While the Tamiya kits are of very good quality, I agree with YHR here. 1st of all not everyone has a huge budget for a model. Secondly, Heng Long models provide VERY GOOD bases for upgrades and custom builds. For me, a Heng Long was my 1st tank. The legendary PanTiger for $89.99 from HobbyTron.com 7 years ago got me into the hobby because the massive price of the Tamiya was something I simply could not afford. For many of the guys here this is more than just a past time, this is a passion; this is art. We take a photo and or a video from history a replicate it in miniature. In a way, immortalizing that vehicle and crew forever; whether it be a tank or a halftrack or a jeep. Tamiya can, but really all other 1:16th brands provide a side of modeling that tamiya can't; and that's personal involvement. What I mean by that is tamiya has a great system and a very good layout with great electronics, but really the most you can do it add your own custom paint and weathering. With all models there will always be detail parts and some kind of upgrades. Other than that it's just an assembly process. In contrast, someone can take a heng long which needs work, home-make fixes and scratch-build what you don't have and you will appreciate the model more because you fashioned it with your own two hands. That's the drive of this hobby. Creating what doesn't exist and seeing it come to life and knowing that with your two hands you made that into what it is. Besides, there would be no point in all the wonderful electronic options like El-Mod, Benedini, the new Clark boards, the SLU, and other that are just coming on the market. I love tamiya ( I own a Tiger and a King Tiger) but I will never give up my heng longs because they are my work, my time, my sweat, and even my tears that have went into making that model everything I envisioned in my head.