fumanchan

I am relatively new to RC Tanking, and I am debating between the Tamiya Tiger or the Taigen Tiger. They both on paper have their pros and cons, but building-wise and actually running-wise which one would be better for a beginner? Thanks

YHR

The Tamiya Tiger is a good tank. Also there is an argument to be made that building a Tamiya kit as a first project sets you up for success as you progress forward in this hobby. When you have to build then you become aware and understand the components. The skill and experience learned here can then be transferred to other kit bashes or whatever else you want to do. A lot will depend on how much RC and modeling experience you are bringing in with you.

Cheers

fumanchan

I have about 5-6 years of modelling experience, and about 4 months of RC experience. I have been recently messing around at school with RC-ing the robots we build, but that is really all I have done with RC.
Thanks

YHR

Regardless of what you get, you will probably be OK. The Tamiya Tiger though is really good, and my experience with the other brand of Tigers has resulted in much tweaking to get them to perform consistently well.

Max-U52

I'll be interested in seeing how big an argument this turns into. This question has been asked many times before and every time it ends up in a big debate about Tamiya against the rest of the world.

As a new tanker I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone else, start with a cheap one hundred dollar HL tank and see if you even like the hobby. If so, you can get one of the more expensive models and still have the HL tank to play with. I personally recommend the Tauchpanzer, but some guys like the Bulldog better, or the PIII or the Tiger. Whichever way you go, start with minimal investment until you get a feel for the hobby and decide which areas you want to concentrate on (IR battles, airsoft in the backyard, etc.)

I even did a video to answer this question, so maybe this will help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFU5J2vVFks

fumanchan

Ok then, thanks I have been looking around for a Tamiya Tiger, how much did you get yours for if you don't mind me asking, I have seen them for about $660-ish and I want to know if I could get it for cheaper elsewhere?

YHR

I have seen them in the $550 mark sometimes on ebay. I can tell you that at the $550 mark it is good value. Too me it is not so much, which one is cheaper, and more about which one will provide good value. Just the fact alone that you use a standard RC radio on a Tamiya tank sets you up for success.

I can tell you I am not a Tamiya guy and only have two Tamiya tanks and the rest are HL. The HL Sherman and the Panther are both decent runners out of the box. I would suggest you get a 4 shaft gearbox to improve the performance as the first upgrade. Stay away from all other upgrades until you figure out where you wan this tank hobby to take you,and as Gary has mentioned play around with that for awhile and see what you think.

Having said that a built Tamiya Tiger holds its value, and chances are if you want to unload it you can get a decent amount of the money you spent back, if you choose this hobby is not for you..

fumanchan

That I forgot to mention, I do have a HL King Tiger and it is pretty fun to play with, I got it two years ago.

fumanchan

Your video helped me alot, thanks, I think I'm going to go for IR battle system instead of airsoft, I was thinking about putting upgrades on my Heng Long, but I first wanted to build a tank.

MAUS45

Have you thought about the Tamiya M4 Sherman? Banzai has them for $585.37 with a Futaba radio shipping included. The Tiger I is $728 with Futaba raido. The shipping is what bumps the price up. http://banzaihobby.com/. You may want to check the AAF PX as well at http://shop.aaftankmuseum.com/

Pcomm1.v2

The Tamiya Sherman from Banzai Hobby, is at a good price, but it delivers with a 2 channel radio and you do not want that for an infrared tank. So read what is included in the kit carefully. If you go that Sherman direction you would want to buy an rc radio system separately, say a Futaba Skysport 2.4 four channel radio for around $98.00.

http://banzaihobby.com/tamiya-56013

RichJohnson

Based on what you have said you are interested in, I would reccomend you start with a tamiya tiger and infrared battle unit. Built it, learn how it works. Then if you want to go further you can progress to the other RTR brands and convert them to IR and mod them up. Since I have done a few tamiyas and then a few HL conversions, i would reccomend you start with the tamiya. It will teach you what you need to know.m and if you want to progress or just bail out, the resale value is good.

ausf

I swore I'd never get involved in these threads again, because generally the initial advice is ignored, then the purchase ends up being a disappointment, then the original posters is asking for more advice on how to upgrade only to end up where he was originally told to go, but with a pile of watsed parts and time in their wake.

