at the back. Be careful with these screws, they can easily lose their heads and be gentle screwing and unscrewing them so as not to break the plastic female threads. Spray the tiniest amount of the lubricant on the openings of the gear box, on both sides (remember to test on theinner side skirt that the plastic is compatiable with the lubricant otherwise it might dissolve your gears and you’ll end up with a gluggy mess + toyeast will not refund tanks you’ve broken by your own free will) So yes play it safe and use as little as you think you can. Stay away from the motor cans and try to spray a little on the upright worm screw gears. (use the tiny tube applicator that usually comes with the aerosol packs). Anyway… once this is done, close up the tank, replace the tracks and run the tank on a clean surface IMMEDIATELY. Because you want the lubricant to spread to all the teeth on the gears… if you don’t, the lubricant might set and freeze the gearbox in place, due to the nature of the lubricant (which is poisonous by the way so keep it away from fingers and mouth and children etc…) Also try to keep the lubricant away from paintwork of the tank… ie keep it on the inside, because the lubricant does make the paint run (from experience… not too much but it does it all the same). Anyway after running it, you should notice that the tank is more reliable and less noise. If this still doesn’t work… SEND IT BACK ASAP. Because the quality of the Panzer Gs seems to be a little unstable, ToyEast generally exchanges your problem tanks with working ones. Seeing as mine worked after the lubrication process I did not return it (despite being tempted to after the tank’s first run out of the box)

Also you may notice that the tanks are running a little to one side or the other. In which case use the tuning knob, BUT sparingly! As some people have had the trouble of fiddling with the knob to their extremities and completely running the drive balance of their tanks. Also, if you adjust the tuning, once you have finished playing, turn off the tank & controller first, then adjust the tuningBACK to the MIDDLE. Sometimes the tank & controller resets to see the current position of the knob as “middle” so if you have it to the extreme right, then you will have no more give to tune it right if it can’t turn anymore.

Battle functions are amazingly fun, and the guns and remotes have ranges of5 metres + ( I haven’t had a chance to test range outdoors). Shooting still requires aiming and you must stop moving the tank before you are able to shoot. When it shoots the tank moves back 4 centimetres to simulate recoil of the gun, so keep this in mind when battling it out on a table top as firing from the edge could lead to a spill. The tanks react to shots in a satisfying whir of light and motion. And usually accompanied by groans of “not again” by girlfriend. But she still finds it lots of fun. (that the thing about them… girlfriends and wives like them because of their simple nature of control, ie their small, slow and don’t zoom straight into walls, and it’s fun to shoot at your boyfriend and prove that girls can drive tanks too.) So yes, it’s a relationship saver when it comes to RC toys. Unlike the marui tanks which have a tendency to annoy partners because of their cool but unsettling high powered BB firing action (purely a male enjoyment thing if you ask me….)

All in all I love the Panzer because of it’s detail and looks and German fereciousness but keep in mind that it’s the more temperamental of the two.

Russian T-34/85

It’s green, it’s sleeker than the Panzer and it seems to be considerably the more nimble of the two. It’s not amazingly faster than the Panzer, but enough to give it the advantage when either tank is involved in a route from the other because it’s taken 5 shots and is about to cark it. The Russion details are as sharp as the Panzer’s, I especially like the twin exhausts, and the turrent’s sleekness. The Russian is definitely the quietest toy I own. It just makes a pleasant whirring sound when it travels, and as I said before reminds me of a wind up toy, only with much more potential for fun. The russian tanks have been notably more reliable than the german tanks, with a couple of exceptions, but straight out of the box I didn’t have any problems with them and I still don’t. In any case the T-34/85 is a perfect opponent to the Panzer G because it reflects a different view of warfare compared to the noisier (even when the gears have been lubricated) but notably stronger Panzer G.

I can’t wait for the Tiger and Sherman tanks (which has 4 running wheels on what seems like 2 independant swivels, just like a real Sherman tank). So people… go get some!! If you have any problems with your tanks feel free to contact myself and we can compare notes.

Kind Regards…

[Admin]

Damnit man!! Nice FAQ

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