Tamiya German Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.J - w/Control Unit - 48218
(Radio Controlled Model Review)

  Released by Tamiya in September 16, 2023, the German Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.J - #48218 - comes as an assembly kit, with a compact gearbox that incorporating a small motor in the front of the hull, a pre-assembled turret rotation/barrel vertical unit in the centre, and an MC-07 unit that controls the movement at the rear. In addition to forward and reverse, and turning left and right, you can also control the super pivot turning, turret turning, and vertical movement of the gun barrel. The track uses a connected assembly system, that produces smooth movement even at low speeds.

  The Ausf.J, was the final production version of the Panzer IV, and was used throughout the entire period of World War II, earning the trust of the rank and file German soldiers. Known as the "war horse", the Ausf.J began production in February 1944 and was characterized by its enhanced defensive abilities and simplified equipment. The main gun is equipped with a long barrel 48 calibre 75mm gun inherited from the H Type, and a grenade launcher was also installed on the top of the turret for close combat against enemy infantry. In addition, the turret rotation motor and auxiliary engine were abolished and replaced with a manual type, and a fuel tank was added in their place, greatly increasing its cruising range. Even after new tanks such as the Panther and King Tiger were introduced, the Panzer IV Ausf.J was considered the core of the German tank force, and were in action until the end of the war.

Rating: 4 RCScrapyard

Battery Connectors

   Over the years I have been racing radio controlled model cars of all descriptions, I have tried a number of different connectors for my batteries.

   My first car was a Tamiya Boomerang, and of course the batteries I used all had the standard Tamiya connectors, which were fine with the kit supplied 27T silver can electric motor, but I soon discovered their problem when I installed my first Modified motor. The high current demands of the motor created so much heat, the plastic surround of the connectors melted and fused together. No matter how I tried they could not be disconnected. My only option was to cut the wires.

   From there I moved over to Corally connectors, commonly referred to by many now as Bullet connectors. Comprising of a short length of 4mm gold plated tube at one end, and what looks like what we used to call a Chinese lantern fitting that slotted inside the tube, also gold plated. Although they were highly efficient and reasonably easy to install and use, I never really took to this type of connector, I think it was the fact that there was always the possibility of the positive and negative being connected wrongly in poor light, and also that if positioned side by side, each connector could work loose and become exposed, leaving the possibility of a short circuit.

Bearing Seals

   If you were to ask anyone with a modicum of experience in RC, they will tell you that the best modification you can make to a basic RC model, is to add a set of ball bearings.

   Quite a few of the entrance level models at the time this article was written, come with plastic and sintered brass ring type bearings. If these bearings are installed in the model and coated with grease as advised in the car manual, dust and grit can be caught in that grease and be dragged into the bearing where it can abrade the shaft that spins in it and it won't be long before it becomes a very sloppy fit, causing all kinds of problems.

   But what should you look for when buying bearings? There are a number of types of seal used on ball bearings, and there is much debate concerning which is the best for RC.