BludoTheSmelly

How come some tanks never get made to rc? Example, hellcat, nashorn, any british tanks?

Bagheera

I wish they would make these tanks like a Hellcat, a Centurion Mk3 and Mk5, A34 Comet. A39 Tortoise
Start writing and send emails. If all of us send emails something mite happen??
Out gun your enemy A Sherman tank with wings




Johnny

BludoTheSmelly

Agreed, all of you guys want to give it a shot?

Martellus

simply demand

the forum here is a small portion of sales, and the mass demand always seems to be:

anything german

shermans

if its not one of those two its either something else american or something russian




and a tortoise would be great

LosTxSouL94

I've always wanted a Matilda, RTR KV-1S and T49, so I'd like to give it a try.

Max-U52

Unless you get everyone to ask for the same tank it won't do much good. They have to see the profit potential of a high demand item and all of asking for different tanks won't do it. I vote for the Hellcat!

jarndice

Hi, Most Tanks are sold as toys and are aimed (sic) at people between 5 and 15 they are in the main not that knowledgable about types and are influenced by the media and their peer group, there have been two major Hollywood blockbusters featuring Tanks the last one being "FURY" and both concentrated upon the M4 (Sherman) the other Tank these young people have heard of is the Tiger 1 simply because it has assumed the role of Legend, and that is where the Market is (PROFIT) We as hobbyist's assume a very small niche in model Tank sales. it really is about demand allied to price, Most people have never heard of the American or German Tanks you listed and very few people could tell you the name of any particular British Tank and that's why they are not on sale YET. shaun

cleong

Because you simply can't have the same variety you get in 1/35th scale, owing to the size of molds increasing investment, manufacturing, and storage costs. These drive up purchase prices and modellers have to be more discerning about which models they want on their shelves and as a result the manufacturers need to be very selective in putting out models that they know will sell in decent quantities.

Even with the untapped potential of modern tanks, it took Heng Long first the ZTZ-99 (which was probably a domestic-only success) and the global success of the Leopard 2A6 (because it was a much cheaper alternative than the Tamiya offering) to get enough confidence to bring the Abrams and Challenger onto the market.

Thus, with any of the less-known AFV, you'll need to scratchbuild it, get resin kits, or construct them from styrene sheets.

mordock999

Why? "Because Shermans SELL!"

Seriously, I Agree with You Though. Personally I wish They'd Produce MORE Modern Tanks like the (wait for it) T-72!

ausf

Because the board rooms of Tamiya and Trumpeter don't care what a handful of RC guys online think in comparison to their target audience of static builders, especially in a dead end scale like 1/16 (tanks are too large for normal static display). Tamiya is the creator of this entire field as a pet project, yet a majority RC users constantly knock them for being to expensive. Do you really expect them to reward that by dropping serious cash in research and development on a British tank that even history buffs would have a hard time identifying and the general public wouldn't even look at twice?

Because the Chinese toy-makers aren't going to send a crew to European museums to measure and research, to release the next $100 tank when it's easier to buy a Tamiya and measure that.

Because when a company like Xion comes out with a beautiful kit like the Kettenkrad, that everyone said they wanted, nobody bought at $200 which included El Mod, metal tracks and PE. Not to even mention the other German offerings that are often dismissed as 'too expensive', or 'one day'. Companies go bankrupt waiting for that 'one day'.

Bottom line is, money talks.

If you really want those tanks, grab yourself an existing 1/35 kit, a micrometer, calculator and a pile of styrene stock and do it. In this day and age of 3D printers and aftermarket gears, MFUs and sound cards, it should be raining Cromwells, Matildas, Lees. But it ain't.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Your in a business to make a profit that is why.

Imex-Erik

This really nails it here.... demand. Like you said German and Russian will always be the most popular and asked for. Next comes an assortment of tanks before we get the the US and finally British tanks. We (Taigen) are constantly watching and now adjusting to getting a bigger presence in the Hobby Store sector. Funny enough our target range is not younger kids, but the 30+ range. The most recent two tanks were fueled by pure demand, the T34/85 and the Sherman. The Jagdtiger is coming next, a mid-production Tiger 1 with an airsoft barrel recoil system, then a metal Abrams After that there will be at least one more all new tank for 2015 fueled by demand as well. All of these tanks were because of numerous requests from our customers and hobby shops. The still unannounced tank is one highly requested as well! It takes a while to design new molds and make these guys, it can take anywhere from 6 months to a year or two to get it right.

