At the time of writing we've reviewed three WW2 era rc
tanks from
Unimax, and three more are due out soon, an
impressive lineup in a very short time, leaving modern
enthusiasts with similar expectations. That
Unimax have
commenced the modern line with a vehicle such as the
Lockheed Martin M-270
MLRS came as a big surprise,
which, even dedicated collectors of other brands won't
be able to resist.
FOV's MLRS is a first for the rc tank hobby and besides
being a robust, good looking model, it is really a lot
of fun to operate!
MISSILE FIRING AND IR BATTLE
The
MLRS
comes with 14 plastic missiles, (2 spare) which
you load into the launcher and the now spring loaded
missiles can be fired by holding the fire button down
until the desired number of missiles have been launched.
The missiles are capable of being launched about 3.5
metres or 15 feet.
When the launcher is in the down position you can IR
battle with other Battle Beam tanks. I noted that the
MLRS does not have the same mechanical recoil 'back and
forth' movement when firing like the WW2 tanks do but it
does 'shake' side to side when it takes an IR hit..
PROPORTIONAL CONTROL/TRANSMITTER
F.O.V.
vehicles are VERY EASY for anyone to
control. There are two sticks on the
controller, one for each track. There are
ten speeds on each stick, five forward and
five reverse speeds. With the twin stick
control it's easy to memorise how to operate
them so you can concentrate on looking at
the vehicle instead of the controller. Each
stick also has a trim control which should
be kept set to neutral.
The transmitter also has buttons for
left/right launcher traverse, missile
firing, and one button that cycles the
launcher up/down. The transmitter requires a
9 volt battery. The transmitter crystal is
easy to find on the front of the transmitter
but if you're looking for the receiver
crystal, pull out the middle window panel of
the
MLRS.
SAFETY CLUTCH
The
MLRS is equipped with a safety clutch which operates
when the track encounters too much resistance or hits a
solid object like a wall. This is a safety measure to
prevent damage to the gearboxes. In the case of the
MLRS
I found the clutch tension is about right, allowing
operation and turning on resistant surfaces like grass
without slipping which you can see in the
video.
SOUND EFFECTS
The
MLRS sound effects, as covered in the video, consist
of .
*Engine starting sound.
*Engine running sound (both at rest and while moving)
*Engine shut down sound
*Incoming explosion sound
*Missile weapon/IR beam firing sound
Sound is single volume at a fairly low level, the sounds
can be turned off/on by holding down both turret
rotation buttons on the controller for five seconds.
LIGHTS
The
MLRS has two front headlights and two rear brake
lights which operate in unison with the left and right
gear drives. This is useful in setting the trims to
neutral, make sure these lights are all off and you're
set.
POWER SAVING MODE
If left unattended for two minutes, the
MLRS engine shut
down noise will be heard, after that, there is a two
minute window where any command on the controller will
'wake up' the
MLRS and the engine starting sound will be
heard, if not, then it will be necessary to reset the
MLRS manually with the on/off switch underneath the
vehicle. The controller will also go into power saving
mode if unused after four minutes and then requires a
manual reset.
BATTLE TEAMS
It is possible to program F.O.V. tanks and the
MLRS to
form into up to three different teams. This means that
members of the same team will not be able to inflict
damage, 'friendly fire' on each other.
To join 'team 1' hold down both the 'fire' and gun
elevation button on the controller for 5 seconds and a
beeping sound will be heard, repeat to join 'team 2' and
again to join 'team 3', the beeping noise indicates
which team you've joined.
BATTLE BEAM COMBAT
The IR combat system can score hits at a distance of up
to 5 or 6 meters (15-18 feet) indoors. The IR emitter is
on the front of the
MLRS. whilst the receiver target is
the clear lens on top of the vehicle.
*Battle Beam vehicles can fire shots at 2 second
intervals.
*After being hit a vehicle can move but is
'invulnerable' to being hit for 5 seconds.
*After being hit for the 4th time, the vehicle power
indicator light will flash as a
warning that next time you get hit, 'you're dead'.
*When 'killed' after 5 hits, the vehicle will shut down
and automatically restart after 30
seconds.
Please note that the
MLRS does not come with an IR
Target like the WW2 tanks covered so far.
TRACKS WHEELS AND SUSPENSION
The MLRS tracks consist of individual 'click together'
links. I found them to be adequately strong and had no
problems with them coming apart nor any instance of
track 'throwing'. The roadwheels are connected to
individually sprung suspension arms, you can see the
suspension working in the video. The
MLRS also has
functional outer return rollers whilst the inner ones
are moulded to the hull
BATTERIES
The
MLRS requires 6 AA sized batteries, rechargeable is
best, and depending on the capacity of batteries used,
run times of around an hour are possible.
ACCESSORIES
Besides the controller, the
MLRS comes with:
*Spare track links
*Spare IR target lens
*Front mudguards (see carton image)
*14 plastic missiles
*Instructions
CONCLUSION
RC Tank HQ highly recommends the
UnimaxMLRS , a great
start to
Unimax's modern line, now there will be much
anticipation to see what
Unimax's next modern vehicle
will be
The
