maillemaker

I remember reading that one of the versions of the Heng Long tanks is a poor reproduction - was it the Panther?

What do you all think of their T-34?

Steve

Martellus

the "pantiger" the first version panther they made

maillemaker

Did they come out with another version of Panther?

Steve

Martellus

Yeah. You can easily tell them apart from the messed up front slope as well as cartoonish turret proportions, the Panther G is the newer one:


This is the Panther G:


This is the "Pantiger" Notice the cartoonish barrel, short and fat, as well as the glacis slope going flat due to using a tiger lower hull, as well as other smaller differences:

afv aficionado

Hi
I agree with Martellus, the Pan Tiger is the worst of the HL's, but the M41 comes a close 2nd for inaccuracy. The tracks are too wide, 26.5in scale vs 21 in, which affects the overall width, then there's the drivers Anti Aircraft periscopes - they point up into the sky - the front lower turret is the wrong shape, the whole turret too small - 6mm all round - the gun too fat & short - (a standard problem for HL - Tiger, Pan Tiger, M41 & M26 all suffer), the hull is too high above the tracks, rear hull transmission hatches should have a double slope, suspension should be torsion bar vs shock absorber type. Those are the main items, lots of detail is wrongly placed or missing completely.
Having said that, it is a good runner, and if you're in to M41's, it's really the only game in town. It has plenty of scope for improvement, and I own 7 odd.

Mal

Roboticus_Prime

I see the one with the Pershing turret... You can't hide it from me!

Crius

I really like that near camo job. I wonder if the AA Bulldog would look good in that. I'll have to tell my people that if i get hit by a bus they should send the Bulldog to Mal. It would have a very good home.

afv aficionado

Good spotting.
Actually I've got 2 M26's - the M26 in the picture (MERDC Red Desert Dots) and a M26A1 Plus a couple of M113's I'm working on And some Bruder Low loaders - stretched & widened.

Mal

afv aficionado

Hi Crius
That camo is the NZ Variation of the US MERDC Red Desert scheme, it substitutes white for the original light sand colour. It works very well in the Waiouru tussock country where the M41's were based.
M113's, Ferrets, Scorpions were also painted in that scheme

Mal

tankme

Looks like a 1/18 21st Century Toys M113. I have a non-R/C desert version sitting on my shelf at home.

Strato50

Hey now, no need to out and out diss the mighty Pan-Tiger! I've seen that monstrosity tear up a battlefield and score more hits than anything, all while being painted bright gold and sporting 5 inch exhaust flames.

...but yes in terms of scale accuracy it's a farce.. which is party why it has / had a cult following.


Now the argument as to which HL is the 'worse' mechanically.. hard to say. Tiger needs idlers, Panzer 3-4s too. Pershing suspension parts are a bit lacking.. the Russian tanks are tough, as are the Panther and King Tiger..

I can​ say that ANY HengLong running their 'new' 2.4ghz equipment is a major pain in the butt & regresses the control of your tank straight back into toy territory.

Crius

There are some who would say that ALL heng long tanks are bad in one way or another, but I think most would nominate the pantiger for the title. I personally love heng long tanks, and taigen tanks, and Torro tanks, and any other tank that I can drive around in the back yard.

jarndice

The only thing missing from that sentence Gary
"AND AFFORD".
shaun.

Crius

Agreed, Shaun. Heng Long has done quite a bit to make the hobby more affordable for more people.

maillemaker

Shoot yeah. I picked up a Heng Long Panzer III for like $80 plus shipping at Christmas.

It's rubber treads and plastic gears and doesn't make smoke or sound but it drives over sticks and stuff in the back yard!

Steve

RichJohnson

I have to say, i have a bunch of HL shermans, they are very robust. My less than 2 year old toddler has i
his own and the only thing he keeps messing up is the transmitter. He broke the antenna, so i put the 2.4g in it and then he filled the transmitter up with sand so the sticks stick now. He pushed the tank, picks it up and runs with it and stuff and it keeps on going. Not a fragile model.

alomst makes me wonder why I search for a heavier sherman chassis ( taigen, mato) when the cheap plastic HL keeps on going so strong.

afv aficionado

Hi Tankme
Re "Looks like a 1/18 21st Century Toys M113. I have a non-R/C desert version sitting on my shelf at home" - actually both of mine are the non RC version (Ultimate Soldier)

If Tamiya was the only RC Tank supplier in town, I'd probably still be a watcher & wouldn't have a collection of 1/16th AFVs. Guess that means I voted with my feet for Heng Long.

Mal

jarndice

Whatever people say about HENG LONG Tanks,
Unlike some other makers they have always sold their product as a "TOY" although I do not think my kids would have kept one intact for much more than a day, certainly not when they were TWO!!!
shaun.

Crius

And before long you'll be a complete RC Tank Junkie and then we really got ya. Bwaa ha ha!

Crius

An understatement of truly epic proportion!

I'll donate free parts for the lad, and I'll even cover postage. What kind of 2.4 system does he have and does he just need gimbals or the whole TX?

All that "it takes a village" stuff is fine, but ... It takes an RC Universe to raise an RC Tanker.