They're becoming a big player in the 1/16 RC game, I think it's only fair that they come under the same scrutiny that Tamiya and HL have endured.

Please correct anything that is inaccurate or biased. My goal isn't to do anything more than wrap my head around this stuff.

As I see it, Taigen has taken existing HL products, molds or producers and in some cases changed configurations. They have updated some things like the 360 turret, offered previous plastic items in metal, worked out gearboxes and offered better paint jobs than HL.

Where they really shine over HL is on quality control, bringing in parts and offering excellent after sale customer service, namely one person: Erik.

None of that is a bad thing.

I read a lot of requests for them to come out with stuff, or redesign this or that, but I don't think they are a big enough company to do that. Please correct me if I wrong about that. No one likes the T-34 hull connections, but as I understand it, that's HL's design. Adding metal housings, tapping for screws, hardware, etc is an expensive undertaking.

Again, that's not a bad thing.

Xion is engineering stuff. But you're paying for German engineering. Tamiya engineers stuff, but you're talking about a behemoth. Model companies research, measure, make molds, test, print decals, etc.

Taigen is hitting the sweet spot between 'crap shoot HL' entry level and hobby grade kits, but is still RTR toys, correct?

Again, nothing wrong with that, it's a good place to be and a good service to provide, provided the prices don't creep into the hobby grade realm, without hobby grade work behind it. Mato is making advances, but the price point reflects that.

Hobby grade doesn't mean unattainable by anything short of Tamiya. Darryl Turner is producing hobby grade stuff, as is Henntec, Schumo and a whole host of cottage businesses. It just means a level of materials a design that will be expected to work and last.