I am not far from you, in Bayonne. I have built all kinds of tanks over the past few years, ranging from HL's to Hooben and tamiya kits, and also upgraded them extensively. The choice is yours on how to go about it, as all of them can be made into very good runners. tamiya offers a much better OTB package, along with many aftermarket upgrades. www.ETOarmour.com has many of them available. Now, HL is a toy grade or entry level tank,a nd has to be upgraded to do IR battles with tamiya tanks. However, systems like ElMod make this a level playing field. Available here www.armorcreation.weebly.com
In the end, it is really up to the individual the route they take. By the way, Tamiya kits are available from www.aaftankmuseum.com in the gift shop Hope this information welp.