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New Year Tankbattle weekend at the AAF-Tankmuseum Jan 2009
by Dana Lowell
The 3rd Annual Winter H*E*A*T Fun Run was a success! Ten tankers from 4 states attended the January 2, 2009 event at the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, Virginia. We ran battle games for RC tankers that we usually don't run at the other competitive events.
The weather in Danville favored us for the 3rd year running. We enjoyed some great tank chat at lunch and dinner. And as is tradition, we ended the long day with some "night battles".
We ran several new battle scenarios at this Fun Run. Including Doug's "Around the World" battle in which we had to fight through one zone at a time to reach the finish. We also tried the "Capture the Flag" style battle that the DAK guys do out West. We ran it twice with DAK rules so that everyone got to be "runners" or "defenders". It worked well. As the objective in the Rock Quarry, we had Doug's new T34/88 SP gun. This was a good choice for the job since it had such high gun elevation. We ran these DAK heats with unlimited respawns to ensure that the runners would make it to the objective alive. So the final victors were determined by the clock.
After these battles, we came up with a Danville variation to the DAK game. The plan was to have BOTH teams as aggressors in a side-by-side dash to the final objective! One team ran for "even" flags while the other team ran for "odd" flags...like in a game of pool. Doug's tank was added to a team, so the final objective was merely the "9" or "10" flag, depending on which team you were on.
A sneaky tactic that developed on-the-fly for both teams was to "cripple" enemy tanks enough to slow them down, but not to kill them, (because they would just come back with full speed after respawning). The tricky endgame to this scenario was that your team lost the power to respawn once the enemy captured their last flag. So the ultimate victory was decided by a traditional shoot-out to the death. Everyone seemed to like running over the flags. So we hope to come up with a few new games for these "flags" before the next Fun Run. Thanks DAK, for the fun idea!
We had the "Tank Olympics" scenario again this year. We ran an obstacle course and hit stationary tanks placed in tough spots. Doug, Scott and Dana brought home the gold for Team USA!
Willy was there, of course. So of course we ran a few "Tank Recovery Battles". These are always some of the most from for us drivers, and fun for the visiting spectators to watch too! Whenever we got knocked out, we would yell for Willy or Jake to pick us up with a truck. It's cool to watch the little motorized ramps drop so you can drive your tank onto the back!
Well, the 3rd Annual H*E*A*T Fun Run was a success. Everyone had a blast. Many thanks go out once again to Doug, Karen and the AAF Tank Museum staff for having us for this end-of-year party.
Everybody else: please get your new tank projects ready for the 3-day competition battles at the "2nd Annual H*E*A*T Spring Open" on March 13, 14, 15, 2009. We already have replies from 20 tankers who plan to be there, so if you have been on the fence about coming to Danville...this is the one!!!
1) Randy and James came in from Raleigh with a truck full of 100 trees they got
for as cheap as .49 cents each at a craft store. In the background you can see nearly as many
trees that Doug got in Danville at another after Christmas sale.
2) We ran several new battle scenarios at this Fun Run. Including Doug's "Around the World" battle
in which we had to fight through one zone at a time to reach the finish.
Here, Randy briefs the gang on the special zone layout.
3) We were happy to see William back at Danville after his safe return from deployment.
Here he shows Jake his new Tiger I, (that's Randy's Tiger I in the foreground).
4) I made ten simple flags to post around the battlefield so that we could try running
the "Capture the Flag" style battle that the DAK guys do.
5) Here is Doug,
showing off his new full-function Heng Long T34/88 that I mentioned:
6) The T34/88 is a funky looking tank! You can just imagine how that T34 chassis wouldchassis would
rock back and forth when that friggin' 88mm fired!
In order to mount the apple,Doug used a scratch-built clear plastic mount.
7) We had the "Tank Olympics" scenario again this year. We ran an obstacle course and
hit stationary tanks placed in tough spots. I ran with my gun traversed to the rear so I
could rush past each target and fire without stopping, to get a good time.
So I finally made it on the winning team this year.
Doug, Scott and I brought home the gold for Team USA!
8) Willy was there, of course. So of course we ran a few "Tank Recovery Battles".
These are always some of the most from for us drivers,
and fun for the visiting spectators to watch too!
Whenever we would get knocked out, we would yell for Willy or Jake to pick us up with a truck.
It's cool to watch the little motorized ramps drop so you can drive your tank onto the back.
Here we see Willy's biggest flatbed crossing the West bridge with a dead Panther hanging on for dear life!
9) Speaking of Willy, he sold me these awesome T-66 metal tracks for my Sherman at a good price.
They come with custom sprockets too. The pins are nice and tight
and the tracks flex extremely well!
10) And finally, speaking of my Sherman, "Mosty Broken", I burned up the brushes inside
one of my Cermark 480 long can motors.
And as you can see in this photo, my radio is held together with tape for this Fun Run.
And the rear hull is held together with tape too!
So at this point, "Mostly Broken" is TOTALLY BROKEN!
I have finally decided to put off buying that new Tamiya Panzer IV in order to purchase a
new Sherman kit from Karen...and start over from the ground up! I think I will name it
"Mostly Broken Too". And Doug said he would allow me to drive my old R/C Sherman into
the oncoming tracks of a real-life M48 Patton tank at the next Extravaganza!
This bone crushing stunt should make for a nice crowd-pleasing end to the 5 year career of
my old champ...if not a cool video for YouTube!
Well, the 3rd Annual H*E*A*T Fun Run was a success. I think everyone had a blast.
And I hope some more travelers and newbies will be able to make it next year!
Many thanks go out once again to Doug, Karen and the AAF Tank Museum staff
for having us for this end-of-year party.
Everybody else, please get your new tank projects ready for the 3-day competition battles
at the "2nd Annual H*E*A*T Spring Open" on March 13, 14, 15, 2009.
I already have replies from 20 tankers who plan to be there,
so if you have been on the fence about coming to Danville...this is the one!!!
Happy New Year, Dana
Dana Lowell,
CO H*E*A*T R/C Tank Club of NC,
www.heatarmor.com
Willy
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