HengTai Smasher Destroyer 31" RC HT-2879 War Ship

I purchased this boat knowing I would modify it in order to make it look less toy like. The boat opens up as it is held together with a lot of screws. Although few parts have to be broken to get to all the screws. Luckily the damage is not easily noticeable. The deck is a bit harder as it is glued onto the hull to give it a water tight structure. I used a plastic automobile pry bar and was able to separate the deck from the hull without damaging either. One odd thing is that near the propellers there is a hole which lets in water at the stern. The area is isolated from the main component where the motors are and it contains a small chunk of Styrofoam. Not sure the idea behind it.Anyway, most of the small parts are thinly glued in place and can be pulled free with a little bit of effort. Once everything has been taken apart, I sealed the hole with model putty, sanded the hull and repainted everything using Tamiya paints (spray and bottle acrylic - painted with a very small brush). Although not to exact military specs, I painted the boat to get rid of the shinny silver and green colors to a more flat tone. I painted details and will begin shortly to add weathering as no military craft is free of rust and wear. Just wished my painting skills were better.As for the guts, I removed the original electronics and antenna, added a rudder ($5) and servo ($5), brushed speed controller ($12), receiver ($10) and changed the battery from NiCd to Lipos. Rudder requires adding a short aluminum tube and both motor turn together. You no longer have independent motor control (can be done with dual speed controllers), but are able to travel at scale and variable speeds. All of the parts can be ordered online (email me if interest in where to purchase). Note the receiver used assumes you have a programmable 2.4 GHz transmitter like a Spektrum DX6i or Futaba. All told I probably spent 20 hours working on it and about $50 in parts and paint. Still the overall cost for having a better looking and operational warship is well worth the cost and time. Plus there is no ugly large external antenna. The 2.4GHz receiver uses a small 2 inch antenna that is hidden inside the boat.Any RC boat with this level of detail and internal controls is not usually available to purchase unless custom made from a hobbyist and you are looking at least $500 and much more. One last thing about this boat is that it is top heavy and sits in the water lower than I would have like. Removing any of the weights to raise the hull will cause the boat to tip over and fill with water. Best used in a very large pool or small lake in light to no wind. Not really designed to be run with waves other than a ripple. Forget salt water it is too corrosive.For most people what I did is beyond their needs. I did this because it is a companion for my other RC boat the Blue Devil a WWII destroyer of similar size and somewhat scale. This boat is a 1/200 scale Russian Sovremenny Class (Type 956) destroyer used by the Chinese. There are photos on the Internet with a cursory search.I added photos of the finished boat (not yet weathered).UPDATE: Finally had a chance to take it out for its maiden voyage. The motors/props are strong as it can really push the boat quite fast. You really need to replace the electronics, add a speed controller and rudder to slow it down to a realistic and useable speed otherwise its moves way too fast for a pool; I had it in a lake. Also by sealing that hole on near the props no water enters, ran dry. Again not sure why the manufacturer has a hole that allows water in through the keel.Follow-Up: While running the boat at the lake (it was stationary for a few minutes when it happened), a low flying and large Muscovy duck collided with it. The bird hit the boat mid-ships knocking it over quite hard. I thought for sure the collision not only would damage the boat, but sink her as well. The boat tip over then righted itself and without any damage and luckily the bird was not harmed but looked a bit shaken up.

This is a nice model with good detail and it arrived promptly with no damage. I am using it in a one acre pond where there is plenty of room. The boat is quite fast (out of scale fast) and could be a challenge in a swimming pool. There is no speed control so the model is full on or off although it will turn quite sharply by reversing one prop while leaving the other in forward. It rides low in the water so waves or chop could be a problem. The instructions are sketchy at best and on the bottom of the box if you are looking for them. The model will not operate out of water unless you hold your finger on a pair of electrodes on the rear deck. When in the water the circuit is completed and the model will operate. Overall the model runs well, is allot of fun and well worth the less than $50 price.

This nearly 3 foot long R/C destroyer is pretty fun to drive, but it has some serious flaws that require attention prior to making it 'sea worthy'.Setup:The ship comes assembled for the most part, however there are a few parts that still need to be attached, most of those require using super glue and an Exacto knife to install properly. The pieces do NOT fit together well at all (Even the pre-assembled parts), which in my case required me to cut sections of plastic away to close the battery tray. You will also need to use super glue or hot glue to seal the many holes that will allow water to get in. Expect to spend *at least* 30 minutes preparing the boat prior to your first use if you want it to last more than one outing.Control:The boat itself moves rather quickly and uses two propellers to turn (no rudder). It sits rather low in the water so it is important to seal any of the holes that are on the lower portion of the ship. If water gets into the unit it may short the electronic components inside.Range:I haven't tested out the transmitter range so I am not entirely sure how far away it can go before the signal is lost, but it is at least 100 feet.Power:The last thing of note is that the 'power button' is more of a resister than a button. It will only work if there is water on the resister or your finger is on it, otherwise the unit will not appear to work. The Power Indicators on the boat are two LEDs that are hidden in the super structure of the destroyer, but there is no way to actually turn it off without removing the battery.