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SINGAPORE: A radio-controlled game of miniature war machines is gaining popularity in Singapore.
They may seem like the latest war machines, but there is just one small difference - the near-perfect replicas belong to the Radio Control Armoured Battalion of Singapore.
It is a hobby that attracts working professionals, students, and full-time national servicemen.
"The replica is very, very realistic, based on sound, the recorded sound from the real tank, the details, everything…all of us love the history of it from the individual tanks.
"We learn a lot, from how they are built to how they perform. When we drive the tank, we can really feel how this tank would have really done battle in world war two," says Jumat Bin Atan, a radio-control tank enthusiast.
It is usually a face-off between two groups - the German-made tanks and the American ones.
An infra-red battle system simulates the experience of a fire-fight.
To survive, it usually takes a mix of team work, strategy and skill.
"When you're playing, that's when the fun comes in…when it comes to manoeuvring, you have the tank…you forget what's going on and you just try to run away," says Tan Chu Ting, another radio-control tank enthusiast.
So what's the price of war?
Ready-assembled tanks can cost up to S$10,000.
But enthusiasts can avoid blasting a hole in their pockets by building the tanks from scratch.
Low-end tanks start from as little as a few hundred dollars, to nearly S$2,000 for the latest Leopard models.
"This is another area of enjoyment, you don't enjoy only the playing part. You can enjoy the assembling - it's bringing a model to life. That's the difference between a computer game and assembling a model," says Timothy Lee, radio-control tank enthusiast.
The club hopes to expand and build enough interest to travel to Japan and the USA for competitions. - CNA/yy
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