That said, here it goes...

You asked Tamiya or Taigen Tiger I.

Tamiya is a scale model kit engineered for RC with the backing of one of the industry largest companies.

Taigen is a RTR copy of HL with better paint and customer service.

Based of your experience both in RC and modeling, you will not be happy with a toy grade product, especially if you want to battle IR.

The Tamiya Tiger I is in my opinion the best engineered RC tank kit so far offered by any company and better than most of their own releases. I have one in all original condition that is still battling strong after 12 hard years, which included rolling down concrete steps amongst other mishaps that would destroy another model.

Dan is spot on with his advice. The Tammy Tiger will set you down the path that will give you a background in tank construction that will serve you well with more frustrating manufacturers, instead of having your first experience be bad.

fumanchan

Ok, I've looked on Banzai before, but I wasn't to sure if it was another store like raidentech, I have thought about the sherman, but I have always had my eye on the Tammy Tiger. Thank you all for the help!

YHR

OK well you got lots of experience with an HL then. Might as well get a Tamiya and then you will know yourself which way you would prefer to go.

ksoc

Since you have the HL King Tiger, you know what the HL type tanks are like. Go to the Tamiya website and download the instruction PDF files of the tank(s) you are considering. That will give you a visual idea of what the Tamiya kits are like.

ausf

No, Banzai is a real deal, brick and mortar Japanese Hobby Shop. The deal with buying from them, besides the lower price especially with the strength of the Dollar against the Yen right now, is that Tamiya includes a Futaba Attack Tx/Rx, battery and simple charger with the home market kits only. Not China, US or elsewhere, we only get the gaping void where the Tx should be and the tease in the directions on how to set it up. You'll pay a premium for shipping, but it's not the slow boat HK type, it'll be EMS air and most likely in your hands in about 2 days.

Considering the $100 shipping and that it's priced in yen, so even if you're using Paypal, you most likely will have to add 3-5% for exchange charges, you'll still come out ahead.

Sometimes it's just a wash compared to the AAF museum prices, sometimes not. If you're not in a rush, a mid $500 deal might show up once in a while, but expect in the $600 range. Beware of Chinese stores with little feedback, the Tammy Tiger seems to be their go-to scam.

If you have a Tx, 4 channels is all you need, but the beauty of the Futaba Attack is it's a dual stick (not pistol) surface radio, so both sticks center. If you're thinking about using a Spektrum or AC Futaba, keep that in mind, you'll need to change out that throttle ratchet or rig external springs.

Panther G

Having been involved with modeling and having some experience with RC I would say go with the Tamiya. i have done it both ways. The thing is for most it is good advice to say get a less expensive model and see if you like it first. Problem with that is if they do like it then they are immediatly stuck with having to do a bunch of upgrades just to get the vehicle battle worthy. You will enjoy the p[process of building the Tamiya kit and the Tiger needs nothing. another brand will need upgrades right out of the box because they are not hobby grade. Even the more pricey Tiagens which are far above the HL brand is just above toy grade, Sorry Erik, LOL but that is a fact In order to be Tamyia battle ready you would still need to change all the electronics. So in the end run you are really not saving any money by starting in the lower price scale because they all wind up costing around 600.00 bucks by the time we get them to a point we are happy with.

Panther F

There is no REAL debate (maybe in a few peoples heads) but just a choice.

Some like to build, some just want to put batteries in & run so choose wisely and DO have fun.



Jeff

MAUS45

Good Catch John, I thought it was like the SuperSherman, which comes with a 4ch radio.

dlobmwm3

My Feedback: (2)

Tamiya...Tamiya!!!!

dlegolpolp

I have been recently messing around at school with RC-ing the robots we build

Cruiser133

After your experience, this does not surprise me...

BludoTheSmelly

Tamiya I would say, don't make my mistake If you're not planning to IR battle then a taigen is fine.

only10x

Hi All, First post!
Just purchased the M1A2 metal track & Zinc motor ( not trying to tread jack) but what makes the HL a toy grade tank?