Imex-Erik

Hey Tankers! Ok so enough is enough, we need more info I know Ok so here is the dirt on the new and coming soon Taigen Leopard 2A6:
Weight: ~17lbs before battery
Height: ~210mm
Width: ~235mm
Length: ~480mm without barrel / ~675mm with barrel
Chassis Metal Components: 2 Piece SOLID metal lower hull, metal suspension arms, metal torsion bars, metal road wheels with rubber tires and bearings, metal return rollers, metal drive wheels, metal adjustable idler wheels with bearings, metal closed pin caterpillar tracks, and metal rear hatches to cover switch placement versus the switch panels we put on the bottom of other tanks. The lower chassis uses High/Low, 4:1, 58mm long shaft gearboxes with 390 motors and the gearboxes are all V2 versions with ball bearings.
Upper Hull: All new upper hull and a new metal sliding hatch has been added to the upper hull as well as photo etched metal grills on the back of the upper hull.
Turret: All new metal turret with metal barrel and mantlet. This turret also has new magnetic turret wedge armor and new hatches as well. The new hatches are half plastic and half metal. The working parts of the hinge will be metal but since we can get more detail out of plastic it has some higher detailed stuff on the hatches
Shooting Types: Airsoft or Infrared
Motherboard Type: V2/V3 with Leopard Sound Card (yes I do have one, I'll get more info soon. Right now the media room is occupied by a few other employees with some Oxford stuff so I have to wait my turn lol)
Battery: Comes stock with the 2000mAh, but it can fit any battery and multiple ones and plenty of aftermarket stuff too while you are at it!

Info:
So the Leopard has a few new features, one of the main being the new lower hull construction started with the Sherman. It is super heavy, super thick, and over-engineered more than needed for casual tanking. This should make the tank much stronger than it needs to be and a great platform for robotics to which we are seeing more and more requests for too. The suspension is VERY tough and the suspension arms also have an o-ring between them and the chassis to help with water/mud leaking into the tank. The torsion bars are now held on via screws that go through the bottom of the tank and are countersunk for that extra clean look. Doing maintenance on them or adjusting them is even simpler than ever!
The upper hull and turret all all new from Taigen and both nice and thick as well as highly detailed. The upper hull is thicker thank our previous designs and supports the larger metal turret with ease. The turret is 360 degrees and also is on our new turret roller bearings for smoother operation. As mentioned earlier the new turret wedge armor is now held to the turret via magnets and a nice thick hinge too. The hatches are now half plastic and half metal for the best of both worlds too, with plastic providing more detail and the metal for the structure of the hinge. The barrel is made from aluminum is super nice unpainted There is also a new RKL orange blinking light that will be included with the tank but not installed like pictured here. Honestly I felt the blinking RKL light was a bit too much for us and decided to leave it uninstalled and it will be left for customers to install if they wish to have the light installed. It will be included with the tank in the accessory box when purchased from us.

More info and release dates soon! I've got a ton of work today and tomorrow from all the July 4th sales but at the worst I should have more details up on Monday. Sorry I had to put it on a painted lower, I got all excited and took it out first thing when I got it and drove the crap out of it and got it all dirty There is tons of room for custom electronics in here boys, I can't wait to see all the mods for these guys....

ShadowTheULF

This looks so good! All that is left is to hear the price and start planning.

Imex-Erik

I'm gonna say around $650 for the RTR. I will get this in the kit section of course too eventually.

N61546

First time post, long time lurker. I am interested in hearing reviews on this leopard by members of this board. I have seen some YouTube reviews, but would like know more details on operation and electronics.

N61546

The lack of response to my earlier question gives me concern about this model. Is it the cost that drives people away or the lack of quality in the model?

Fsttanks

The tank itself is very solid. Personally I don’t care for the 4:1 gearboxes as these lack scale top end speed in favor of low speed handling. IMO a more balanced combination would have been if they used their 3:1 gearboxes with “RED” 390 motors. This would have provided a good balance between slow speed handling and achieving scale top end speeds of ~40mph. Also the tracks are single pin all metal with flat pads. These provide for rather poor grip in rough terrain and do not run as smoothly as dual pin tracks. The control system “MFU” is decent but not compatible for IR battling against Tamiya standards which limits its usefulness.

When one factors in the additional cost of new dual pin metal/rubber padded tracks, new electronics and upgrades to higher torque “RED” 390 motors as a start, the price climbs pretty close to the stock Tamiya Leopard 2. The Tamiya will be more functional, faster with excellent tracks and almost as rugged.

All that said, if you are willing to spend the extra money for upgrades you will end up with a rugged and reliable tank that will just about be able to handle anything you are daring enough to drive it through or over.

N61546

Thank you for the information. Will the Mato Mart metal with rubber pads Leopard tracks fit this tank?

Fsttanks

Short answer is yes.

Though personally I am not a big fan of the Mato Leopard 2 tracks. The two different sets I own have issues with link end connectors coming off. I prefer instead to use DKLM Abrams metal/rubber padded tracks on my Leopard 2s or the stupidly expensive but excellent Tamiya Abrams tracks(or Tamiya Leopard 2 track if you can find it). Both are super tough and reliable, the DKLM is rather HEAVY (so is the Mato Leopard 2 track) the Tamiya is much lighter due to its plastic/metal/rubber make up.

I have started posting videos and still shots of my tanks on Instagram fsttanks you might find some of it interesting.

N61546

Thank you for the track information. Will adding a Clark board improve the sound and operation of this tank?

Fsttanks

Yes and no. The Clark sound for the Leopard 2 is just a little better(subject). Handling should be about even, but the Clark is Tamiya IR battle system compatible. I would suggest not getting anything below a Clark TK40 series.

N61546

Well I guess I will stay with the stock board, since I do not plan to participate in IR tank battles. I do want the realistic barrel recoil and auto leveling of the barrel. How would I achieve that?

Fsttanks

Your best and most cost effective route IMO all things considered would be just go with buying a Tamiya Leopard 2. It will have great sound, good handling, barrel and track recoil, cannon flash, excellent tracks with tensioning system and the barrel stabilization.

Pah co chu puk

The Tamiya Leopard is a great tank, just like Fsttanks said, but barrel stabilization is an option, not standard with the kit. It is a Tamiya option, not aftermarket. I have also heard of using a submarine servo to create barrel stabilization for the Tamiya (and other) tanks. I don't have barrel stabilization on mine, so I can't speak about how it works.

N61546

I would like to have a Tamiya Leopard, but it's out of my price range. Even if I got the Tamiya Leopard, I would need someone experienced to build it properly. The Taigen Leopard with a set of the above mentioned rubber pad track, seems like my best option.

Pah co chu puk

I just wanted you to know that barrel stabilization is not a standard Tamiya feature.

My advise is to get into the tank hobby as cheap as you can, buy a Taigen or Heng Long ready to run tank, and have fun with it. There is time enough to explore repairs and upgrades later.

N61546

Who is a good online retailer for Heng Long RTR?

mustclime

matomart