Funny enough World of Tanks has a large input on what we make and we have no connection with them! With more and more tank games coming out people are starting to get more RC tanks and requesting the ones they want or do not have. This also has the benefit of bringing the younger audience in at the same time. These are the guys we really need to boost our presence in the RC industry. The younger generations are all about hop-ups, mods, electronics, lipos, and more. These are going to be our future IR battlers and modders.

dgsselkirk

Some of you guys can bash the Chinese all you want but it is them that are bringing multiple new tanks or versions to the table. Tamiya will do the gold standards and once in a while bring out a new one no problem.

I personally think they do try and make them as accurate as they can within the limitations of the mold costs and RC pieces and parts they want to use and to hit a price point. Read that sentence again, within the limitations of the mold costs and RC pieces and parts they want to use and to hit a price point.

Having said that I just got the ZTZ (which there are many closet owners here me thinks) and it is a beautiful tank nicely rendered FOR THE PRICE. If the Chally comes out like that, it will be excellent as well. Of course we make many mods to them to get them to the level we want but at least we have something not too bad to start with. AND the big thing is they are constantly improving... I personally look forward to seeing what the gang in Shantou province, Mato, and our friends at Taigen bring out over the next 2 or 3 years...

Imex-Erik

Well just take a look at the Sherman Each time a new tank has been produced here at Taigen since I started I have made sure improvements are made in construction and materials. Simple things like roller bearings, 360 degree turrets, super thick lower hulls, and screw together assemblies (compared to the normal press fit) can make a huge outcome on a final product. I make sure I get samples here for months before a release so that I can drive it, wreck it, break it, and more to make sure it is a good product. It does increase the time to release by a bit, but the addition of communication does help with the final product.
The Sherman has had a HUGE positive response and it would be fair to forecast more like it in the future. I will continue to try my hardest and keep these guys rolling out and to relay the messages back to bossman. In fact he is in China as we speak

RichJohnson

I still want to see an M60, any variant but an A3 would likely be the most popular. Then we could get some serious cold war skirmishes going on. Possibilities go on an on for that tank. Army, USMC, friendly nato etc. I was surprised to see the M41 appear since its not a popular tank and so lightly armored to boot. Just a recon tank.

f16man

Why don't you scratch build one and be the only one that has one, if I can do it with boats and planes, you could do it with a tank.

RichJohnson

I do it with ho warships and O Scale narrow gauge logging locos and equipment. I dont have time to scratch a tank. Too much for me. Not the difficulty level, just the research, education, and the work involved that would take away from much more important projects.

ausf

I bet that exact wording was used by Tamiya-san when a middle manager proposed releasing a 1/16 RC Cromwell.

Panther G

Today , you really can't use the excuse that a Tamiya tank is too expensive. By the time you buy one of the better brands like Taigen over an HL and you do all the mods and upgrades and electronics packages and what ever else you can easily pay more than if you bought a Tamiya in the first place. So this argument no longer even matters. It boils down to what you want to spend in an initial purchase. All up front or a little at a time. Me, I still prefer to build a Tamiya kit just because they are so much fun to build but modding others is fun too but actually more work. Again that route can actually cost more than a Tamiya kit.

Augustus1967

I'm With You Rich!

An M60A3 would be Ideal from my stand point...

Though we will need some Real Cold War Soviet Armor to Complete THAT Picture...

On a Side Note... How about an M50 Ontos TD?
I saw one Drifting (at Speed) through an Intersection on the History Chanel over the Weekend...



-gus

dgsselkirk

Totally agree Panther, some of the upper end alternate brands are pushing into Tamiya territory. The thing is this is about different tanks so Tamiya sort of gets removed from the equation anyway if you want something they do not manufacture because to use a Tamiya kit to modify drastically would be sacrilege! LOL!.

With the methods of construction and electronics I use on my Henglongs I come in usually around $400 to $500 with all the bells and whistles although this ZTZ is going to run me a little more as I have installed FPV camera - transmitter and a laser set up for painting my victims! :-)

Imex-Erik

First, drift tanks ftw! I'm waiting on a few milled parts for my brushless tank so I can take it out drifting again.
Second, of course we need more Russian, we always do!

Max-U52

Really great tanks cost money. How great do you want your tank to be?

I also have a ZTZ-99A. In fact, I ran measured speed trials on it today with the 7-dollars-a-pair 360 motors. Video soon.

Max-U52

It might have been $200 when it came out but today it's about $335 with another $40 for shipping (to the US). And thanks a lot, you've just given something else I have to start saving up for. After the Jagdtiger.

ausf

I just checked my invoice on it from June 2012, I paid $185 + 25 shipping. That's USD with exchange.

If you haven't already accounted for it, their price includes VAT (19%), so that comes off if you order, but again, these small companies don't do enough volume to do serious production runs with drop prices. I thought it was OOP, it's good to see it still around. Plus the Kkrad is an injection kit, very nice, even at 270 USD.

It's a fun little vehicle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYNtkRHrwz4